Hallatrow

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I took the following pictures in late June 2000, during a family holiday to the area where my husband's Blinman and Goold ancestors lived in the early 19th century. Hallatrow is a small hamlet, wedged between the villages of Farrington Gurney and High Littleton, just a few miles from the city of Bath.

William Goold married Elizabeth Blinman in the Abbey of St Peter and St Paul in Bath on 23 February 1809. Both families lived in Hallatrow, though the Blinmans attended the church at High Littleton, and the Goolds- somewhat reluctantly, we suspect, since the family were Baptists- walked the mile or so to Farrington Gurney.

Elizabeth Blinman was probably born at Hallatrow farm, where her family had lived since moving into the village back in the 1740's. The house still exists, but is now called Manor Farm House. William Goold was a tanner by trade, and it is almost certain that he lived and worked in a tannery across the road from Hallatrow farm. The tannery ceased trading in 1817, but some of the buildings may still be in existence in the grounds of a house called Osmunda.

1888 Map of Hallatrow

1888 Map showing location of Hallatrow farm (Manor Farm) and the tannery buildings opposite.

 

Manor Farm House, formerly Hallatrow farm

Hallatrow farm (now Manor Farm House) birthplace of Elizabeth Blinman in 1784

 

Entrance to Osmunda from the farm

View from the farm across to the (likely) entrance to the tannery, now the garden of "Osmunda"

 

Osmunda

View of Osmunda. The house was probably there long before the tannery.

 

If you want to see more photographs click on the thumbnail below to go to the full size view.

 hallatrow osmunda entrance.jpg (100355 bytes)  hallatrow osmunda garden.jpg (90588 bytes) hallatrow manor farm2.JPG (90989 bytes)

Extract from "A History of High Littleton and Hallatrow" published as a millennium project by the Village of High Littleton..

 In 1760 Thomas James purchased the house now called Osmunda and two years later acquired from Thomas Dando (called ''the tanner" to distinguish him from two other Thomas Dandos Iiving in Hallatrow) a strip of land adjoining the road, which is now Osmunda's garden. On this he erected a malthouse. Behind this was a tannery, which had been operated by generations of Dandos. ..... After passing through several hands, Thomas James' grandson, another Thomas James, took over the tannery, some of whose buildings had been converted into tenements by then. In 1817 he sold it to Richard Langford, who demolished the lot and converted the site into an orchard and garden.

Maybe it is wishful thinking- since I have no proof as yet, but I believe that William Goold is one of the "several hands" that the tannery passed through.

William and Elizabeth left High Littleton some time after the baptism of their fourth child Mary in June 1817. By 1819 they were living in Corsham, and were joined by other  members of the Goold family including William's brother Uriah, and their father. The Blinmans stayed on in Hallatrow and were prominent members of the local community for much of the 19th century.

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Photographs © Julie Kimpton 2000 . Please ask before using any images from this page.