1

Sept. 2013 Steeple Ashton Newsletter Article

Version: 07.06.14 (9 pages)

The cruck-framed cottage in Dark Lane, after the fire of July 9th

1974

This cottage caught light due to an ill-fated attempt to burn garden weeds, causing a fire in

the thatch. A similar fate befell ‘Quince Cottage’ in 1970 (also in Dark Lane North), when a

chimney fire ignited the thatched roof. Both were subsequently restored – with tiled roofs.

Only two houses in Steeple Ashton remain thatched.

Bryan writes more about the front-cover photo…

In late June this year, close friends of our daughter lost their thatched cottage in

Oxfordshire due to a fire which started in an adjoining barn, and then spread through the roof.

Fortunately for them, being Grade II Listed, it will be re-built using as much of the salvaged

material as possible. I am reminded by this incident of the 1974 fire at the cruck-framed

thatched cottage in Dark Lane. It was set ablaze after a tenant tried burning off garden weeds

with a paraffin-fuelled, pressurised flame-gun: the flames ignited a hedge, which then lit the

low-hanging straw roof. Thinking about this has re-kindled my long-held intention to review

some of the thatched homes of Steeple Ashton which have – for various reasons – been lost

over the years.

2

The cruck-framed cottage in dark lane – photographed some years prior to the blaze

The only houses in the village to retain their thatch are ‘Old Chesils’ in Dark Lane North,

and ‘The Three Tuns’ at the entrance to Silver Street. The others that were thatched have

been re-roofed, lost to fire, or demolished. Numbers 1 and 3 Silver Street were the last in

Steeple Ashton to have their thatch replaced with tiles, around 1980.

1 & 3 Silver St. August 1973

Historically, many buildings in the village would have been protected by this ancient form

of roof. Here, as in many other areas, straw was readily available, and cheaper than

alternative materials such as stone tiles – which would most likely have been sourced from

the quarry at Bradford on Avon.

3

Across England, thatched roofs proved popular for centuries. However, as towns and cities

went through periods of rapid growth, the ubiquity of this roof finish brought with it an

obvious drawback: the increased potential for devastating fires. Writing in the ‘Steeple

Ashton Village History & Guide’, retired County Archivist Ken Rogers mentions such a

conflagration in our village during the early16th

-Century:

... industrial growth [woollen industry] brought Steeple Ashton to a peak of prosperity

about 1500... But about that year the village apparently suffered a severe fire... The fire

probably took place in 1503, when we know from the court rolls that at least six houses were

destroyed.

The exact site of these houses has not been established. Nonetheless, it is highly probable

that they were thatched; also, they would most likely have been timber-framed and situated

quite closely together – all of which would account for so many being lost in one blaze. The

incident was a huge loss, and proved to be a major setback for the village; it never truly

regained its pre-fire prosperity and status. Yet Steeple Ashton was not totally ruined by the

fire.

Thirty seven years after the blaze, the Tudor poet and antiquary John Leland visited,

travelling from Devizes. He wrote of his visit here:

From the Vies to Steple Assheton a 6. myles by champaine [by un-enclosed, open country],

but frutefull grownde and good wood plenty in some places. It is a praty litle market towne,

and hathe praty buyldinge [buildings]. It standithe muche by clothiers. There is in it a very

fayre churche, buyldyd in the mynd of men now lyvynge [builded in the mind of men now

living]. The spired steple of stone is very fayre and highe, and of that it is cawllyd Steple

Asscheton.

Those “praty buyldinge” that caught the attention of Leland 473 years ago – some of which

still stand today – together, would have displayed many a thatched roof. Coupled with the

grand presence of the 40-year-old church and its lofty spire, this would have presented an

enchanting scene to the beholder. A pretty little market-town indeed.

Come the mid-19th

-Century, Leland’s “praty litle market towne” had moved on. The

clothiers were no more, the steeple long-since gone, and some of those pretty buildings had

doubtless disappeared too. By now, most of Steeple Ashton was roofed in tiles – but a notable

amount of the village was still thatched. A drawing of around 1850 looking south from the

top of the church tower, shows at least 12 thatched properties within that field of view. A

number of these were probably houses maintained and leased by the Long family of Rood

Ashton (near West Ashton), who had their timber-yard and workshops in Acreshort Lane.

They owned a large proportion of the village as part of the Rood Ashton Estate from around

1630 until 1930 (when it was sold and broken up after the death of Viscount W H Long).

4

Opposite Village Hall, early 19th

C.

In 1899 The Squire (as he was then) Walter Hume Long, gave a pair of estate-owned

thatched cottages in Church Street – to be pulled down in order to provide a site for a Village

Hall. Opposite these stood another, small thatched cottage (visible on a photo taken from the

church tower soon after the Hall was built). Its fate is unknown, but it did not survive long

into the 20th

-Century. Just around the corner, a further pair of thatched cottages once faced

the church, in what is now the garden of 'Moorfield Farm'. These timber-framed, brick in-

filled homes caught fire one Saturday in 1926. Loose straw left over from thatching blew

onto a bucket of hot ashes outside the rear of the building, rising up and igniting the low-

hanging roof (my family were living in 'Moorfield Farm' at the time – my father, aged 14,

rushed home from the fields thinking his house was on fire!). Two paving-stones set in the

cobbled path can still be seen where the front doors once were.

5

Opposite St. Mary's Church, 1926

Dark Lane North/Vicarage Lane – date of photograph unknown

On the corner of Dark Lane North and Vicarage Lane, a timber-framed thatched house

survived until 1960 – when it was knocked down, making way for a new Vicarage. In The

Strand, a row of brick and stone thatched cottages existed – three facing the road, and one

facing the path to Vicarage Lane. By 1963 they were considered in dire need of

modernisation, and were demolished in the October to provide a plot for a bungalow.

6

The Strand, around the mid-1950s

Also during the 1960s, two ancient thatched farm houses were taken down. The timber-

framed, 'Rose Farm' stood at the junction of Sandpits Lane and the High Street. A bungalow

called 'Roselands' now occupies the position of the old farm house, and another group of

properties (accessed from Sandpits Lane) were constructed where the farm outbuildings used

to stand. A similar building – 'Griffin’s' farm house – was situated at the bottom of Common

Hill, just past the turning to Trowbridge, on the right opposite the rank of cottages and set

back from the road. Prior to its destruction, the property was in such a poor state of repair that

its final occupants had to use a ladder to go upstairs!

Rose Farm – date of photograph unknown

Thankfully, the July 1974 fire at the cruck-framed cottage in Dark Lane did not lead to its

demolition. It was nevertheless a dramatic occurrence in the village, and one witnessed by a

number of villagers.

7

Cruck-framed cottage ablaze in Dark Lane, July 9th

1974

In August 1974, the 'Steeple Ashton and Great Hinton Newsletter' carried the following

report on the blaze, written by its Editor Dennis Hobson:

THE FIRE IN DARK LANE (July 9)

Though the news is now well-known, this Newsletter must mention this loss to the character

of the village of Steeple Ashton.

The cottage was a Scheduled Building – that is, one of special architectural interest; and

though the famous cruck beams – that is, ones carved out of single forks of trees and inverted

to form the support of the roof ridge – were said in “The Wiltshire Times” to be only slightly

damaged, it looked more than this to me on the day after.

8

First, we express our sympathy to Mrs Joan Twiney, of Housecroft Farm, who owns the

cottage and was brought up in it. A fire officer told me that the walls were very solid and had

not been affected; so no doubt the cottage will be re-constructed. But a rebuilt place is never

the same as an original one.

I mentioned to the fire officer the tale that was circulating: that the firemen lost their way.

He said that when the first firemen arrived they thought the smoke was rising from near the

church, so turned down Church Street. The following engine meantime went into the wrong

leg of Dark Lane. He said that there was only about a minute’s delay and that even if they

had not gone wrong they could not have saved the cottage. This delay emphasises once again

that Dark Lane is an ambiguous road, in that it goes from near the village green, loops round

into a footpath (after branching to another cul-de-sac – also named Dark Lane – in which the

cottage is) and then resumes as a lane back to the High Street opposite Berrett’s shop. There

is frequent complaint by its residents that the numbering of houses in Dark Lane is chaotic,

making it difficult to find particular houses. These difficulties have been mentioned on the

Parish Council. Perhaps the fact of some delay in the arrival of fire engines caused by

uncertainty of location could be used by the Parish Council (by recommending it to the

District Council, if that is the responsible body) to secure a drastic revision in Dark Lane,

such as re-naming two of its three parts (to Elliott Lane and Woodman Lane?).

Just for the record: all the furniture and equipment was rescued, except for a bed and a

wardrobe, which could not be dismantled in time. It was carried across the lane to the garage

of Stoneleigh Cottage. The people who acted so promptly on this were Mr Stevens (tenant of

the burnt cottage), Mr and Mrs Hodges, Mrs Armstrong and Mr Edwards (who all live

nearby) plus some firemen. Mrs Fry (opposite) gave brandy and tea to Mr and Mrs Stevens,

to help them over the shock, and tea and biscuits to the eleven firemen and one policeman;

she also – and Mr Stevens says he is very grateful for it – calmed down and took in their

frightened Alsatian.

Mr Hodges has told me that he almost got the fire out in the thatch before the engines

arrived, using his garden hose.

Village WRVS members [Women's Royal Voluntary Service – originally set up during

World War II] were available to supply refreshments to the fire-fighters, if required; but the

fire service sent a van with fish, chips and tea, as the men had missed their dinners. The chief

officer however told the WRVS Organiser that cold drinks would be most welcome. A supply

was therefore left for the firemen to help themselves; and they came, one by one, to rinse

their blackened faces and hands and have a quick drink.

A final word of warning to children: Mrs Guy Bagnall, watching the firemen at work, told

her small boy – "That's what could happen if you play with matches – you lose all your toys."

John and Sue Stevens wish to thank, via the Newsletter, all those who came and helped and

in particular Arthur and Doris Hodges, Frank Edwards and Marjorie Fry.

Editor

The house was soon re-built – and finished with a slate roof (the owner Joan Twiney had

wanted to re-thatch her cottage, but the associated thatching and insurance costs proved

prohibitive). The Dark Lane problems highlighted by Dennis Hobson were addressed in due

course. The logical solution being, to identify each end by its location; and re-name them

9

‘Dark Lane North’ and ‘Dark Lane South’. The cul-de-sac where the cottage stands has since

been part of Dark Lane North.

Bryan Berrett

Acknowledgements

For additional information & the use of photos, many thanks to: Mary Ashby, Brent Hodges,

Richard Matthews, Gloria Philpott, Louisa Pollard & Godfrey Smith.

Sources

Hobson, D. W. (1974), 'The Fire in Dark Lane (July 9)', in Steeple Ashton & Great Hinton

Newsletter, (August 1974), p. 2.

Leland, J. (1540) in Toulmin-Smith, L. (ed.), (1910), The Itinerary of John Leland In Or

About The Years 1535-1543, Vol. 5, London: G. Bell & Sons Ltd. part 10, pp. 82-83.

Rogers, K. (2008), Steeple Ashton Village History & Guide, Revised Edition, pp. 4-11.

Smith, B. M. (1989), Our Wiltshire Village, Gloucester: Alan Sutton Publishing Ltd. pp. 24-

79.