of Porch House
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
Stokefield Cottages
The Hatch
Thornbury Cottage
Thornbury House
Porch
House in Castle Street, Thornbury, is one of the most distinctive and well known
buildings in the area. The photograph on the left was taken in the
1930's and shows the pump outside the house, which is the large one to the
right of the photograph.
The 1871 Census shows that the house was occupied by Arabella Nutt Thurston aged 38, a widow and landowner from Hampshire. She was living there with her three children; Henry Robert Bullen Thurston aged 9 and born in Ireland, John Neville Oldfield Thurston aged 8 born in Tenby South Wales and Edward Hugh Cotton Thurston aged 6 born in Romsey in Hampshire. They had three servants; Ann Snowden a cook, Harriet Trelet a nurse and Sarah Hodder a parlour maid.
Arabella was born in 1833 and was the daughter of Robert Bullen and Mary Nutt. We think that Robert Bullen came from the Weymouth area, but Arabella was born in Mauritius so he was probably in the Forces or Civil Service. Robert died in Romsey in 1869.
Arabella Bullen married Henry Neville Cotton Thurston who was baptised the son of John and Hannah Thurston of Kington on April 11th 1830. He was a nephew of Margaret Gwyn nee Thurston. Margaret Gwynn was the wife of Thomas Gwynn who owned the house, and they had lived in Porch House up to the time of their deaths in 1869, which probably explains why Arabella came to live in Porch House about that time.
Henry Thurston was baptised in Thornbury on 11 April 1830. He was the son of John and Hannah Thurston of Kington. Bristol Archives Office has a mathematics book dated 1845 which was owned by Henry Neville Cotton Thurston. Henry was involved in a court case which was reported in the Bristol Mercury on 2nd October of that year. Henry was accused by a labourer called Mr Greenwood of jumping out of a hedge and attacking him and knocking him to the ground. Mr Greenwood's statement included the information that he had drunk five pints of cider before the incident. Henry's statement included the information that Mr Greenwood had called him and his brother "D...d rogues." The verdict went in favour of the plaintiff who was awarded £8 damages as he had required medical attention and had not been able to do a day's work since.
Henry was gazetted as an ensign in the Third West York Infantry on 24th March 1853 and later became a Lieutenant. We do not know when Henry and Isabella were married but their first son Henry Robert Bullen Thurston was born in Fermoy in Ireland about 1862.
Henry Neville Thurston died in Romsey aged only 38 in the December Quarter of 1868.
We do not when Arabella moved away from Thornbury. By 1881 Arabella's youngest son, Edward was a boarder in Cliftonville College in Brighton. The rest of the family lived in Camberwell in Dulwich. Arabella then aged 48 was a landed proprietor. Her eldest son Harry was a Lieutenant in the Royal Glamorgan Militia and John aged 18 was a merchant clerk. By the 1891 Census Arabella aged 58 and born in Mauritius had returned to Awbridge, Romsey, with her son Edward then aged 26 and single and their three servants.
The 1901 Census shows that John Neville Oldfield Thurston had joined the Indian Civil Service. He and his wife Evelyn and son John were staying with his mother Arabella and his unmarried brother, Edward Hugh Cotton Thurston in Hampshire. The India Office list shows that John Neville Oldfield Thurston joined the Service in March 1886. He served in Burma as Assistant Commissioner and was made Deputy Commissioner in April 1900.
Arabella Nutt Thurston died in Romsey in 1909. Her youngest son Edward married Louisa Bullen in London in 1912.
Click here to read more about Porch House.
This page was last updated: 09/05/2012