3 Pullins Green

Occupants

We know very little about the early occupants of number 3.   When it was sold in 1912 by James Albert Hodges the house was unoccupied.

Edgar Mervyn Grace - Edgar was the son of Edward Mills Grace, who in addition to a career as doctor and Coroner for the Lower Division of Gloucestershire, was an outstanding cricketer, playing for his County and Country and becoming almost as famous as his younger brother, 'W.G.'.'

Edgar followed in their footsteps becoming a physician and surgeon and an outstanding cricketer in his own right.  Edgar lived for most of his life in Park House in Thornbury. 

On 23rd April 1917 Edgar Mervyn Grace applied for exemption from military service giving his address at that time as 'Porlock Weir' Thornbury.  We know that the house was called 'Porlock Weir' from the records referring to the next occupant, Graham John Young (see below).  We also know from the audio tape of an interview with Edgar's niece, Sally Gordon, that Edgar lived in Pullins Green after he got married in 1914 to Hilda Henrietta Heathcote.

Edgar failed in his application for exemption from military service and joined the R.A.M.C.  On his return he took up his medical practice again.  Edgar and Hilda were listed as living in Porlock Weir in the 1918 electoral register.  They later bought Park House from H.P. Thurston, who had bought it from Edgar's father and moved there.

Graham John Young - the 1921 electoral register shows that the house was then occupied by Graham John Young described in the trade directories as being a 'private resident.  Living with him was his wife, Jane Margaret and Ellen Mary Young.  In 1925 the three of them were joined by Wilfred Percy Winter, but by 1927 it was just Graham, Jane and Ellen.  In 1930  Jane may have been living there alone, although there is a chance that Mrs Frances Amelia Whitfield (see below) 

Several trade directories from 1923 to 1931 show the house in which Graham was living was called 'Porlock Weir', and the 1925 directory specifically shows Porlock Weir as being in St John Street.

Mrs Frances Amelia Whitfield - one local person told us she thought the two houses may have been built for the family of George Whitfield who ran Morton Mill with the intention of providing a retirement home for him and his wife.  We have found no evidence to support this claim and the fact that they were put up for sale by James Albert Hodges in 1912 shows that they were not the original owners.  However we know that, although George died in 1925, his wife, Frances Amelia, is known to have lived in number 3 from about 1930 until her death on February 10th 1940. 

Frances is shown as living there in the 1930 electoral register, and although we did not see her name in the 1935 register, an Edna Maud James is shown as living there 'c/o Mrs Whitfield', and again in 1939 Maud Webb was there 'c/o F. A. Whitfield'.  We have also seen a deed for a property in Morton in the estate of Frances and it gives her address, presumably at the time of death, as 'Resthaven'.  We know from later occupants of the house that the house was called 'Resthaven' for many years.

It would appear that the house was divided in two flats at some stage.  In 1946, we believe that there were two families in the house:

Edmund and Joan F. Grace - the electoral register 1946 shows the house, still known as 'Resthaven', was occupied by Edmund and Joan F. Grace. 

Edmund was born in Thornbury in 1916, the son of Francis Henry Grace and his wife, Helen, the daughter of Edmund Cullimore.  The booklet 'Pages from the Past' by H.W. Phillips mentions that Edmund was 'at Dunkirk on the little boats' during the Second World War.  We have not been able to confirm whether this meant that Edmund was evacuated from the beaches or that he was in one of the boats sent over to evacuate the troops.

Like his father, Edmund was trained as an engineer and for a short time took over the running of the Sawmill from his father-in-law.  We heard one story about Francis - whilst working in the Saw Mill he was caught up by the 'clapping belts', and he had all his clothes torn off and was lucky to have escaped with his life. 

He was not so lucky in other aspects of his life; trade at the Sawmill dropped and it had to close.  Edmund moved to Oldbury where for a time he was landlord at the Anchor Inn.  We were told that Edmund and Joan were divorced that that Edmund settled in Itchington or Tytherington.

We understand Edmund had a keen interest in sailing.  He teamed up with Bert Pridham, one of his father's employees to build a motor boat.  In the words of Bert's son:

"The timber for the main structure was elm from the Saw Mills and this frame was covered with plywood and the caulking between the plywood sheets was somehow achieved with medical bandages soaked in red lead paint!  The boat was about 15 feet long with a flat bottom and its power unit was a ‘high-tech’, Austin 7 engine complete with gearbox and clutch with the steering wheel linked to the rudder.  All in all, it was a splendid effort by the two men, although it was not apparent why they had built it.  It was probably on the whim of the younger Grace.  Eventually, for its maiden voyage, it was towed to the Mill Pond at the bottom of Gloucester Road which was then somewhat larger than it is now, and despite its flat bottom, it completed several circuits successfully and did not capsize!  It also coped with the ‘ocean’ in the pill at Oldbury-on-Severn (or was it Littleton?)  but after that it disappeared and one wonders if it still exists in someone’s old shed or garage!"

The records of the Thornbury Sailing Club show that Edmund owned a boat there in 1957 called 'Teresa'.

Roy and Beryl Luce - they are also listed in the 1946 electoral register and two reliable sources (Miss Higgins and Pam Lewis) remember them living at number 3.  Both sources recall that Beryl was a teacher at the Grammar School.  Her maiden name was Tomlinson and she left her teaching job at Thornbury Grammar School on her marriage to Roy Luce.  Samuel R Luce, known apparently as "Roy" was an auctioneer and estate agent for the company known as Luce Panes.

We cannot identify anyone as living there in the 1950 electoral register.  Neither of the families listed above are listed there.

The 1954 electoral register lists  Margaret K Rowe and Mary D Brooks as living in number 3.

The 1957 electoral register lists Margaret K Rowe and Walter and Mary J Spencer in number 3.

The 1965 electoral register lists Nicholas and Annie M. Cornock as living in the top flat and Harold and Brenda Moss whose address was just given as 3 Pullins Green, so presumably they lived in the bottom flat.  Harold and Brenda had been living in the flat above 23 St John Street in 1958.

The 1970 electoral register shows Arthur W 'Bev' Selman and his wife Sheila M living in the 'bottom' flat and Brian L. and Iris A. Woodland living in the 'top' flat.

Since 1979 Rowe's Veterinary Practice has operated on the ground floor.   John Rowe started with a veterinary practice in Wotton Under Edge in 1948, assisted by his wife, Ruth who acted as receptionist, secretary, bookkeeper and nurse.  

John Fred Wallace Rowe was the son of John Charles Wallace Rowe, a farmer.   On 15th December 1947 John married Ruth Ellen Grace at Thornbury St Mary's.  Ruth was the daughter of Francis Henry Grace and his wife, Helen (nee Cullimore).  She was therefore descended from two of the prominent families in Thornbury at that time.

Following John's death in 1981, a partnership was formed of several vets, including John and Ruth's children, Helen and Richard.  Now that Helen has retired, it is left to Richard to continue the family's interests in the business.

This page was last updated: 23/06/2008