Page 6 - SHS Newsletter 2 Vol 3 Sept 29th 2020

empty house, the 2nd fell in the road and the 3rd Work began in 1796 building the first section from
on a very large conservatory of the most the Mendips to Frome, this would have involved a
expensive hotel, which had been requisitioned for considerable number of locks because of the
the war effort. gradient. However, James Fussil of Frome
Just after VE Day my father drove all the family
from Harrogate in Yorkshire down to Welling in
Kent to visit his mother. I was 12 years old, and
very thin – so thin that my grandmother used to
call me “a long string of spit”! Three weeks later
the rest of the family returned home. I stayed on
with my grandmother and went to school “down
th
south”, which meant I was there for VJ Day on 14
August.

We celebrated by having what was called a
“knees-up” and a bonfire with jacket spuds in
ashes, and fireworks. One of
the things I remember was a
"jumping jack" firework, which
appeared to follow me around
and eventually caught me on
the back of my heel. It left a scar which stayed for
many years. Needless to say, although I love
fireworks, even now I keep a wide berth from
those jumping jacks.

Contribution from Janice Pickard

The Canal that Stalbridge

never had

The idea of a canal was first considered at a
meeting at The Bear Inn, Wincanton in 1793. The
concept was to construct a canal connecting
Bristol with Poole with a branch at Stalbridge to
connect with Wareham. The canal was to be
known as the Somerset and Dorset Navigation
Company and would carry coal South from the
coalfields in the Mendips and clay from Wareham
to the Potteries in Staffordshire. invented a canal lift know as a “Balance System”
which could lift barges up to eight meters. The
William Bennet completed a survey of the route in whole project proved more expensive than
1795 and Royal Assent was granted in 1796. expected and sadly the company ran out of
There was constant dispute over the proposed money. The Country was going through financial
route by investors, but finally the route chosen difficulties at the time due to the high cost of the
started from the recently completed Kennet and Napoleonic War. Later the route was used to
Avon Canal at Widcome passing through construct the Somerset and Dorset Railway.
Stalbridge to join the River Stour at Shillingstone.
This was not what had been first proposed but it So Stalbridge never did get a canal!
was thought still viable to transport coal which Contribution from Tony Wood
previously came by horse-power.

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