The Georgian House

Early Tenants

Although the Georgian House was actually owned by the Meredith family during the period from 1862 to 1898, they chose not to live there.

William Shepherd - the 1862 and 1867 Rate Books shows the house was occupied by William Shepherd.

Charles Pauley
We know that Charles was living in this house in 1871 because the census enumerator referred in his description of the route to the property as 'late Knapps house (Pauleys)'.  The 1871 Census shows that The Georgian House was occupied by family of Charles Pauley and his much younger wife, Sarah Ann (nee Rendell) who was thirteen years his junior.  They had not been married very long when they moved into the house as they married in the December quarter of 1868.  Their marriage was registered in Bristol, but both of them came from Hinton St George in Somerset.  Charles had been a grocer before he retired and Sarah's family had been in the same trade.  At the time of the census, Sarah's parents Charles and Catherine Rendell were staying with them.  Charles and Sarah had three children who were born in Thornbury; Silla, Charles and Florence. The family had moved to Southampton by the 1881 Census, where they remained until Charles died aged 91 in the final quarter of 1910.

Misses Annie and Mary Paynter
By 1881 another family had moved into the house.  This time it was occupied by a spinster lady, Miss Annie Elizabeth Paynter and her sisters, Mary Rebecca Paynter, also a spinster, and Harriett Edwards, a widow.  They lived with a young servant, Ellen Pym, to look after them.  All three ladies were the daughters of Commander John Meyrick Paynter and his wife, Mary and they were born in Pembrokeshire.  John was in the Royal Navy and worked as a coastguard.  The 1851 Census shows the family living in West Hill Villa near Dartmouth in Devon.  By the 1861 Census John, now widowed, had moved his family to Main Street, Pembroke.  John died aged 75 in 1866.  The 1871 Census shows Mary was boarding with an aunt in Pembroke whilst Anne and another sister, Katherine, were visiting John and Mary Griffiths in Mumbles Road, Oystermouth.  We assume Harriett had married Mr Edwards but we can find no trace of them. 

We are not sure why the three ladies ended up coming to Thornbury.  There is a record of Joshua Whittaker Paynter marrying in Thornbury on 14th June 1851.  Joshua's wife was Mary Sophia Holcombe of Thornbury.  She was the widow of Revd James R. Holcombe and the daughter of Thomas Woods, clerk of Upton Castle, Pembrokeshire. Joshua was a surgeon, also a widow, but the interesting detail is that he came from Pembroke.  It seems likely that he may have been the uncle of the two Miss Paynters.  We know Joshua was the son of David Paynter, a solicitor.

The first reference of the two ladies living here is a mention of 'Miss Paynter' occupying 10 The Plain when it was being sold at auction in February 1879.  The 1880 Rate Book shows the Paynters had moved across the road and were now living in the Georgian House.  The three ladies did not stay in that house for very long either, as they had moved by the 1891 Census to Butt Lane in Morton, just outside of Thornbury.  Mary died aged 71 and was buried on 29th May 1896.  Harriett died aged 70 and was buried on 7th December 1896.  Both were living at Morton House at the time of their deaths.  The 1901 Census shows Annie moved to share a house with her brother, Parker Evans Paynter.  This house later became known as 60 High Street.  Parker was a retired master mariner aged 77.  Parker died 17th March 1904 aged 81.  Anne is not shown in the 1905 Rate Book which might suggest she moved outside of town or became a tenant in someone else's home.  Anne died aged 87 in April 1909. 

Henry William John Carter
By 1890 the Rate Book shows there was yet another change in occupancy and Henry William John Carter was now living there.

Henry was from a well known Thornbury family.  He was baptised in Thornbury on 15th October 1845.  His parents, Henry Carter, and his wife, Ann Carter (nee Whittard) were the master and mistress of the Free School in St Mary Street.  His father Henry began having children rather late in life with Ann, who was 28 years his junior, and his youngest child was born when he was 64.

The 1861 Census shows Henry still living with his parents in St Mary Street and he was being trained as an architect's clerk.  Henry seems to have been quite versatile.  In 1871 he was a solicitor's clerk still in St Mary Street.  In 1874 Henry was described as an accountant when he went into the property business in partnership with George Mansell Williams, another accountant.  They bought the two properties at 11 and 13 Pullins Green.  This partnership lasted until 1st November 1883 when there was a deed of partition in which George and Henry agreed to split the properties.  George kept 11 Pullins Green, then occupied by Ann Carter, widow and Henry kept 13 Pullins Green, then occupied by Mark Williams.  To balance out the division Henry paid George £40.

In the last quarter of 1875 Henry married Sarah Ann Howell in the Clifton area of Bristol.  They had their first child, Augustus Robert Archibald in Clifton.  The next seven children were born in Thornbury.  They were; Walter Henry Shipway Carter, Henry William W. Carter, Miriam Louisa Carter, Arthur Edward Norman Carter, Eugene Victor Carter, Mary Annette Shipway Carter and Nina Shipway Carter.  One housekeeper, Sarah Harris, was employed to look after them all.

On 25th March 1877 Henry started leasing the house and garden at 58 High Street from the Borough.  In the lease, Henry was described as an accountant of Thornbury.  The annual rent was set at £20 per annum and the condition was placed that the premises could only be used as a private residence.  The 1881 census shows he was a coal merchant living with his family at 58 High Street.  He was still living there according to the 1885 Rate Book although that source also shows him renting The Court House later known as 2 St John Street.  We are not sure where he is in the 1890 Rate Book as he is listed in both The Court House and The Georgian House.   In the 1891 Census describes him as living in one of these properties (we are still not sure which) as a timber merchant. 

We are not sure what happened to Henry after the 1891 census.  He is not listed in the 1894 nor 1899 Rate Books.   He died on 16th September 1915 aged 70 and he is buried in a grave with his parents in the graveyard of St Marys Church, Thornbury.  He must have been very successful in life because he was  buried in Pau cemetery in France, and Pau was a very fashionable resort at the time and a favourite place for rich British people to retire to.  The Thornbury Rate Books lists Henry as the owner and tenant of several properties in the town in the 1880's.

William Cornock the Rate Book of 1894 shows that William Cornock was a tenant of Mark Crossman Meredith.  There is more than one William Cornock in the area.  This might be the one who who appears in the 1901 Census in West Shen in Gloucester Road.  If this is the case,  in 1901 he was a 78 year old retired farmer from Aust living with his wife Anne aged 69 from Henbury and their daughter Margaret aged 25 and also born in Aust.

There was a newspaper article on 24th August 1895 selling amongst other properties a house which was then called Gloucester Villa but is now known as the Georgian House with its stable coach house and other outbuildings.  At this time the yearly tenant is still William Cornock.  The sale includes other property also owned by Mark Crossman Meredith and appears to be the selling off of his estate.  Mark Crossman died in 1894.

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This page was last updated: 11/11/2011