A MINEHEAD MANSION

Cleveland situated on Minehead’s North Hill has been much in the mind of Conservation members since it is one of the listed buildings that would be adversely impacted if the recent application for 12 houses in Beacon Road were to be given the green light. I mentioned in my article on evacuees that Cleveland had been used to house some during WW2 and thought readers might be interested in two of its former owners.

A wealthy chemical engineer called Mr Thomas Lomas, who was born in Salford in 1828, settled in Minehead in 1875. and opened the Bristol Channel Chemical works The arrival of the railway had opened up the area and its attractions, encouraging many properous people to seek it out, as a place to live. It was described at the time as ‘a favoured spot where the climate was kind and the views facing South magnificent.’

He looked around for a place to build a family home and favoured a spot in the woods above his works but his attempts were unsuccessful largely due to the lack of a reliable water supply, although there is evidence of some foundation work having taken place. Two years later however an article in the WSFP recorded:

‘A splendid residence has lately been erected near the church for a Mr Lomas.T he site is most suitable commanding a charming view of scenery. On Saturday last , all the men who had been employed on the work were invited to a substantial dinner in the Feathers Hotel with Mr Lomas presiding.’

The Bristol architects Foster and Wood were commissioned to design a two storey house of brick and timber in the Jacobean style with five projecting gables with carved strapwork, decorative bargeboards and tiling.

Thomas and Jane had two sons John, the younger became a painter. His wife was also a painter and enameller. After she died he moved to Timberscombe where he died in 1950. The older one Harold was a pioneering photographer. He started his photographic work in 1888 at the age of just 16yrs old. He often rode to hounds carrying a heavy plate camera. The results provided magic lantern shows or pictures for journals and newspapers. As the result of being awarded top prizes in an International competition he became a member of the Royal Photographic Society in 1900. As soon as they became available Harold obtained a motion picture camera. He used it in 1901 to produce the first film ever taken while riding with hounds called ‘The Chase of the Wild Deer.’ This was shown both in Minehead and the Palace Theatre, London.

Thomas brought William Shrive to Minehead to lay out his gardens at Cleveland. Later, Shrive became well known in the town when he opened a seed, florist and greengrocery shop at the corner of Market House Lane and The Parade.

The Shrives were prominent Methodists and closely linked to

Clevelands as early meetings to discuss the building of a chapel were held there, and Jane Lomas, Thomas’ wife was asked to lay the foundation stone of the new Avenue Church.

Sadly, the Lomas family did not live many years at Cleveland as they encountered financial difficulties. It is thought that a fire at the chemical works or the wreck of a ship carrying supplies for the factory could have resulted in bankruptcy. Machinery and contents of the works were put up for sale by auction in 1886 and in 1889 the family moved to a more humble dwelling, Cleveland Cottage. The house was sold to a Belgian Baroness.

This lady had the unbelievable name of Baroness Marie Amelie Phillippine le Clement De Taintegnies. It has been said that she was an aunt of the King of Belgium but had lived in Britain most of her life. She frequently visited the West Country and stayed for a short while at Woody Bay followed by 10 years at Ashley Combe, Porlock Weir , as a guest of Lord Lovelace. Then she bought Cleveland in 1889 to which she made some alterations and additions.

She loved birds and had a great many aviaries in the gardens some housing very rare species. She was a regarded as a fearless huntswoman and frequently followed the Cloutsham Hunt. She was very keen on the Foxhounds as well as hunting with the Devon and Somerset Staghounds and the Minehead Harriers. In fact it was the Baroness who laid the foundation stone for the new kennels for the Minehead Harriers at the end of Periton Lane in 1895 ( I drew attention to the plaque marking the building in my Parks Walk article).

Some people now deceased spoke of how she used to make frequent trips into town complete with her complement of carriage and livery footmen, which inevitably drew attention.

The Baroness was a generous benefactor to The Sacred Heart Catholic Church as well as to the St Louis Convent which provided sanctuary for Belgian refugees. 250,000 came to Britain during WW1 fleeing the German invasion. A young lad called Brittan, who worked in the gardens at Cleveland signed up in 1915 despite being a few months too young, and was

Join Us For A Sing Along

sent abroad. The Baroness arranged for cigarettes and tobacco to be sent out to him from the Army and Navy Stores in London!

She opposed the introduction of the first motorised charabancs into Minehead. We know this because her name appears on the petition which was presented in 1908.

We know that Marie de Taintegnies born in 1848 married Edouard Emile’ Honore’ Roussille, born in Mons, Hainaut, 1843 and they had a son called Edouard. When Edouard Snr died is unknown, he is simply recorded as having ‘passed away’. It was obviously before the Baroness came to Cleveland. She herself died in Minehead on August 10th 1932 at the age of 83 yrs. Her ghost is said to haunt the house up until today. Maybe someone living there now would like to let us know if they have seen her!

I should like to thank everyone who has already bought a copy of the ‘Minehead and Beyond’ book in aid of Minehead Conservation Society , and especially AR Computing, Park Lane Home Furnishing, The TIC and Townsend House for agreeing to sell copies.

Singing is good for both the brain and body, but most of all it is fun. The Voices of Exmoor invite you to a Sing Along in Dulverton Town Hall on Saturday 29th April between 10 am and 1pm. Drop in at any time to listen or sing and talk to our members over a cup of tea.

The Voices of Exmoor is a mixed voice community choir open to all, regardless of ability or experience. Its members enjoy singing with others and, in doing so, aim to spread an enthusiasm for their love of music to all.

After we have covered our concert costs, we make a donation to our chosen charity for each year. Over the 16 years that we have been singing, thousands of pounds has been donated to many local charities.

www.voicesofexmoor.co.uk

Ambitious plans to transform education in Somerset

As a result, schools from across the county and Council education professionals have committed to join forces to tackle challenges head on, support each other, and deliver much needed improvement.

Claire Winter, Somerset County Council’s Acting Director of Children & Families Services said:

“Though the recent exam results were disappointing for everyone working in education in Somerset, they’ve provided us with a really strong mandate for change. We have significant work ahead, but we’re united by a shared vision of a better future for children and young people in Somerset.

Somerset County Council’s new five-year education strategy was shared with professionals from across schools, local authorities, Ofsted and the Department for Education at the Somerset Education for Life event, held at Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton last month.

The new plans have been developed following reports that Somerset is in the top ten Local Authorities nationally for the proportion of inadequate schools, and recent poor exam results across the board.

Clear 5-year goals were proposed at the event, including:

• Improved access to support in the early years of life so that every child is ready to start school confidently

• Increased inclusion in all schools, educational settings and in our communities so every child is actively involved in their education 100% of the time

• Strong and supportive leadership capacity within and between Somerset schools so that improvement is shared, sustainable and educational outcomes are improved in every key phase

• Ensuring young people have access to further and higher education in the county, so they can develop adaptable skills equipping them to join and progress in the workforce in Somerset. The Strategy was shaped and informed by research conducted by think and action-tank the Centre for Education and Youth (CFEY), who attended the event. CFEY’s research led to a recommendation that Somerset’s schools and the Council should work more closely together to achieve the ambitious targets outlined in the Strategy.

“We are holding ourselves accountable for these ambitions, and have asked CFEY to develop a data framework to check we are all making progress against our objectives. For example, by surveying school leaders, we can check they feel effectively supported by the Council and have opportunities for shared training and development, and by surveying parents we can find ou t what the barriers to schools attendance are.“

Councillor Tessa Munt, Executive Lead for Children & Families at Somerset County Council, said:

“The event was aptly titled ‘Somerset Education for Life’, because a great education needs much more than just time spent in school. A great education is built on foundations of a healthy and loving home environment, access to educational and cultural experiences whether online or in the physical world, and a culture which supports children and young people to reach their full potential. This means that quality housing, nutrition, healthcare and excellent transport are all critical parts of the recipe of an excellent education.

“We have high ambitions for education in Somerset – it is, after all, a place which has nurtured many current leaders in business, culture and even politics – and their influence can be felt across the world stage. Investing in our children and young people is investing in the future – they are our future leaders, and will be the ones to tackle and hopefully overcome some of the seemingly impossible challenges we grapple with today.

“So while the old saying ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ certainly rings true, with this Strategy we are asking you to join us in imagining what an entire county can achieve. We firmly believe that by working together we can help children thrive and reach their full potential.”

You can find out more about Somerset Education for Life at Education for Life Strategy (somerset.gov.uk).

If you have any questions regarding moving into Wyndham House, please do not hesitate to call a friendly member of the enquiries team.