7 & 9 St John Street

Owners

The deeds treat the ownership of the two houses (7 & 9) as one up to 6th May 1941.  This is interesting as it means that for a century and a half after  the property was divided into two houses they was still being bought and sold as one property.  This seems to be because the owners of the two houses treated them as an investment to get income from rents rather than as their homes.

Thomas Rolph - Thomas was a a surgeon and a member of the important Rolph family who owned a lot of land around Thornbury.  Thomas sold the properties to John Powell on 23 September 1807 for £63.  Click here to read more about the Rolph family

John Powell - John bought the properties from Thomas Rolph on 23 September 1807 for £63.  It appears that at the time of the purchase, there were two houses already on the land, converted from an earlier single residence.  The deeds say that John "erected and built two houses".  However looking at the frontage and roofline, it does not appear that that he totally demolished the existing buildings, but more likely modernised and improved the existing ones.

John was baptised in Thornbury on 9 July 1775, the son of John Powell (who was described as a sexton and labourer in various subsequent baptism records of his children) and his wife Betty (nee Taylor).  He was the second of nine children which John and Betty were to have following their marriage on 10 May 1772.  Their children were spread over a period of 21 years:  Ursula baptised in 1773, Elizabeth in 1778,  Ann in 1780, Maria in 1784, Dinah in 1786, William in 1789,  Susannah in 1795 and finally Paulina in 1792 when we think her father was aged about 52.  We don't think John ever married.  In 1841 he was a mason aged 60 and living in the High Street with Nancy Powell aged 50 (who we believe to be his sister Ann), Mary Coleman aged 12 and Emma Coleman aged 6, both of whom appear to be nieces of John's (the children of Paulina Powell who had married Robert Coleman).

John's brother, William Powell, was also a mason living in the High Street in 1841.  He was living with his wife, Ann, and their children, William, Elizabeth and John, and a nephew, Thomas Liddiatt, the son of Susanna Powell who had married Henry Liddiatt in 1821).  When William died in 1855 aged 73 years, the inscription on his grave shows he was clerk and sexton of Thornbury Church for 55 years. 

John Powell died on 18th July 1849.  By his will dated 8th September 1847, he gave his properties to Ann Powell who was described as a 'single woman'.  The indenture dated 21 March 1850 says that at the time the will was written (in 1847), Ann was then residing with John, but she had since deceased.  John's testators were nephews and nieces: William Coleman railway porter of Highbridge, James Coleman, grocer of St Pauls, Bristol, John Coleman beerhouse keeper of St Pauls, Gloucestershire, Louisa Park, widow of Thornbury, and Thomas Liddiatt, cordwainer of Thornbury.    His trustees sold the two properties to William Knapp, ironmonger of Thornbury for £130.

William Knapp  - acquired the property from the devisees of John Powell on 21 March 1850 for £130.   He never lived in either of the properties, but continued to let them to tenants.  William is listed as the owner in the 1859 Rate Book.  On 15th July 1861 William sold various properties, including the two houses in St John Street,  to Mark Crossman Meredith and his wife, Mary Anne Harding.  Mary Ann was William Knapp's daughter.  Click here to read more about William Knapp

Mark Crossman Meredith - Mark and Mary Ann Meredith acquired the properties on 15 July 1861 when they bought them from William Knapp.  Mary was baptised on 2 December 1829, the daughter of the previous owner, William Knapp and his wife, Ann Harding.  Mary had married Mark in Thornbury on 8th May 1851.  Mark was the son of Edward Meredith, farmer from Alveston.

In 1861 Mark was at his farm of 120 acres in Latteridge with two sons, Edward and Thomas, and his daughter, Mary.  His wife, Mary Ann, was visiting her father, William Knapp, after the recent death of her mother, Ann.  She had Hannah and Ann, two of her daughters with her.  Mark and Mary Ann went on to have a very large family - we have found mention of 11 children.  The 1891 Census shows Mark and Mary living apart -  Mary is still in Latteridge with her son, Mark now aged 23.  Mark is running Harold Field Farm at Kingswood near Dursley.

Mark died 5th January 1894.  The Rate Books of 1894 shows that Mrs Meredith was the owner of the properties.  Mary Anne Harding Meredith died intestate exactly one year later on 5th January 1895.  Their children who inherited the property were: Hannah Harding Crossman Meredith of Kingswood,   Edward William Meredith of Mill Farm, Tytherington, Thomas Meredith farmer of Latteridge, Mary Ponting, wife of Edward Ponting, Thornbury plumber and glazier, Annie Knapp Taylor, wife of Joseph Taylor of Home Farm, Littleton on Severn, William Knapp Meredith of Gloucester Road Farm, Frampton Cotterell, Emily Louisa Young, wife of Herbert Young of Court Farm, Winterbourne, Mark Crossman Meredith, farmer of Latteridge, Ernest Richard Meredith of Kingswood and Frederick John Meredith, formerly of Kingswood, now of the Exchange Hotel, William Street, Melbourne, Australia, farmer.  They agreed to sell the two properties to one of them, Mary Ponting, for £140 on 21st February 1896. 

Mrs Mary Ponting - Mary acquired the property when she bought it for £140 on 21 February 1896 following the death of her parents.  The Rate Books of 1899 onwards that we have seen reflect the fact that Mrs Ponting owned both these houses.  Mary was born in December quarter 1857, the daughter of Mark Crossman Meredith and his wife, Mary.  She married Edward John Ponting in the Chipping Sodbury area in June quarter 1888.  Edward was baptised on 21 April 1859, the son of George Ponting, a relieving officer, and his wife, Marianne.  Click here to read more about George and Marianne Ponting

In 1881 Edward had been living with his parents in Castle Street, where his father was working as a water bailiff and gardener.  In 1890 Edward went bankrupt with unsecured debts of £355 4s 10d.  He had been operating as a plumber, glazier and gas fitter for about 10 years.  He had set up the business with £30 capital, but he had borrowed a further £300, of which almost £200 had been spent on his house.  He blamed his situation on insufficient capital and high expenses connected with County Court proceedings.  In the 1891 census Edward and Mary were living in the High Street with their daughter, Beatrice Valentine Ponting baptised on 11 March 1889.  Edward was working as a plumber and gasfitter.  In 1901 Edward was listed as a plumber (shopkeeper) in the High Street.  He and Mary had three more daughters, Mabel aged 9, Hannah aged 7 and Sophia aged 3.

We don't know when Edward died.  Mary was listed in the 1926 Rate Book as the owner of the two properties.  Mary was a widow living in the High Street when she died on 3rd February 1927.  In her will dated 23rd June 1897 she had appointed her executors as Thomas Meredith - farmer of Earthcott Green and Edward Meredith.  Edward pre-deceased Mary Ponting, so it was Thomas Meredith who was left to sell the two properties for £200.  The purchaser was Mrs Mary Bell.

Mrs Mary Bell - an indenture dated 13th July 1927 conveyed the property from Thomas Meredith to Mrs Mary Bell, wife of George Thomas Bell of Gillingstool.  Mary was born about 1875, the daughter of George Ball, a farmer in Morton and his wife, Hannah.  Mary married George Thomas Bell in Thornbury in March quarter 1913.  George was born about 1868, the son of George Bell, a farmer in Lower Morton and his wife, Ann.  In 1891 George had been a general labourer living with his widowed mother.  In 1901 he was a wood box maker boarding with Charles Reeves in 5 St John Street.

George died on April 15 1941 aged 73 years.  Mary Bell died aged 75 years on 1st April 1950 whilst she was living at Southview, Gillingstool.  In her will dated 10th November 1941 she appointed her executors as Harold George Ball and Ernest Ball.   Harold was a Minister of Religion living at 157 Finlay Road, Gloucester and it was him who sold the property to Frank Leonard Smith for £225 on 24th May 1950.

NUMBER 7
Kathleen Irene Saunders - A conveyance dated 6 May 1941 shows that Mary Bell sold the westernmost of the two messuages (number 7) formerly in the occupation of W.H. Williams to Kathleen Irene Saunders.  Click here to read more about the Saunders family

We do not have any information about the owners of No. 9 since the Saunders family.

NUMBER 9
Frank Leonard Smith - Frank bought the property for £225 on 24 May 1950.  Click here to read more about Frank and his wife, Augusta

Chris and Helen Milne - Chris acquired the property on 29th May 1998 following the death of Augusta.  Chris runs the Blackthorn Centre School of Photography where he specialises in the areas of wildlife and religion.  He also organises trips for photographers to the major game parks of East and Southern Africa and the Indian Sub Continent.  For more information click on the following links:  http://www.photography-courses.com or http://www.chrismilne.co.uk

This page was last updated: 23/08/2010