1 Bath Road

The Coachhouse

In the late 1960's there was a report in the Thornbury Gazette which said:

'The Coach House, Thornbury, which has just been acquired by the Thornbury RDC from Mr. Francis Hopkins is, I under­stand, to be demolished under the plans for the Thornbury Central Re­development scheme.  This is in many ways a pity for Coach House has had a varied and interesting history.

Its deeds go back to 1733 and in its time the premises have been used as a black­smiths, a coal wharf, a small holding, a farmhouse and later for a carrier's and haulage business.  The first horse-drawn carriage for passengers from Thornbury to Bristol started from the premises.  The first carrier service used to leave Thornbury one day, put up at the Full Moon near the Horsefair in Bristol for the night and come back to Thornbury the next day.  It was this which led Mr. Hopkins to name it 'Coach House' when he acquired, restored and renovated the premises in 1955.

Just before the turn of the century, Coach House was occupied by one Henry Baylis and on his business card he states he is 'Carrier and Haulier for Filton, Patchway, Almondsbury, Rudgeway, Alveston to Thornbury, leave White Horse, Barr Street, Bristol daily 6 p.m. Furniture Remover (distance no object) and Coal Merchant.'

The old order changeth and yieldeth place to new,' but the car park and road which will replace Coach House, however necessary, will not give the aesthetic pleasure that this pleasant building and its attractive, of small, front garden, has provided over the last dozen years.'

We have not been able trace any deeds for the house so we are unable to confirm its early origins.  Our knowledge starts with the 1840 Tithe Survey which shows that as Plot 121 it was a house and garden owned by Thomas Osborne Wetmore and occupied by Joseph Williams.  Thomas attempted to sell off several of his properties in 1855, including the one in Bath Road - it was described as 'a roomy and well-built freehold cottage with walled garden, blacksmith's sheds and other outbuildings adjoining, situate in Back Street for many years in the occupation of Mr Joseph Williams'.  It seems that the property failed to sell as following Thomas's death in 1868, the property was put up sale at auction again - it was then described as 'all that freehold dwelling house with large walled garden, blacksmith's shop, storehouses etc, situate and being at Back Street and Balseys Lane in the occupation of Mr Hignell or his under-tenant'.

We know that in the 1876 Rate Book the owner of the house was Henry Baylis, local carrier, haulier and coal merchant.  Click here to read more about his family

It continued to owned and occupied by the Baylis family until 1955 when Francis Hopkins bought it.  He developed the buildings previously used by the Baylis carrier business as a depot for his mobile grocery business. Click here to read more about Francis

Click here to read more about the occupants of the house

This page was last updated: 07/03/2010