Introduction
Paul Saint was a farm labourer who spent most of his long life in North Perrott, with a brief but significant period in the early 1880s spent at the remote Romsey farmhouse in neighbouring Hardington Mandeville.
Childhood
Paul Saint was born at North Perrott in late 1852 or early 1853, the tenth of fourteen children born to Mark and Elizabeth Saint, who lived in Front Street. The 1851 census recorded his father as a twine and rope maker and his mother as a web weaver. While his mother continued as a web weaver into the 1870s, his father was a farm labourer by 1861. This shift from skilled work to labouring may have undermined the family’s financial stability.
After starting work as a farm labourer at a young age, Paul quickly developed valuable skills. On 13 October 1868, he won second place in a second-class ploughing match while working for E. Slade of North Perrott, earning a fustian coat valued at £1 as his prize.[1]
First marriage
In February 1873, Paul’s father died at the age of 57. Around this time, Paul began courting Frances Hallett, a web weaver who lived in the village with her widowed mother. The couple married at the parish church on 14 September 1875 and established their home in the village. Frances became pregnant shortly after their marriage, but her health was fragile. She died on 5 July 1876, soon after giving birth, due to syncope caused by heart failure at the age of 24. The inquest found no blame attached to the midwife.[2]
Second marriage
The baby, Frances Elizabeth, survived and was probably cared for by Frances’s sister, Emma Jane. On 6 October 1877, Paul married Emma at the Beulah Chapel in Seavington St Mary. Although marriage to a deceased wife’s sister was technically illegal, they made no secret of their marriage, even placing a notice in the Somerset County Gazette.[3] Over the following seventeen years, they had six children together.
Romsey Farm
Paul and Emma initially lived in North Perrott village before moving to Romsey Farm, Hardington, where they lived from about 1881 to 1885. The farm’s remoteness, coupled with the agricultural depression of the time, meant there was no demand to operate it as a working farm. As a result, the farmhouse was rented to Paul, who lived there as a farm labourer. While at Romsey, Paul’s two youngest children were admitted to North Perrott School: Frances Elizabeth on 9 May 1881 and Herbert John on 2 April 1883.[4] Two more children were born at Romsey: Sidney Thomas in 1881 and Alice Kathleen in 1885.
Haselbury and Yeovilton
By November 1888, the family had moved to Haselbury Plucknett, where Henry Frank was born. They briefly resided at Bridgehampton Cottage, Yeovilton, where they were in April 1891.
Later years at North Perrott
By August 1891, they had returned to North Perrott, where two more children were born: Albert Harry in 1891 and Mabel Nellie in 1894. From 1891 to about 1908, they lived in Middle Street and subsequently at New Buildings.
Alongside his paid work, Paul was a keen gardener. In October 1877, he won a prize of six shillings for the well-tended state of his allotment.[5] In August 1885, he won second prize for a collection of vegetables at the annual show of the North Perrott Horticultural and Cottage Garden Society.[6]
By 1910, all the children had left home except for Albert and Henry. Albert emigrated to Canada in May 1910, while Henry married in 1916, initially moving to London and later to South Wales.[7]
Emma died in 1919 at the age of 69. The 1921 census recorded Paul living at New Buildings, North Perrott, with his married daughter, Mabel. He was then employed as a carter by Sidney Mattick of Down Close Farm. Paul died in September 1934 at the age of 81.
Conclusion
Paul’s life, while seemingly unremarkable, reflects the skill, adaptability, and quiet resilience required to sustain a large working-class family through several decades of agricultural change.
References
[1] Western Gazette, Friday 16 October 1868, p.4; 18 December 1868, p.8.
[2] Western Gazette, 14 July 1876, p.7; Bridport News, 14 July 1876, p.4.
[3] Somerset County Gazette, 13 October 1877, p.9.
[4] North Perrott School Admissions Register.
[5] Western Gazette, 12 October 1877, p.5.
[6] Western Gazette, 28 August 1885, p.3.
[7] Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960.
