Introduction
George William Partridge played a leading part in the civic and sporting life of Hardington before becoming landlord of the Queen’s Arms at Corton Denham, where he continued his involvement in parish affairs.
Early life
George was born on 22 August 1876 at Hardington Mandeville, the youngest of five children born to William Wethey Partridge and his wife, Charlotte (nee Rendell).[1] When George was just one year old, his father died of phthisis pulmonalis.[2] The following year, his mother married Simeon Rendell, an army pensioner, with whom she had two more children: Arthur and Susan.
By April 1881, the family was living at Hardington Moor, along with Simeon’s father, Thomas.[3] After Thomas’s death, they remained in Hardington, moving between cottages before returning to Hardington Moor by 1901. By that time. only George and his half-brother, Arthur, were still living at home. George was a stonemason, while Arthur was a mason’s labourer.
On 6 June 1905, George married Rose Harriet Louisa Partridge at Hardington. 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 moved into a cottage between the School House and the New Inn. They had three children: Norman Clifford, born in 1906; Reginald Clement Joseph, born in 1909, and Ruby Rosalind, born considerably later in 1919. The 1911 census recorded George as a bricklayer.
In 1907, George’s stepfather, Simeon Rendell, died of sarcoma of the neck at the age of sixty-six.[4] In January 1911, Rose’s mother, Louise, died of a brain haemorrhage at the age of seventy. By April 1911, George’s mother, Charlotte, was working at the Royal Oak as a general domestic servant for James Saint Partridge. Charlotte died in September 1920 at the age of seventy-five.
George was involved in village sport from a young age. In the mid-1890s, George began playing for Hardington Cricket Club and the Football Club.[5] As a young man, he held several responsible positions, serving as treasurer of both clubs as well as the Athletic Club.[6] He was also a member of the parish council, a churchwarden and a school manager.[7]
During the First World War, he served with the Royal Engineers and the Royal Flying Corps for three and a half years.[8] He survived the war and returned to Hardington, where he resumed his work as a bricklayer. In 1921, he worked for the Kingston Housing Scheme in Yeovil.
By December 1923, George owned a cottage and orchard at Hardington Moor, which he may have purchased in the estate sale of October 1920.[9] This ownership marked his transition from a tenant craftsman to a property owner.
Move to Corton Denham
In 1930, when he was in his mid-fifties, George’s life took a different turn as he became the licensee of the Queen’s Arms at Corton Denham.[10] He succeeded Percival Edward Thomas, who had died on 6 June 1930 aged thirty-six after running the inn for about eight years. [11]
George’s move to Corton Denham may have been influenced by his brother-in-law, James Saint Partridge, the landlord of the Royal Oak inn at Hardington Moor. It could also have been prompted by his two sons, who were by then in their twenties. In 1930, Norman married Vera Christine Gould, the daughter of Harland Gould, a journeyman baker of West Coker, and settled at 15 Wraxhill Road, Yeovil, where he established a building business. His brother Clement may have worked at the Queen’s Arms and, by 1939, he was a builder as well.
Life at Corton Denham
While living at Corton Denham, George continued his interest in parish affairs, serving as a school manager and clerk to the Parish Council.[12]
On 1 September 1935, Rose passed away in her sleep at the age of fifty-four after a long illness. The first part of her funeral service was held at Corton Denham, with burial at Hardington, led by the Rev. Richard James Hunt. Many family members attended, including her five surviving siblings.[13] After her death, George continued to run the inn, while also managing a smallholding.
During the time of George’s predecessor, the inn had been a centre for youth activities, including scouting, and George continued the tradition.[14] On Whit Monday 1936, the Dart Club invited all the village children under fourteen for tea and sports at the Queen’s Arms, with about forty children attending and Ruby Partridge presenting the prizes.[15] A similar event was held the following year, at which Clement presented the prizes.[16] In 1941, Norman and his wife hosted a tea at the Queen’s Arms for all the schoolchildren under eleven, as well as the evacuee children in the village.[17]
On 27 January 1940, George’s son Clement married Effie Guppy, the eldest daughter of James and Alice Guppy of Clapton Farm, Cucklington.[18]
George passed away on 24 July 1946 at the age of sixty-nine. The rector of Corton Denham conducted a service at the house before the cortege left for Hardington, where the Rev. Paul Greaves officiated. The family mourners included George’s three children and three surviving siblings. Many Hardington people also attended. George died intestate, leaving an estate valued at £4,092 14s 8d, which was administered by Norman.
George’s children
In October 1946, the licence of the Queen’s Arms was transferred to Clement.[19] In July 1950, he and Norman formed a company named N & C Partridge Ltd to take over the building business that Norman carried on at North Lane, Yeovil. At that time, Clement lived at Brookmead, Hardington Moor, but he later moved to West Coker Road, Yeovil.[20] Meanwhile, Ruby married Cyril Watson of Chorley, Lancashire, in 1948.[21]
Conclusion
George successfully combined skilled craftsmanship with active public service. In both Hardington and Corton Denham he became one of the reliable village figures that local organisations depended upon. His move into innkeeping in middle age demonstrated his openness to new opportunities. The building business later established by his sons suggests that he contributed to the family’s continued prosperity.
References
[1] Civil registration birth index; 1939 Register; family reconstitution.
[2] Death certificate of William Wethey Partridge.
[3] Thomas’s wife, Susanna, died on 22 February 1873 at the age of 68.
[4] Death certificate of Simeon Rendell.
[5] Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser 17 July 1895 p. 7; Western Gazette, 2 August 1946, p.2.
[6] Western Gazette, 13 October 1911, p.3; Western Chronicle, 7 February 1913, p. 5; Western Gazette, 2 August 1946, p.2.
[7] Western Gazette, 2 August 1946, p.2.
[8] Western Gazette, 2 August 1946, p.2.
[9] Hardington rate book for 31 December 1923.
[10] Western Gazette, 2 August 1946, p.2.
[11] Western Gazette, 13 June 1930, p.10.
[12] Western Gazette, 2 August 1946, p.2.
[13] Western Gazette, 13 September 1935, p.5.
[14] Western Gazette, 13 June 1930, p.10.
[15] Western Gazette, 12 June 1936, p.6.
[16] Western Gazette, 1 August 1937, p.4.
[17] Western Gazette, 17 January 1941, p.3.
[18] Western Gazette, 2 February 1940, p.12.
[19] Western Gazette, 25 October 1946, p.4.
[20] Western Morning News, 19 July 1950, p.5.
[21] Western Gazette, 2 April 1948, p.3.
