Introduction
Harold Charles Curtis was the landlord of the New Inn, Hardington, from 1923 until the 1960s, making his long tenure a notable part of the village’s history. He came to Hardington around 1920, after serving in the army during the First World War. Before the war, he spent his childhood at Stourton and Kilmington in Wiltshire. In 1918, he married Frances Rosina Gifford, a farmer’s daughter, with whom he had one son, Percy.
Childhood
Harold was born on 10 June 1891at Stourton, Wiltshire, a parish where the Curtis family had lived for over a hundred years. His father, John, was a woodman on the Stourhead Estate, a role that had been passed down through three generations of the family. His grandfather, George, served as the caretaker of King Alfred’s Tower later in life.
The Hoare family, who owned the estate, laid out its magnificent lake and parkland in the eighteenth century. When Harold was three years old, Sir Henry Ainslie Hoare, the 5th baronet, died, and the estate and title were inherited by his cousin, Sir Henry Hugh Arthur Hoare, who lived until 1947.
Harold’s parents married at Stourton in 1875. His mother, Lucy Parfitt, had moved to the parish from Berkley to work as a general servant at Bonham Farm. The couple lived in several houses on the estate, including Drove Lodge and Tucking Mill. Harold was probably born at either the lodge or the mill.
He was the eighth of John and Lucy’s nine children. Like his siblings, he attended the village school from the age of five, leaving around the age of twelve. By March 1901, the family lived at Tucking Mill with Lucy’s elderly mother, Ann Parfitt, in three rooms next door. At that time, Harold, aged nine, lived at home with five siblings, while three others had already moved out.
At that time, all his brothers pursued traditional manual jobs: William worked as an estate labourer, Walter as a gardener, Edwin as a mason, Richard in the woods, and Clarence was a servant at Kilmington. However, over the next decade, they all demonstrated a remarkable surge of adventure and ambition. Between 1903 and 1907, William and Clarence went into business together as grocers and drapers in the nearby village of Kilmington.[1] Walter found a job at Wincanton and married in 1904. Edwin moved to Chippenham, where he married in 1905 and emigrated to the USA shortly after, while Richard emigrated to Canada in 1907. Harold’s sister, Gertrude, was possessed by the same spirit. She married William Farthing, a carpenter and house decorator, in 1905 and emigrated to Canada around 1911.
William and Clarence’s business venture at Kilmington put the family on a new track. John, Lucy, Harold and Fanny joined them there. By 1911, the business had become a family enterprise, with John, Harold and Fanny working as assistants. Clarence, however, had moved on to become a baker at Aller in Somerset.[2] The shop continued through the war, but closed before June 1921.[3]
First World War
At the start of the war, Harold worked as a baker in the family business. He enlisted in the Army Service Corps on 17 February 1916 at the age of 24, following the introduction of conscription. His service number was 173903.[4] His service records described him as 5 feet 5¾ inches tall, weighing 136 lbs, with flat feet and in need of dental treatment. He was mobilised on 28 April 1916 and assigned to work in a field bakery.
By 1918, Harold’s health became a concern for the army authorities. In the first seven months of that year, he was examined four times at Chatham. He was found to have “great cardiac irritability and dyspnea” (shortness of breath), resulting in a reduction of his fitness rating from B1 to B2. [5]
These assessments suggest that Harold remained in England for much of his service. On 10 April 1918, he married Frances Rosina Gifford at Marston Bigot. She was the eldest daughter of George and Emma Gifford, who farmed for many years at Bell Vue Farm, Nunney. In August of the same year, he travelled to Brighton to attend and act as a witness at his sister Cecilia’s wedding. Despite his health concerns, Harold was made an acting lance corporal on 24 October 1918.
He remained in the army for ten months after the war ended. In April 1919, he received treatment at Warlingham Hospital. Harold was promoted to acting corporal on 1 July 1919, and he was discharged on 28 September 1919.[6]
Hardington
Harold and Frances’s only son, Percy Harold, was born at Nunney on 22 December 1919. At that time, the post-war economy was depressed, and Harold may have struggled to find steady work. Through Frances’s brother, Samuel Gifford, who was the tenant of White Vine Farm, Hardington, the couple learned of an opportunity in that parish. By June 1921, Harold, Frances and Percy were living at Hardington Marsh, where Harold worked as a labourer for Theo White at Grove Farm.
1923 proved to be a turning point for Harold. On 14 April, Henry Sandiford Jr., the landlord of the New Inn, Hardington, died just days after being declared bankrupt. [7] On 2 May 1923, the brewing firm of Messrs. H. M. Lang & Co. applied for a temporary transfer of the licence to them as mortgagees in possession.[8] Harold applied for the tenancy, and the licence was officially transferred to him on 6 June.[9]
Harold may have financed this new venture from his savings or family money. His father-in-law died on 13 May 1923, leaving an estate valued at £1,280 14s 6d. Most of his estate was bequeathed to his wife for her lifetime and then divided equally among his six surviving children.[10]
Harold combined innkeeping with farming. On 12 December 1927, he won second prize for a fat beast in the smallholders’ class at the Yeovil Fat Stock Show.[11] On 27 November 1936, he won second prize for his Shorthorn bull under 12 months old.[12] He also won first prize for cooking apples at the Yeovil Show in both 1937 and 1938.[13]
In the 1930s, Harold operated an informal taxi service. On 29 October 1930, Mrs Eliza Whetham of Prospect Farm, Hardington, hired him to drive her, her daughter Hilda and Miss Voizey to Ilminster. On the way, Harold’s car collided with another at Farringdon’s Cross. At the ensuing court case, the judge ruled that Harold had been driving correctly and awarded him damages.[14]
On 24 March 1932, Frances’ mother died at the age of 80. Her death allowed Frances to inherit from her father. In 1934, Percy left Hardington school to work for Petters in Yeovil.[15]
On 19 December 1935, Harold, Frances and Percy were among the many mourners at the funeral of Walter Oxenbury of White Vine Farm, Hardington.[16] A year later, Harold was one of the many licensees who attended the funeral of Joseph Lang, the chairman of H. M. Lang and Co. Ltd, at Curry Rivel.[17]
The 1939 Register listed Harold as a licensee and farmer and Percy as an aircraft fitter. At that time, Gertrude Gifford, wife of Frances’s nephew, Leslie, was staying at the inn, probably as an evacuee from London. Tom Backholler, a man with learning difficulties, lived in a hut on the premises.
During the Second World War, Percy served with airborne forces and then with the Royal Engineers. He took part in Operation Doomsday, when Allied troops flew into Norway at the time of the German surrender in May 1945.[18] His marriage to Rhoda Bessie Hutchings in 1942 resulted in two children: David and Mary.
During the war, the Curtis family became friendly with Lucy Green, an evacuee from London whose husband died in April 1940. By 5 July 1947, Lucy was living at the inn, and she remembered the family in her will.[19]
In May 1960, Harold advertised some dairy equipment for sale, suggesting he had either given up farming or was preparing for retirement.[20]
Death
Harold died on 23 September 1966 at the age of 75. Frances lived to the remarkable age of 104, dying in 1988, while their son, Percy, died in 2019 at the age of 99.
References
[1] Kelly’s Directory of Wiltshire, 1903, p.123; Kelly’s Directory of Wiltshire, 1907, p.124; Kelly’s Directory of Wiltshire, 1911, p.128.
[2] By August 1916, Clarence was a master baker at Aller. That month, the Somerset Appeal Tribunal granted him a conditional exemption from military service (Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser, 16 August 1916. p.3.
[3] Kelly’s Directory of Wiltshire, 1915, p.129; British Army World War I Service Records, 1914-1920. For Harold Charles Curtis.
[4] British Army World War I Service Records, 1914-1920.
[5] British Army World War I Service Records, 1914-1920.
[6] British Army World War I Service Records, 1914-1920.
[7] Western Gazette, 20 April 1923, p.3.
[8] Western Chronicle, 4 May 1923, p.10.
[9] Western Chronicle, 8 June 1923, p.10.
[10] The will of George Gifford, dated 26 January 1923, proved in London on 15 August 1923.
[11] Exeter and Plymouth Gazette 13 December 1927 p. 7.
[12] Western Gazette 4 December 1936 p. 15.
[13] Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser 10 September 1938 p.16.
[14] Langport and Somerton Herald, 22 February 1930, p.3.
[15] The Hardington Messenger, July 2019.
[16] Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser, 25 December 1935, p.8.
[17] Langport & Somerton Herald, 12 December 1936, p.5.
[18] The Hardington Messenger, July 2019.
[19] The will of Lucy Mabel Ann Green, dated 5 July 1947, proved at Bristol on 28 December 1950. She bequeathed Harold her furniture, including a grandfather clock, and her £50 war loan, Frances her clothes and wristlet watch, Percy her wireless and case of books, and David (Percy’s son) half of all her money in her accounts with the Post Office and Bank and of her War Certificates.
[20] Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser, 14 May 1960, p.4.