28 and 28A Castle Street

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

The earliest records of the buildings that now make up 28 and 28A Castle Street  were found in the Gloucester Record Office.  They include a schedule of deeds which was drawn up in 1881 to show how the property came into the possession of the Riddiford and Freame (or Freem) families.

This schedule indicates that there was a property on the site since at the least the 1700's.  In fact, it appears from another piece of information that for a period of time there were   probably two properties which then became five, finally reverting to two households as in the present day. 

There is still no precise information as to how these properties were divided and the actual divisions could have changed at different periods.  The only indication of the possible layout can be got by studying the 1840 Tithe Map.  This seems to show that the first house (now 28) was divided into two on its street frontage.  The second property (now 28A) had three buildings built onto the back of it which are hatched to show that they were inhabited.  These buildings could have been like a court at the back of the houses fronting Castle Street.  It could have been accessed through the passageway which is to the south of number 28.

We are not sure how long this passageway existed or how big it was.  Looking at similar arrangements elsewhere in Thornbury we believe that if there was an entrance to a "court" at the back it would have been quite a small narrow one.  This theory is supported by a photograph that was probably taken in the first quarter of the twentieth century, possibly around 1910.  The photograph on the left is a thumbnail image of a section of this photograph and it shows a small door and a window where there was later double wooden doors and later still an archway.  Please click on the thumbnail to see a larger photograph.  Please note when looking at this photograph that the perspective is slightly distorted and the building looks narrower than it really is.  The first part of the house has a long banner on it which says "Long live the King and Queen."  The second taller part of the house has a sign on which juts out into the street and which says E J Salmon.  Please contact us if you want a better image of this photo.

A local history enthusiast, Mrs Riddiford,  has said that she can recall a time when the entry on the south side of the building went into a small courtyard which had four buildings in it.  Mrs Riddiford said that Eddington the printer owned one building, two others were residential and one was a butcher's store which once had meat hooks in the ceiling.  We have one photograph here on the right which illustrates the buildings Mrs Riddiford can remember seeing.  Click on the photograph for a larger image.

For many years the back of the house was used as a yard for the painting and decorating company owned by the Mills family which traded as Mills and Philips for much of its time  (certainly from 1923 to 1973).  The tall building at the back of the houses was said to be where the Mills family printed their wallpaper.

The photograph top left shows the front of the property when it was put up for sale in 1984.  A comparison with the photograph on the right shows that two front doors look very different.  The photograph on the right was taken in the early 1980's  when the rendering had been removed for repairs and shows evidence of other windows and doors having been moved at various stages.

Sally and Richard Embleton who bought the house in 1984 say that when they first had the property, the buildings at the rear were still standing.  The building on the left in the photo that shows the rear  was apparently made of doors which were rendered over.  The yard had a cistern which is quite a common arrangement in Thornbury.   Click here to read more about Thornbury's cisterns.  The Embletons themselves built a "decorative well" for watering the garden.  The house is built on Thornbury rock and has no cellar.

The catalogue for the auction of the house in June 1984 explains that it was currently one house but

"it is apparent from inspection that the existing dwelling was originally TWO SEPARATE HOUSES and there is a fascinating range of outbuildings to the rear which have established use as a BUILDER'S YARD AND PREMISES."

The catalogue describes four rooms with rear lobby and hall on the ground floor, five bedrooms and a bathroom on the first floor with a concealed staircase to a second floor and two more bedrooms plus an integral garage and a two storey workshop. The total building is so large that the Local Planning Authority indicated that they would welcome the property being converted into two or three townhouses and they suggested that the buildings at the rear could be demolished.  We find that interesting as the house is also said to be in a Conservation Area.

The Embletons divided the house into two and the smaller house, number 28, was occupied by Mrs Cockram, Mrs  Embleton's mother.  The Embletons lived in the larger property and it was called 28A.  They moved to France in 2003 where they have a gite in Bley in Cordes Sur Ciel. 

We have a list of the earliest owners before 1802.  However at this time we know very little about most of them.  Click here to read about the earliest owners of the houses

The first owner we have any detailed information about is Abraham Riddiford who appears to have bought the house in 1802.  Click here to read about the Riddiford and Freeme families who owned the properties.

From about 1861 the house was associated with three families who owned and occupied it for many years.

The Eddington family from before 1861 to about 1905.  Edwin and Eiza Salmon about 1905 to around 1916.

The Mills Family from around 1916 to 1984

Click here to read about the early occupants of 28 Castle Street.      Click here to read about the early occupants of 28A Castle Street.

This page was last updated: 29/01/2012