The 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
Stokefield Cottages
The Hatch
Thornbury Cottage 
Thornbury House

The house that is today called Fairfield House in  Castle Street, Thornbury  has changed subtly over the years.  The larger black and white photograph on the left shows it as it was before World War Two.  The coloured thumbnail sized photograph on the right which was taken in the 1980's shows some of the differences.  This view shows that there have been more windows opened up on the street side and there appear to be more dormer windows in the roof.  Please click on the small image for a larger photograph. 

Click here to read more notes about the building.

Owners of the house

Edward Mathew 1788.  We know little about Edward Mathew at this time.  In the documents of 1764 by which Edward acquired a neighbouring house, The Chantry, from William Gyles he was described as a ship's carpenter from Bristol.   Click here to read more about Edward Mathew.

Susannah Pearce 1788 - 1791.  Susannah Pearce was the daughter of John Morse Pearce and his wife Elizabeth (nee Bell).   Susannah was baptised on 22nd December 1766 at Berkeley.  In 1788 Edward Mathew left the house  which is now known as Fairfield House in Castle Street Thornbury to his great niece Susannah Pearce of Middle Mill, Berkeley.  On the 12th May 1791 Susanna Pearce of Middle Mill sold the house and its garden on the south which was 40 feet by 40 feet, together with the stables and outbuildings to Arthur Taylor a tanner for £350.  Click here to read more about Susannah Pearce.

Arthur Taylor  1791- 1800(?).  On the 12th May 1791, Susannah Pearce sold the house for £330 to Arthur Taylor, a tanner of the Hackett.  Arthur Taylor was an executor of Edward Mathew's will.  Arthur Taylor of Thornbury married Elizabeth Pearce of Berkeley on 6th April 1778 at Stone near Thornbury.  In his will dated 1st April 1797 Arthur Taylor left what is now Fairfield House to his wife Elizabeth for her lifetime.  After her death it was to become the property of Susanna Jenner (formerly Pearce) from whom he bought the property.  Click here to read more about Arthur Taylor.

Henry Jenner and Susannah Jenner nee Pearce and their children 1809-1818.  Susanna Pearce married Henry Jenner on 13th December 1792 at Stone.  Susanna's children inherited Fairfield House after the death of their mother.  In 1818 all her surviving children had attained the age of 21 and an indenture  between Susanna, Caroline and Stephen Jenner sold Fairfield House and its grounds to William Henry Robinson of Mary le Bon in Middlesex the son of the then tenant Susanna Robinson.  Click here to read more about Henry Jenner and Susannah Jenner nee Pearce.

William Henry Robinson and his son William Henry Robinson II 1818 - 1852.   By 1818 the ownership of the house having passed to the surviving children of Henry and Susanna Jenner, they sold it to Mrs Robinson's fifth son William Henry Robinson for £650.  William Henry Robinson was living in London at that time with his wife Catherine nee Skinner.  Lady Catherine Robinson was buried at Little Marlow, Buckinghamshire, having died on 3rd July 1843.  By her will dated 27th November 1837, she left her house and premises at Thornbury to her son William Henry Robinson and his intended wife Georgiana Buckle, daughter of Admiral Buckle.  In 1852 when he sold the house to Edmund Lloyd, William Henry was a Major.  Click here to read about William Henry Robinson.

The Lloyd Family 1852 - 1934.  The 1840 Tithe Map shows that the house was then owned by Lady Catherine Robinson the widow of Sir William Henry Robinson but the tenant was Major Edmund Lloyd.

In 1852 Edmund bought the house, garden, stables and coach house for £600.  He died on 4th June 1855.  His widow Catherine Elizabeth survived him until 9th February1878 and continued to live in Fairfield House. 

The son of Edmund and Catherine, Henry Hume Lloyd succeeded his parents to the ownership of Fairfield House, which on his death (4th March 1904 ) he left  to his widow Alice.  In April 1878 the house and gardens were valued at £1,500.

Mrs. Alice Lloyd continued to occupy the house with her family until her death on 26th August 1934.  In 1925 when some adjoining property came into the market she took the opportunity of improving the house by the purchase of the field to the East of the house.  The price paid was £275.

Captain Sears.  In 1936 the house and grounds were sold to Captain Sears who renamed the house "Ruskin House," it having been known for many years as "Hume House."  Captain Sears was a prospective parliamentary candidate for the Labour Party and the name of the house reflected his political leanings. 

In 1933 Captain Sears had appeared in Bow Street Court.  He had removed a wreath from the cenotaph which was placed there by the emissary of Herr Hitler, Dr Rosenberg.  Dr Rosenburg had earlier justified the harsh measures taken by the Nazi Government against Communists and Jews.  The German newspaper "Berliner Tageblatt" expressed astonishment that Captain Sears had only been fined for this behaviour.  A similar act in Germany would have been treated more severely.

In September 1936 Ruskin House (as it was then known) was the venue for a meeting of the Thornbury Divisional Labour Party which was attended by Rt Hon. Arthur Greenwood MP Deputy Leader of the Opposition.  Arthur Greenwood spoke against the arms race, although he felt the country should meet its obligations and he was concerned about the rise of Fascism.  During his speech an aeroplane circled very low around that part of Thornbury and part of his speech was drowned out.  We have no idea if this was deliberate!  Captain Sears also spoke and explained that he joined the Labour Party because he believed the teachings of God should be applied to everyday life in a practical way.  He was then drafting a bill proposing a glass of milk  for every school child every day in an attempt to solve the problem of malnutrition.  This measure was included in the Education Act of 1944 but we do not know if Captain Sears played any part in this.  It was not implemented until the Free School Milk Act of 1946.

In 1936 there was also a report of Captain Sears and his wife attending a Labour Party dance at Berkeley.  They arrived during the interval and Captain Sears spoke vehemently about the dangers of Fascism and about the two million malnourished children in this country.  Presumably the dancing then resumed!

In 1937 the local Gazette had a letter from Captain Sears from his home in Ruskin House, Thornbury.  The letter expressed Captain Sears' concern for child welfare in Thornbury.   He wrote of his astonishment that the same room was used for a T.B. clinic and as a child welfare clinic and that to make matters worse the room had no ventilation.  He wrote to the Medical Officer for the County asking if there could be an extension so that two rooms could be added.  He offered to get a fund together to equip the two extra rooms as a dental clinic and a sunray clinic.  The forthcoming Carnival and Flower show which were under the auspices of the Labour Party would be in aid of this fund. 

On August 28th 1937 the Gazette carried an article about the resignation of Captain J E Sears from the Thornbury Division.  The article referred to the great contribution Captain Sears had made during his two years in Thornbury during which time he had lived at Ruskin House.  The Labour Party expressed the hope that the Sears would stay in touch with Thornbury, although he had "now left town."  In August 1937 Capt. Sears sold the house to John P. F. de Salis, who again changed the name.  This time the house became known as "Fairfield House."    

John Fane and Susan Fane de Salis 1937-1971.  Mr Fane de Salis was born in 1897.  He was the son of Cecil Fane de Salis and his wife Rachel.  Click here to read about John and Susan Fane de Salis

In 1971 the house was bought by Drs John  and Diana Whallett who moved here from The Coombe in Gloucester Road.  John and Diana came to Thornbury in 1965 to join the practice of Dr Prowse and Drs John and Alison Causton. 

This page was last updated: 09/05/2012