Bertie Walter Dyke, a beloved husband mourned
Western Gazette, 23 June 1922, p.12. The In Memoriam notice shown above appeared in the Western Gazette newspaper on 23 June 1922. It contains conventional verse testifying to a wife missing her husband, but also includes a religious message that without the hope of meeting again in heaven, life would be meaningless. The death certificate […]
MISS JEARUM-MUSIC TEACHER AND CHURCH ORGANIST
Introduction This is the story of how the Surrey-born Lillie Louise Jearum became a music teacher and church organist in the small, relatively secluded village of Hardington Mandeville in Somerset. In this modest setting, her musical talents served to enhance the services in the parish church, enrich the lives of her pupils, and generally add […]
An autumn vigil
On the evening of Thursday, 21 October 1886, Thomas Pine Laver left a meeting of the Melplash Agricultural Society at Beaminster to ride the six miles home to his farm at Mappercombe. At 38 years old, he was a widower with three young children, having lost his wife, Betsy, just six months earlier. A witness […]
Tragic death of village’s adopted son
On the fateful day of 28 January 1952, Anthony Vivian Younger of Hardington and Ronald Russ of West Coker were killed when their lorry crashed through a barrier at Netherton Lane, Closworth, and ended upside down in a river. The workmen building a dam for the new reservoir rushed to the scene, but their efforts […]
Brice Frost, the Delinquent Cyclist
At Yeovil magistrates court on 5 February 1924, Brice Frost of Moor Farm, Hardington, was accused of riding a bike without lights on 22 December. Brice wrote a letter apologising for his absence and explaining that this was his first offence. He said he was unemployed except for temporary postal work and that someone had […]
Nurse Rhodes, a dedicated healthcare professional
Introduction Joan Dorothy Rhodes’s life is distinguished by her pivotal role as the district nurse and midwife at West Coker Surgery from 1946 to 1976.[1] She played a critical part in providing community nursing at a time when the National Health Service transformed healthcare in this country. Birth in Little Eaton Joan was born two […]
A present for mother
In 1889, Grace Marsh of Hardington was a domestic servant at Long Load vicarage, a position she probably acquired with the help of her sister, Emma, who worked for the Vassall family at Hurst Manor, Martock. On 22 March 1889, Grace made up a parcel for her mother, which contained a box of primroses, a […]
The indefatigable Salome Valentine Wallace
Salome Wallace, Hardington’s Head Teacher 1912-c1920. Introduction When the children returned to Hardington school in January 1912, they found themselves with a new head teacher, the formidable Miss Salome Wallace, an impressive figure and a strict disciplinarian. Early life Salome was born in Islington on 14 February 1872.[1] She was named “Salome” after her maternal […]
William George Sercombe
Early life at Hardington William was born at Hardington in 1876, the first child of George and Mary Jane Sercombe. His father was an engineer, and his mother was a schoolteacher. By the age of fourteen, he was a printer’s office boy, probably working at the Western Gazette with his father. William enjoyed sports, playing cricket […]
Extreme weather events
Hopefully, Hardington will never see anything as bad as Hurricane Milton, but here are accounts of three extreme weather events in the 1890s. On Saturday, 25 August 1894, a storm wreaked havoc in the village, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. At Manor Farm, water overflowed from the the pond because the hatches […]