The Plain

Number 9

In the above photograph taken about 1912 the house now known as 9 The Plain is the second house from the left between the Porch House and the ironmonger's shop.  We have not seen any deeds for this property and our earliest source of information is the 1840 Tithe Survey.  This shows that the property was Plot 256 - house and garden owned by Isaac Roberts and void.  It was also unoccupied at the time of the 1841 census.

Isaac Roberts - we don't know anything about Isaac except that the 1840 Tithe Survey shows he also owned the property next at 8 The Plain and a row of six old cottages in the Gloucester Road.  It says that Isaac was occupying one of the cottages, although it seems unlikely that he was actually living there.  There is an earlier reference to an Isaac Roberts having occupied the must mill which was located in St John Street but we don't know if this is same person.

George Watts - the 1859 Rate Book shows that George was the owner of the property.  He also owned the adjoining property at 8 The Plain, and the six old cottages in Gloucester Road.  George didn't live in any of these properties and we don't know any more about him.  The most likely George Watts was the grocer or butcher born in Wickwar in 1795 and he was living in Cromhall in the 1841 and 1851 censuses.

Charles Edwin Barker - the 1851 census shows the house was occupied by Charles E Barker.  Charles was described as a solicitor's managing clerk, a widower aged 36 and born in Surrey.  He was living with his daughter, Margaret M  described as a 'scholar at home' aged 10 and born in Bristol and Charles' sister, Margaret, an annuitant aged 42 born in Portsmouth.

Charles is a bit of a mystery - whilst the 1851 census shows he was born in Surrey, the 1861 (when he was living with his uncle and aunt in Lambeth) gives his place of birth as not known, and the 1871 census shows it as Swansea.  In each of these censuses he is living with his sister, Margaret who is shown in the 1851 census to be 22 years older than Charles whilst in the 1861 and 1871 censuses she is shown to be only 6 years older than him.

Charles married Mary Morgan in the Bristol area on 11th May 1840.  Their daughter, Margaret Mary, was born in the Bristol area in September quarter 1840.  The 1841 census shows Charles was a scrivener and he was living with Mary and Margaret in St James 7 St Pauls area of Bristol.

On 14th April 1856 Charles married Eliza Bretton in the Bristol area.  In 1861 Charles and his sister, Margaret, were living with their uncle, John Barker, a retired mariner, and his wife, Sarah in Lambeth.  Charles was a solicitors clerk aged 42.  Charles's wife, Eliza, was lodging in Clifton with their daughter Margaret. She was a dressmaker aged 49 born in Bath.

In 1871 Charles and Eliza and Charles' sister, Margaret, were all living in Marlborough Hill Place, Kingsdown in Bristol.  They were all living off 'Ground Rents  and Interest'.  Charles died in September quarter 1878.

Thomas Galsworthy - the 1859 Rate Book shows the property was occupied by Thomas.  Thomas was a minister of the Congregational Church (now The United Reformed Church).  Click here to read more

Charles Augustus Porter - the 1861 census shows the house was occupied by Charles Augustus Porter, an accountant and clerk.  He was living with his wife, Mary Ann, a schoolmistress aged 24 and their daughter, Ellen, aged 2 months.  Charles was born in Bath, Mary Ann was born in Street.  Click here to read more about the Porters

Thomas Ann - the 1862 Rate Book shows that Thomas was the owner of the property.  The last will of Sarah Beard dated 2nd January 1867 mentions that she bought the property from Thomas Ann.  

Walter Ellis - the 1862 Rate Book shows that Walter had recently taken over the occupancy of the property.  We suspect Walter was the son of Richard Ellis, the Thornbury chemist and druggist and his wife, Jane.  We can't be sure of this.  In 1861 Walter was an apprentice living with his parents in the High Street.  In early 1867 Walter had married Emma Mary Kingdon in Bristol and they were living in Totterdown in 1867 when their son, Walter Augustus, was baptised in Thornbury on 27th October 1867.  The baptism records shows that Walter had become a chemist.

Sarah Beard - the 1867 and 1871 Rate Books show Sarah Beard as the occupant.  Sarah had moved there from 22 Gloucester Road where she was living in the 1862 Rate Book.  The 1871 census confirms Sarah is now at 9 The Plain and shows Sarah as a farmer's widow aged 74 born in Littleton on Severn.  She is still listed as living in the house in the 1876, but now she is shown as owning the property as well as living there.  Sarah died in 1879 aged 83 years.  Click here to read more.

John Ford - the 1880 and 1885 Rate Books show that John Ford was the owner and occupant.  The 1881 census shows John was a maltster aged 29 from Rockhampton living with his wife, Annie aged 21 from Thornbury.  Click here to read more

Anna Weeks - the 1887 and 1890 Rate Books show that Anna Weeks as the occupant and Mark Savery as the owner.  The 1891 census shows Anna was a widow living on her own means aged 71 from Lansand? Monmouthshire.

Ann was born about 1820, the daughter of John Wetmore, a farmer.  In 1854 Anna married a farmer, Joseph Weeks who was a widower and the son of Edward Weeks, a farmer.  Joseph and his first wife, Mary, had a daughter, Louisa Augusta baptised on 1st December 1846.  Mary had died on 24th July 1850 aged 24.

Joseph and Anna had several children: Mary Elizabeth baptised on 3rd November 1845 and died after only 3 weeks, John Edward baptised on 10th April 1857 and died after 3 months, Alice Weeks baptised on 3rd June 1855 and Mary baptised on 22nd February 1860.  The 1861 census shows Joseph and Anna living in Kington.  Joseph was described as a farmer of 40 acres employing one man. Their two daughters, Alice and Mary were living with them.  The 1881 census shows the family living at St Arilds Farm, Kington. This comprised 123 acres and involved Joseph employing two men and one boy.  As well as Joseph and Anna, Joseph's daughter, Augusta  was there aged 36, and their daughter, Alice, and her husband, Thomas Ponting and their young daughter, Ellen aged 1.

Joseph died on 17th March 1884 aged 68 and this must have caused Anna to move into town.  Anna died on 14th December 1893 aged 74.

Mark Savery  - the 1887 and 1890 Rate Books show that Mark was owner of the property, but it was let out to Anna Weeks.  The 1894 and 1899 Rate Books show Mark Savery as the owner and occupant of number 9.   The 1901 census shows Mark Savery was living here.  He was an ironmonger aged 70 from Alveston living with his wife, Louisa aged 64 from Oldbury and a widowed boarder, Celia Letts aged 82 from Thornbury.  Click here to read more about the Savery family

In 1905 Rate Book the property is now void.

Thomas Llewellyn Davies - the 1910 rate book property owned and occupied by Thomas Llewellyn Davies.  Thomas was born in Liverpool about 1866.  He qualified as a medical practitioner (physician and surgeon) in 1893 after studying at Glasgow and Edinburgh.  In 1881 he was living with his widowed mother, Mary in Llandudno - he was an undergraduate of medicine.  In 1891 he was listed as a registered practitioner (general medicine) still living with his mother and siblings in Llandudno.

In 1899 Thomas is listed in the Medical Register as living at 103 Cathedral Road, Cardiff.  By 1906 he is is listed in the Thornbury Trade Directory.  The 1911 census shows he was living in the house as an unmarried surgeon aged 45, with just a housekeeper, Frances Look aged 48.  Thomas is still listed here in the 1914 directory and the 1916 Prewetts Street Directory.  Thomas is not listed in the 1918 directory, nor in any later electoral registers for Thornbury.  However he continues to be listed in the Medical Register up to 1931 giving his address as Thornbury so we suspect he was living outside of the town. The 1926 Rate Book shows that Thomas was still owner of the property, but it was then occupied by Mrs Honeyborne.

Luces  - we are not sure who occupied the premises immediately after Thomas Davies.  We know that from as early as 1931 and, may be earlier, it was taken over by a firm of auctioneers and estate agents.  The name of the firm has changed many times since that time, usually involving a member of the Luce family in partnership with one or more others (eg Moses Smith, Luce & Davies, Luce, Young and Alpass, Howse, Luce, Williams and Panes).  The building retained its appearance throughout this period with only one display board to the right of the door and a simple wooden name board across the frontage. 

It was Edward Luce who had started the firm.  As early as 1871 he is shown as being innkeeper and auctioneer at the Beaufort Arms in the High Street and listed as such in the 1877 trade directory.   In 1901 he was a farmer and auctioneer living at Grovesend Farm.  From 1889 he seems to have moved to live at Grovesend, but continued to operate from the High Street.  After his death on 20th September 1907 aged 66 the business was taken over by his son, Percy and then by Roy Luce.  Roy whose full name was Samuel Roy, was born in Suffolk in 1902, the son of Percy's elder brother, Nimrod Robert and his wife, Ellen Mary (nee Bryant) who were married in Wandsworth in 1898.  In 1911 Roy and his parents were living in Strood in Kent.

The little photograph above shows Percy.  It was extracted from a photograph of Thornbury Gleemen taken in 1896.  The Gleemen were a singing group who sang in and around Thornbury for many years.

The mid 1960's was a time of the big expansion of Thornbury with new houses being built to the North and the East of the town.  In order to take advantage of the increased demand for houses Luce Panes ripped out ground level frontage and put in the large modern display window seen today with a large name board above the window.

The property is still today used by an estate agents, although now as R.A. Bennetts. 

This page was last updated: 22/01/2012