Gifts from Portugal
In 1885, Rev Cleife’s uncle, John Cleife, paid for various improvements to the church, namely patent duplex lamps, a hot air heating apparatus, matting and a clock for the tower. Messrs. Hancock, Cox, and Co. of Yeovil supplied the clock of “iron frame or Denison type, fitted with Graham’s dead beat escapement.” It had two […]
Publican in trouble with the law
In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the police and magistrates strictly enforced the laws that applied to licensed premises. The police would often visit pubs to ensure everything was in order. On Monday, 12 December 1921, at about 9.30 p.m., P C Roberts, the policeman stationed at West Coker, visited the Royal Oak Inn […]
A communal response to the devastating tragedy of war.
Fifty-eight men from the village served in the armed forces during the First World War, of whom twelve lost their lives. Even before the war ended, the village was making plans to commemorate the fallen. On Friday, 8 February 1918, a whist drive and dance in the schoolroom raised £12 18s for the village Memorial […]
Sunday School Children’s New Year’s Party
On Monday, 4 January 1909, Mrs Cleife, the rector’s wife, treated the Sunday School children and helpers to a New Year’s party at the Rectory. Between forty and fifty took part. After enjoying delicious food in the Parish Room, the children moved into the dining room to play games around a giant Christmas tree lavishly […]
Who stole Archibald’s cheese?
On Monday, 20 January 1913, Archibald Partridge, a cheese hawker of Hardington, stopped at the New Inn, West Coker, leaving his horse and trap in the archway.[1] When he returned to his trap, he found a whole cheese and a smaller portion missing. Determined to catch the person responsible, he went to report the crime […]
Hardington’s Nobility
On 5 January 1937, Sir Basil Hardington Bartlett, the second Baronet of Hardington, and Helen Mary Malcolm were married at St Bartholomew the Great, Smithfield, London. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Rev. Philip Mandeville Bartlett (the groom’s uncle) and the Rev Sir Murland Evans conducted the service.[1] The wedding attracted much attention because the groom […]
A Roll Call of Winners
At Hardington’s WI Flower Show on Saturday, 21 August 1965, Mrs Winifred Turner of Manor Farm enjoyed spectacular success when her table arrangement triumphed in a new class created to commemorate the golden jubilee of the WI movement, and she won more points overall than any other member of the local branch.[1] Mr Edward Charles […]
Tinder-dry crops
In July 1959, the weather was exceptionally dry, parching the ground and withering crops. At Pendomer, a spark from a railway engine set fire to a quarter acre of wheat, while at Font Hill, West Coker, two and a half tons of baled hay belonging to Sonny White of the Royal Oak, Hardington Moor, was […]
Hardington’s Ploughing Champion
On Thursday, 2 October 1969, Malcolm White of Hardington Moor excelled in the Young Farmers’ annual ploughing championships held at Home Farm, Kings Weston, winning the Gulf silver cup and qualifying for the national ploughing championship in 1970.[1] Malcolm was participating in a tradition of farming competitions that, locally, goes back at least as far […]
A Wartime Letter
Shortly after Christmas 1914, Bessie Eastment of Hardington received a letter from her husband, George, a soldier serving in France with the First Battalion of the Dorset Regiment.[1] After showing the letter to family and neighbours, Bessie sent it to the Western Gazette for publication. George and Bessie married in 1911 when he was 27 […]