2 Castle Street

Owners

1840 Tithe Map
(PDF file format)

Castle Street
Numbers
 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6 Oriel Cottage
 7
 8 Oriel House
 9 Lion House
10 Wigmore House
11 Porch House
12 Epworth House
13
14 Bank Cottage
15 Clematis Cottage
17 The Priory
20
22
24
26
28 & 28A
30
32 to 42
44
46
48
50 Munday Cottage
Fairfield House
Stokefield House
The Hatch
Thornbury Cottage 
Thornbury House

Number 2 Castle Street is the gabled property on the left of the above photograph which was  taken in the 1970's when the property was known as John's furnishers.

This looks to be a very interesting property.  It is a grade two listed building.  It has the appearance of a  17th Century timber framed house with its two gables.  It also has three diagonal brick chimney stacks.

Although we have not been able to see the deeds we know something about many of the people who have been associated with this house.

Thomas and Mary Bingham                                         about 1753 - about 1800

Henry Bingham                                                            about 1800 - 1831

Sarah the daughter of Sarah and John Carter           1831 - 1846

Thomas and Sarah Penduck                                       about 1850 - 1880

John and William Payne                                             about 1880 - about 1905

W H Ponting                                                                about 1894 - about 1905

We do not have very much information about the owners of 2 Castle Street after 1905.  We would be very grateful for an opportunity to see the deeds or to hear from anyone who can tell us more about this property.  The Rate Book of 1910 says "Executors of Late Hammond" but again we do not know to whom this refers.  On the 13th December 1947 there was an advertisement for the sale of the Estate of Sylvester Hammond deceased.  The sale included the shop in Thornbury let to the Lydfords and a pair of cottages on the Scop in Almondsbury near Thornbury.  The website "Gloucestershire Pubs" tells us that Sylvester Hammond was landlord of the Bowl Inn in Almondsbury in records dated 1919 and 1939.  This appears to be confirmed by a similar item in "Bristol's lost Pubs" website.  We would very much like to hear more about Sylvester Hammond and his connection to this house.

We do know however that the house was occupied by the Lydford family who rented it for many years.

After the Lydfords we have been told that the John family lived there and they also ran a furniture shop on the premises.  We have a letter written by Mr John from "J & N Johns House Furnishers" of Castle Street dated 5th November 1966 which expressed an interest in renting the Old Register Office which suggests that the shop needed new premises.   The application was rejected at that time.  We know that in the later 1960's they moved to the then new arcade between the High Street and what is now St Mary's Centre.

After the John family it may have been a newsagent's shop or newspaper office for a short period.  It later became a car parts shop run by Dennis and Carol Wilkinson.

This page was last updated: 29/01/2012