Introduction
After serving his apprenticeship on a Yeovil housing scheme in the 1920s, Norman established a business that became one of the most successful local building firms in the area.
Early life
Norman was born on 15 March 1906 at Hardington Mandeville, the eldest of three children born to George William Partridge and his wife, Rose Harriet Louisa (née Partridge).[1] His siblings were Reginald Clement Joseph (known as Clement or Clem), born in 1909, and Ruby Rosalind, born in 1919.
George was a stonemason and bricklayer. Rose was his second cousin and the daughter of Joseph Parsons Partridge, who had kept the Royal Oak Inn until his death in 1904, when it passed to his widow, Louisa.
George and Rose initially lived in a cottage between the School House and the New Inn. On 26 April 1909, Norman was admitted to Hardington School.[2] During the First World War, George served with the Royal Engineers and the Royal Flying Corps for three and a half years.[3] After the war, he returned to Hardington and resumed his work as a bricklayer. In 1921, he worked for the Kingston Housing Scheme in Yeovil, and Norman was an apprentice bricklayer with the same scheme.
By December 1923, George owned a cottage and orchard at Hardington Moor, which he may have purchased in the estate sale of October 1920.[4]
Marriage and family life
In 1930, Norman married Vera Christine Gould, the daughter of Harland Gould, a journeyman baker of West Coker. The couple settled at 15 Wraxhill Road, Yeovil, where they had two children: Isabella Jane, born 1933, and Anthony George, born 1937. In May 1937, Vera advertised in the local newspaper for a girl used to children to come daily or sleep in, suggesting that Norman was doing well enough to afford domestic help.[5]
Meanwhile, George became the licensee of the Queen’s Arms at Corton Denham.[6] In 1941, Norman and his wife hosted a tea at the inn for all the schoolchildren under eleven, as well as the evacuee children in the village.[7] After George’s death in 1946, Norman’s sister Ruby moved in with him and Vera. Ruby later married in March 1948.[8]
The building business and later life
By 1935, Norman had established his own building business, which proved highly successful.[9] In February 1938, the Sherborne Rural District Council accepted his tender of £1,575 to build four houses at Adber.[10] Later that month, he advertised a six-room modern house to let in Wraxhill Road.[11] In July 1950, Norman and Clement formed a company named N & C Partridge Ltd to take over the building business that Norman carried on at North Lane, Yeovil.[12] Norman’s son later joined the company. [13] In January 1970, Norman was still active in the company.[14]
During the 1950s, Norman and Vera moved to 1 West Coker Road, Yeovil, where they remained for the rest of their lives. Norman died on 19 June 1979 at the age of seventy-three, leaving an estate valued at £231,910, reflecting the success of his building business.[15] Vera died on 14 August 1984 at the age of seventy-seven, leaving an estate valued at £53,512.[16]
Conclusion
Norman was one of the most successful builders to emerge from Hardington during the twentieth century. Beginning as an apprentice bricklayer on a municipal housing scheme, he built a thriving family business that remained closely associated with Hardington for decades.
References
[1] Civil registration birth index; Hardington School admissions register; civil registration death index; 1939 Register; family reconstitution.
[2] Hardington School admissions register.
[3] Western Gazette, 2 August 1946, p.2.
[4] Hardington rate book for 31 December 1923.
[5] Western Gazette, 7 May 1937, p.3.
[6] Western Gazette, 2 August 1946, p.2.
[7] Western Gazette, 17 January 1941, p.3.
[8] Western Gazette, 2 April 1948, p.3.
[9] Kelly’s Directory of Somerset, 1935, p. 526.
[10] Western Gazette, 11 February 1938, p.4.
[11] Western Gazette, 14 October 1938, p.8.
[12] Western Morning News, 19 July 1950, p. 5.
[13] Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser, 27 August 1960, p.2.
[14] Bristol Evening Post, 6 January 1976, p.2.
[15] National probate calendar,
[16] National probate calendar,
