The Kingswood History Society

Iain delivered a captivating talk, initially covering the life of IKB then linking the great innovations of his age to the major changes in the world. IKB was born in 1806 in Portsmouth and was 53 when he died in 1859. Educated in France. He is well known for his designs relating to the GWR, Clifton Suspension Bridge, SS Great Western and SS Great Britain in relation to Bristol. Do you know what the SS stands for? The SS Great…

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A well-attended event presented at length by our speaker. He started by explaining that in the early 20th century, there were no hospitals in the east of the city. Therefore Handel Cossham, a man with a good fortune, in his will bequeathed to pay for a hospital on Kingswood Hill. The hospital was built in 1907, 4 wards each with 80 beds. Resident Matron, Doctor and Gardener appointed. Honary (no pay) and Working Consultants were used. The matron had extensive…

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Black Country Living Museum (Dudley, West Midlands) Date – Friday 5th September Leave Kingswood Park at 08.00 Return 16.00 Journey time approx 2hrs Comfort break there & back Cost – Members £10 Non-members £25 includes entrance to Museum – both are subsided, so great value for money ! Payment in cash at either June or July KHS meeting. Further info: Canal and Caverns trip while at the museum can be purchased; You can book the standard trip online; we have…

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An intriguing view of Bristol, covering only bridges that can be walked across and spanning waterways. From the Avonmouth Bridge to St Annes at the end of the Feeder, if you are clever, you can cross each one only once, total distance ironically 45km. As you might expect Bristol Bridge is the oldest, starting as wooden bridge in 1000AD and remained the only bridge in this context until 19th century. Did you know that St Nicholas Church was moved to…

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Attendees commented how interesting they found Philips talk. Several new facts and unknown stories. Initially a distinction was made between Pirates and Privateers as the characters often switched between the two. It was said that the anchorage off Portishead (The Kings Road) was more important than the Bristol Docks. Apart from the docks Minehead, Bridgwater were well-known and indeed there were plans for Martello Towers along the channel, although none built. Lundy Island was quite prominent as being a navigational…

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Whitefield Tabernacle at Kingswood

Ian presented a well attended talk on this sometimes forgotten large company in Fishponds. Exact position is now the site of the Lodge Causeway Trading Estate but little remains. The company moved to Cornwall in 1969 and most records were destroyed. Ian has meticulously researched the pottery with interviews of many ex-employees and builds on an interest in his pottery collection. The company started way back in 1662 in St Annes, then moving to Temple Back, St Phillips Marsh and…

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Chairman opened the meeting at 7.30pm welcoming all attending members. Apologies: None Minutes of the previous AGM were reviewed. Keith required his name to be corrected to Nikless. There were no others matters arising. Proposed & Seconded Chairman’s Report was read. This included Ray standing down but would like to still be involved as appropriate. Finalising details for a grant next year. No matters arising. Proposed & Seconded Secretaries Report was read. Mainly thanking for help in particular to Cecile…

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Lundy at the mouth of the Bristol Channel is an island approximately 3 miles long by ½ mile wide (north to south). It is a plateau 300ft above the sea. The talk by Andre mainly covered the island when in the hands of the Harman family, in particular Martin Coles Harman (MCH), an entrepreneur who from an early age said he would buy the island. He did in 1925. In its day it was visited by the Campbell’s steamers and…

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