NEWTON Manor Farm near Bath

[Isambard]

Hi again Isambard

There was a Manor Farm to the south of Bath. It was on Church Road between Widcombe Hill and Prior Park Road, where it becomes Ralph Allen Drive. It appears to have been part of Widcombe Manor estate but could have been attatched to Prior Park. It maybe that it wasn't seperately identified until the Widcombe Manor estates were split up. I can easily find it on my 1981 map of Bath but it is not shown on 1901 Ord Survey map.
I realise this is not to the North but sometimes directions are mistaken.

Tony Evans

Thanks Tony.
Manor Farm Widcombe appears to have been created in the late '40's or in the '50's, since it is not listed in the 1940 or 1947 Bath Directories. In any case no Newtons were found in the 1940 and 1949 Electoral Rolls for Widcombe.

[kiwipom]

Well maybe we need to cast the net a little wider but still in the Bath Region. This also is not to the North of the City but there was (is) a Manor Farm at Claverton Down. Seems adjacent to where the American Museum is located and stretching down to the Warminster Road.

I say (is) because when I googled it I got results for commercial units in the modern era.

Tony E

[Kevin Garrad]

In my reply (#20) I listed all the Manor Farms I could find near Bath in the 1891 census.
And bear in mind that the farm was apparently within walking distance of Bath Railway Station (but which one?!)

Bath Spa railway station is on the south side of Bath.
North East would take you to Bathwick, or possibly Bathampton.
There is a Manor Farm at Claverton, but that's east of the station, and over Claverton Down - quite a walk!

Just looked at TNA, 1891 Census Street Index for Bath. The following came up (with 1891 references):

Manor Farm, RG 12/1939, Folio 97
Manor Farm, Bathampton, RG 12/1931, Folio 159
Manor Farm, Bathford, RG 12/1940, Folio 79
Manor Farm, Englishcombe, RG 12/1930, Folio 65
Manor Farm, Langridge, RG 12/1940, Folio 7
Manor Farm, Southstoke, RG 12/1930, Folio 84
Manor Farm, Swainswick, RG 12/1940, Folio 31
Manor Farm, Wellow, RG 12/1930, Folio 107
Manor Farm, Woolley, RG 12/1940, Folio 11

There are also various Manor Cottages (3), Manor House (7) and a Manor Lodge.

[kiwipom]

In my reply (#20) I listed all the Manor Farms I could find near Bath in the 1891 census.
And bear in mind that the farm was apparently within walking distance of Bath Railway Station (but which one?!)

Bath Spa railway station is on the south side of Bath.
North East would take you to Bathwick, or possibly Bathampton.
There is a Manor Farm at Claverton, but that's east of the station, and over Claverton Down - quite a walk!

Just looked at TNA, 1891 Census Street Index for Bath. The following came up (with 1891 references):

Manor Farm, RG 12/1939, Folio 97
Manor Farm, Bathampton, RG 12/1931, Folio 159
Manor Farm, Bathford, RG 12/1940, Folio 79
Manor Farm, Englishcombe, RG 12/1930, Folio 65
Manor Farm, Langridge, RG 12/1940, Folio 7
Manor Farm, Southstoke, RG 12/1930, Folio 84
Manor Farm, Swainswick, RG 12/1940, Folio 31
Manor Farm, Wellow, RG 12/1930, Folio 107
Manor Farm, Woolley, RG 12/1940, Folio 11

There are also various Manor Cottages (3), Manor House (7) and a Manor Lodge.

I also saw these records but none could be said to be in "easy" walking distance from Bath Spa Station. I did say Claverton would be in the wrong direction, but then, directions may be misremembered over time and, as you say, Clarverton is (and was) a fair hike from Bath Spa
The only one which would suit Isambards criteria is Manor Farm Widcombe which, we are assured, was not a seperate identity in 1891. However his research has not shown his relatives living there.
I did look through the 1944 phone book, expecting a farmer would have a phone, but no Newtons on a Manor Farm.
Tony E

[Hollytree]

In my reply (#20) I listed all the Manor Farms I could find near Bath in the 1891 census.
And bear in mind that the farm was apparently within walking distance of Bath Railway Station (but which one?!)

Bath Spa railway station is on the south side of Bath.
North East would take you to Bathwick, or possibly Bathampton.
There is a Manor Farm at Claverton, but that's east of the station, and over Claverton Down - quite a walk!

When I went to Bath last week I looked in the Bath directory to see if there were any Newtons listed at a farm, but no one............it maybe as you think that these people were transitory....

My mother lived in Monkton Combe during the early part of WW2, and she used to walk from there into Bath, up the dramway onto Combe Down and then down hangmans lane and Prior park road.

Not impossible, and don't forget that people walked a lot more during the war. The tram stopped at Shaft Road, which is Claverton (almost).

I worked at the MoD at Foxhill, caught the train into Bath and walked up the lane to work.


Bath is and was a honey pot, people came and stayed for a few months/weeks and during the war was filled with servicemen. I have some photos of my mother and cousins with young airmen draped over their shoulders!

Anne

[Isambard]

I also saw these records but none could be said to be in "easy" walking distance from Bath Spa Station. I did say Claverton would be in the wrong direction, but then, directions may be misremembered over time and, as you say, Clarverton is (and was) a fair hike from Bath Spa
The only one which would suit Isambards criteria is Manor Farm Widcombe which, we are assured, was not a seperate identity in 1891. However his research has not shown his relatives living there.
I did look through the 1944 phone book, expecting a farmer would have a phone, but no Newtons on a Manor Farm.
Tony E

Given the lack of additional information forthcoming from my ex-RCAF contact, looking for Newtons with a Cornish connection in the Bath area now appears to be more difficult than looking for the proverbial needle.

A quick look at the 1911 census on-line, using typical family given name Newtons, located in Somerset and born in Cornwall drew blanks. Given that most of my family line of Newtons stayed within southwest Cornwall until the 1920's, I suspect that the Bath area Manor Farm Newtons may have been migrants, perhaps prompted by WWII. I do have one Newton born in Canon's Town near Penzance, who died in Birmingham in 1994.

[Andrew Mead]

Is 'Bath Spa' station an assumption or confirmed - what about Bath Green Park, or even Weston (Bath)?

[Isambard]

Is 'Bath Spa' station an assumption or confirmed - what about Bath Green Park, or even Weston (Bath)?

My ex-RCAF contact can't recall which station it is was, although he and my uncle probably arrived by train from York via London.

[Hollytree]

Is 'Bath Spa' station an assumption or confirmed - what about Bath Green Park, or even Weston (Bath)?

I didn't know that there was a station at Weston?

Green Park Station (now a supermarket carpark and indoor market) is only a five minute walk along the river bank from Bath Spa station. The topography was different then, with old warehouses where there is the Technical College, Student accommodation and a carpark...........but not a difficult walk.

The old Midland line runs sort of parallel with the river..........(west of the city). There was a station at Twerton, but that would have been closed by then, and part of GWR.

Years ago I travelled to Chesterfield from Green Park, can't remember exactly which way the line went, but certainly not towards Weston, more up towards Oldfield Park (another station there (GWR) still in use). Green Park was a terminus station, my parents took me there a few times and I can remember the steam spurting out from the side of the locomotives and scaring me to death!

I have walked along the what is now the cycle path toward Bristol. Not sure what line that would have been.......... but that is a bit below Weston.

But I am sure that others will correct me........

Anne

[radstockjeff]

Weston was the first station out from Bath Green Park toward Bristol, on the old Midland line. The buildings are still there in Ashley Avenue, now a Consulting Engineers office.
This station is about 10 minutes walk from the village of Weston, gently uphill.

radstockjeff