The Parish Council are pleased to be able to display the following photographs showing historical views of the village. The majority of these photographs were collected by the late Philip Lewis when he was researching, as part of the Village History Group, for information to be contained in the Millennium History of Woolavington book.
Harvest Home celebrations C1920. The people are gathering outside Pool Farm, then owned by the Baker family, and many are standing around the pond near the site of the Millennuim Garden
A farmer returning home from milking in a horse and trap with his son and dog.
A scene in Lower Road near what is now No 5, probably in about 1920.
Roadmen working on Woolavington Hill again probably in about 1920. Note the steam driven road roller in the background which could have been supplied by Buncombes of Highbridge. The house is now known as No 31 Woolavington Hill and was one of the first on the Hill.
Another Harvest Home. I am not sure of the exact location.
A view of nos 1 and 3 Church Street C1920. Note the shop at No 1. The properties have since been modernised. There is also a roadside barn, which formed part of Dawbins Farm, where no12 Church Street now stands.
A view looking east along Lower Road from The Batch at Hectorstones. The date is pre 1950 as the bungalow at 14 Lower Road is not built and there is a continuous stone wall where the entrance to Mortimer Close is now located. The outbuilding at 17 Lower Road has recently been rebuilt as a garage with living accommodation above. Also note the large elm trees beyond 12 Lower Road which fell victim to dutch elm disease in the 1970s.
Haymaking at Pool Farm - approx 1930s
A view of Pool Farm from what is now the site of the Village Hall. The pond can be seen on the Batch and judging by the clothes worn by the children, it would probably have been taken in the 1890s or early 1900s
Another view of Pool Farm taken from the east. The top gates of the Grange can be seen in the background and the row of pine trees have yet to be planted. There would appear to be a class of school children sitting on the Batch with their teacher and the date is likely to be around 1900.
A view of Pool Farm in the late 1940s/early 1950s. A metal haybarn can just be seen where 6 Higher Road now stands. The pond has been filled in and two telegraph poles stand on the Batch but there is no sign of the three Coronation trees. Pool Farm was farmed by Robert and Charlotte Baker until 1953 when it was purchased by Leonard (Jack) Haggett.
The first Post Office in the village was believed to be at the corner of Vicarage Road and the Hill, now known as Crossways but then as Myrtle Cottage. The 1891 census lists John Knight (1809-1895) as postmaster - he was 81 at the time - and his daughter, Miss Emily Lye Bartlett Knight (1842-1927) as postmistress. Another daughter Miss Lucy Lye Bartlett Knight (1847 -1891) was the schoolmistress. The Post Office later moved to 1 The Square.
The Post Office at what is now 3 Lower Road. It was run by Miss Lily Haggett (1883-1964) from 1933 until 1952. Prior to 1933 the Post Office was run by Ellen Mayhead (1864-1951) from what is now 1 The Square. Lily Haggett lived with her brother Horace (1876-1953) who was disabled but worked as a tailor. When Miss Haggett retired, the Post Office was taken over by Harry Allen and he ran it from 27 Lower Road from 1952 to 1965.
Lower Road in the 1950s - showing a post box in the wall of no 27 when it was the village Post Office. It was run by Harry Allen and his wife Edith Mary.
Harry Allen moved the Post Office from 27 Lower Road to a more central location in the village at 10 Woolavington Hill in 1964. The premises at Lower Road were then run as a general store with a ladies hairdressers attached for a number of years by William and Gladys Wallace. Mrs Allen sadly died in 1965 and Harry moved to 2 The Square with Edwin and Doreen Loaring taking over the Post Office. They were replaced by Peter and Valerie McShane in 1968. The view of the Hill in 1964 is before the bungalows were built by Mr Roland Chinn (nos 9 to 27) and before the road was realigned to the south of the crossroads. Visibility when emerging from Vicarage Road was much worse than it is now. A lack of pavements is also noticeable. Woolavington Hill was the only access to the School from the properties at the top of the Hill and parents had to walk with their children along the side of the road!
The main shop for the northern part of the village from 1949 to the mid 1970s was Darch's stores run by Randolph Darch (1914-1984) and his wife Helen (1919 - 2007). The picture is likely to date from the 1950s with the Esso sign at Causeway Garage and the elm trees on the bend at Meadow Farm.
The White Lion Inn was at The Square. The Inn closed in 1913. The last licensee was Mrs Sarah Bacon (1833-1916). It is said that the licence was allowed to lapse by the owners of the premises (the Wyburn family who lived at The Manor) as female members of the family objected to seeing people drinking when they came out of the Methodist Chapel on Sunday mornings. This photograph was probably taken in late Victorian times and it would appear that building work is taking place at the School (now 4 Church Street). 2 Church Street was two semi-detached cottages.