38 Castle Street

Occupiers

The early history of this house is linked to that of its neighbours as the six houses which are now numbers 32 to 42 Castle Street were all built by the same person, Joseph Parslow.

Click here to read about the early owners of property on this site

The owners of the house were for many years the owners of the house next door, number 36 and so the two houses are dealt with together.

Click here to read about the early owners of numbers 36 and 38 Castle Street

The rather poor photograph on the right shows this area of Castle Street in the 1930's when the sewer pipes were put in for the first time.  This must have been a huge improvement in living conditions at this time.

The Tithe number on the Tithe Apportionment Map for this house was the number 283 .  The table that accompanies this shows us that the house was owned by William Woodruffe but occupied by William Hurd.  Click here to read more about William Hurd.

By the 1841 Census the house was occupied by James and Phoebe Collard.  Click here to read more about Phoebe (the daughter of William Woodruffe) and her first husband James Collard.

In the 1851 Census the house appears to be unoccupied.

In the 1861 Census the house was occupied by George Mattey then aged 34 who was a scripture reader from Allensmoor in Herefordshire.  His wife, Elizabeth was aged 27 and from Gloucestershire.  The place of birth of their children seems to indicate that they have not been resident in Thornbury for very long at this stage.  The eldest child, James Henry then aged three was born in Cheltenham.  The other two,  Alice Emma aged two and Arthur Tom aged two months were born in Thornbury.  They had a young servant girl, Harriet Burge aged only 12 from Alveston. 

George Mattey was born about 1825, the son of James Mattey, a blacksmith and his wife, Elizabeth.  In the 1841 Census he was at home with his parents in Allensmoor.  By 1851 he had left home and had become a Primitive Methodist Preacher lodging with Francis Cooper.  He appears to have married Elizabeth Smith in Gloucester in the September quarter of 1856.

The Bristol Mercury of July 20th 1861 reported that "Mr George Mattey, Scripture-reader, Thornbury, is deserving of much praise for his exertions on behalf of the Institution (the Bristol Royal Infirmary) Mr Mattey having handed over £15 collected by him in Thornbury".

The family seemed to have stayed in Thornbury only for a few years.  They had three more children; Edgar George baptised in 1863, Sidney Herbert in 1865 and Charles James in 1867.

We are unable to trace this family anywhere else.  In the 1867 Rate Book George Mattey's name is crossed through and Boulton substituted. 

 The 1869 Rate Rook shows John Boulton. The Boulton family were associated with the house for about thirty years.  Click here to read about John and Susannah Boulton.  Susannah Boulton appeared in the 1891 Census for this house.

In 1894 Frederick Goulding lived in the house.  By 1899 Frederick had moved to Coombe Cottage.  Click here to read more about Frederick Goulding

In the 1899 Rate Book Charles Phelps lived in the house.  The 1901 Census shows that the tailor Charles Phelps then aged 26 was alone in the house, although he was married.    Click here to read  more about The Phelps family

In the 1905 Rate Book the house was occupied by Robert Stafford.  This is likely to be Robert Stafford who in 1901 was a boarder with Alfred Williams in the High Street near The Close.  Robert Stafford was a coachman born in Derbyshire about 1877.  In 1881 he was living with his grandparents in his home village of Stanton by Dale.  Click here to read more about Robert Stafford.

The 1910  Rate Book shows that George Wetmore lived in what became 38 Castle Street.  Click here to read more about George Wetmore

We know that in 1930 the house was occupied by George Stone. George Stone died in 1937.  Click here to read more about George Stone and his wife Eliza.

Because we have not had access to the deeds of the house, from this period onwards we have no records to guide us other than the Electoral Rolls.  Houses in Thornbury did not have numbers before 1954 so that year's Electoral Roll is our first definite record that Beatrice Nelmes lived at number 38.  However Beatrice and Charles Nelmes appear in the Electoral Roll for Castle Street as early as 1946 as well as in 1950 and so it is possible that they lived in this house at that time.

Charles Henry Nelmes was born in Newport Monmouthshire in the June quarter of 1878.  The 1901 Census shows that he was a tinworker in Briton Ferry, living with his mother, Margaret Cottle, and her husband.  In 1913 he married Beatrice Alice Lewis who was born in Thornbury on 31st July 1886.  Beatrice may have been the daughter of Frederick and Caroline Lewis who lived in Falfield.

After their marriage Charles and Beatrice seem to have continued to live in Wales.  Charles and Beatrice first appear in the Thornbury Electoral Registers in 1946 which is possibly when they lived in number 38 Castle Street.  Charles H Nelmes died in Thornbury in 1951 aged 72.  Beatrice died in Thornbury in the January quarter of 1973.

In the 1980 Electoral Roll the occupants of number 38 were said to be Caroline and Peter Beetham.

We have also been told that Mr and Mrs Len Crayston lived at this house for many years.

Click here to read about the early owners of numbers 36 and 38 Castle Street.

This page was last updated: 09/05/2012