Crispin House - 2 Crispin Lane

William Cullimore

William Cullimore was born in 1842, the son of James and Hester Cullimore.   James was a beerhouse keeper and shoemaker.  The family was living in Crispin Lane when William was born.

The 1861 census shows William was now working as a carpenter's apprentice.  In 1868, William inherited a share in the ownership of The Crispin from Luke Withers.  In his will, Luke's bequeathed the property to William and his brother, Luke, on the condition that their parents could continue to live in the house until their deaths or, in event of James dying first, that Hester could continue to live there until she died or re-married.  William's sister, Laura, was granted an annuity of £15 12s.

William's father, James Cullimore, died in 1869 aged 54 years.  The 1871 census shows that his mother, Hester, continued to run the beerhouse, now referred to as 'The Jolly Crispin'.  William had married Eliza Main in Bristol in 1864.  Eliza had been born in Stanton Wick, Somerset.   By 1871 William had become a carpenter, but he was also running a public house in Gillingstool which must have been 'The Black Horse'.  At this time William and Eliza had three children: Florence Mary aged 6, James aged 3, and Julia Gertrude aged 2.  The family must have been living for some time in Stanton Wick as Florence Mary had been born there.

The 1881 census shows that William and Eliza had moved back to live with his mother, Hester, at The Crispin.   There were now six children: James aged 13, Julia Gertrude aged 11, Ada Blanche aged 9, Laura May aged 7, Smart aged 3 and Austin Shepherd Cullimore aged 2 months.  William was still a carpenter.

William's wife, Eliza, died in 1884 aged 41 years.  In 1891, Hester aged 70, was still running the pub but she now had the four youngest of William's children living with her.  Ada is a dressmaker and Laura a shopkeeper.  William was living in 36 Bath Buildings, Bristol.  He was said to be a widower, a carpenter aged 48.  He was boarding with Arthur Carwardine, a butcher.  Shortly after the census, in June quarter 1891, William married Frances Carwardine, Arthur's sister who was also in the house at the time of the census.  At that time Frances was shown as a single woman 'living on her own means'.

Hester died in 1899 aged 77 and from this time on the house stopped being a beerhouse. 

In 1901 the house was occupied by William a retired carpenter aged 58, Frances his new wife also aged 58 born in Mardon, Herefordshire and his son, Austin who was a tailor.  We have not seen the will or subsequent transactions and do not know how Luke, the other son, benefited from his father's estate.  We do know that Luke became a publican too and was the landlord at The Plough for a time.

We have a copy of a deed dated 1909 which showed that William also owned number 4 Crispin Lane (then referred to as Mutton Lane) and he sold this property to his wife, Frances for the sum of £150. 

William died in 1913 aged 71 years.  In his will dated 1911 he made his son, Smart and his son-in-law, Albert Jacob Gore, the husband of Florence Mary, his executors and trustees.

We know a little of Smart Cullimore, the son of William and Eliza.  He left Thornbury to become a police officer but went into the army in the First World War.  In 1915 he was promoted to a Lieutenant and later became a Captain of the 11th Battalion South Wales Borderers.  He was killed in February 1916 and was buried in Le Tueret Cemetery, Richebourg - L'Aoue in France. 

Frances died in Thornbury in the 3rd quarter 1917.  She was 74.  Thus, in 1919, it was left to Albert Jacob Gore to settle William's estate.  An arrangement was made with Laura, William's sister, now married to Samuel Young Sainsbury, a guard on the railway and son of John Sainsbury, farmer, to reduce her annuity and enable the property of William's to be sold. 

Albert Gore was a pork butcher and it is interesting to see that he sells the property to John Taylor, another butcher.  There is a reference in a Thornbury street directory of 1925 showing that E.W. Ball was occupying Crispin House.

The house was put up for auction on 11th July 1917 when it was described as: a freehold residence with capital walled-in garden, large lawn in front and good range of outbuildings in the occupation of Mr Mogford at the rent of £17 per annum.  The house contains five bedrooms, attic, two front sitting rooms, back sitting room, kitchen, back kitchen with loft over, large boiler house and underground cellar.  The outbuildings comprise large range of buildings suitable as storing sheds, stable, two good pigstyes etc.

When John Taylor sells the property in 1926, the previous occupant was Frank Taylor, presumably a relative of John's.

Click here to read what happened next to the property.

This page was last updated: 23/06/2008