(British music hall song written in 1907 by John Glover-Kind)

First published in Local Reach
Those of you of a certain age may well remember knitted swimming costumes that sagged once they got wet.  Whoever thought wool was a good material for swimwear was wrong!  Having said that, everyone today would recognise what they were.  If you look back at what women were wearing in previous centuries, however, you would probably not believe that their dresses were, indeed, what they wore to go into the sea.  

In the 1800’s sea-bathing became increasingly popular for women but modesty was all-important and bathing dresses were designed to cover most of the body.   At this time a typical costume would have been a voluminous wool dress worn over bloomers which were named after, but not invented by, Amelia Bloomer.  By the end of the century the dresses were shorter and would have been worn over knee-length bloomers with long black stockings and accessorised with bathing slippers and fancy caps.

Little changed until the 20^th century when a little more of the figure was allowed to be exposed but, as the illustration (left) shows it still looked very much like a dress rather than a bathing costume and it was not until women started taking up swimming as a sport that their swimwear started to become the style we would recognise today.

Going back to the 1800’s, it was common then for men to swim nude and it was only in 1860 that this was banned.  Thereafter the design of men’s swimwear was equally constrained by the need for modesty and it was illegal in most places for men to have a bare torso.  

The typical costume resembled an undergarment with sleeves down to the elbow and the legs down to below the knee and was usually made of wool.  Some beaches also required men to have an additional piece of fabric covering their genital area.  Although the length of the legs and arms became shorter over time, it was not until 1936 that men were allowed to swim bare-chested at the Olympics and 1948 before briefs were allowed.

The development of both men and women’s bathing suits owes much to the use of new materials for which we must be very grateful.  No more wet wool!!

Enjoy the summer.

First published in Local Reach
Although the end of harvest has been celebrated for a very long time, you may be interested to know that the Victorian tradition of Harvest Home celebrations here in Somerset began in East Brent on the 3rd September 1857, inaugurated by archdeacon George Denison, who apparently decided that the end of harvest should be celebrated and recognised as an official holiday.  In 1861 the Church of England recognised Harvest Home as a fixture in the Church calendar and the idea soon spread to other villages.  It is still an occasion for a knees up in many villages in Somerset although there aren’t so many farmers present as when it started.

Getting the harvest in does, of course, depend on good weather and the expression “make hay while the sun shines” arose as a reminder that the “Dog Days” were coming.  The term traditionally refers to the period of hot and humid weather that occurs at the end of July and the beginning of August in the Northern Hemisphere, the Dog referring to Sirius the Dog Star which rises at this time of year.  In ancient Greece and Rome, the Dog Days were believed to be a time of drought, bad luck, and unrest, when dogs and men alike would be driven mad by the extreme heat. Today, the phrase doesn’t conjure up such bad imagery but The Old Farmers Almanac (1817) says that “when Sirius takes charge of the weather, he is such an unsteady crazy dog, there is no dependence on him”.  

Rainfall at this time was considered in the past to be a bad omen as this verse says

Dog Days bright and clear
Indicate a happy year;
But when accompanied by rain,
For better times, our hopes are vain.

So:  Let’s hope for some sunny Dog Days!

First published in Local Reach
With the possibility of Covid 19 restrictions being eased, it’s interesting to know how people entertained themselves in the 19^th century.  Several factors contributed to the rise in leisure activities in Victorian times.  The opening up of the railways meant that people could travel further and quicker, and when Axbridge station was opened in 1869 the line went from Yatton (with stops at Congresbury, Sandford, Winscombe, Axbridge,) to Cheddar, and was then extended in 1870 to go to Wells.  In 1876 the Bristol and Exeter line was taken over by the Great Western and in 1878 the line was connected to the East Somerset line at Wells, providing trains through to Shepton Mallet and on to Frome on the GWR main line.  

Changes in working practices with industrialisation such as set annual holidays and half day working on Saturday plus the introduction of statutory bank holidays in 1871 also boosted the tourist trade and the demand for cheap rail tickets.  A look at the Weston Mercury of 5 June 1886 shows a wide array of adverts for excursion train tickets to London, as well as ones for day trips to Bristol and to Chepstow and Tintern.  

The highlight for some was to be the availability of cheap excursion tickets from various stations so that they could attend the Sheep Shearing Match at Axbridge.

Travel by sea was also popular.  There were adverts for special excursions to Cardiff from Weston aboard the fast Saloon Steamer “Lady Margaret” and for a steamer from Portishead to Lynmouth and Ilfracombe.  

Other entertainments advertised were the Wrington Vale and Mendip Sheep Shearing Society annual dinner (with first class band), a performance by The Original Pepper’s Ghost and Spectral Opera company at Weston-super-Mare and more fun was promised at the Conservative Fete at Mendip Lodge where there would be “rural games and sports”, and dancing on the green.  At dusk the grounds was to be illuminated by Chinese Lanterns with a firework display also promised.

The leisure and entertainment industry continued to thrive.  People flocked to the Cheddar Caves which the Gough family opened to the public in the 1890’s, Weston-super Mare football team began in 1887 and so on.  

Whatever you are doing or wherever you are going when restrictions end  – enjoy!

First published in Local Reach

Fives was, as the name suggests a game for 5 people, originally using hands and later bats or racquets.  Much like squash it involved hitting a ball against a wall.

Originally the game was played against church walls but during the eighteenth century there were attempts by the church authorities to prevent this, not least because of the damage it caused to the fabric of the buildings and the cost of replacing windows! Various methods were used including erecting railings or fences to prevent access, digging up the area and in this 1763 example at Ashwick, the churchyard cross was moved “to the Vifes place… to prevent the Young People from spending so much idle time in that sort of exercise”.

So successful were the church authorities in preventing the playing of fives that a number of secular fives walls were built, often in the grounds of inns.  The remains of several of these in Somerset are still extant.  

This illustration above is an 1808 copy of a painting of 1757 by Alfred Bennett showing a fives court in Axbridge where yellow clay appears to have been used to make a solid floor upon which to play.  The court is next to “Mrs Gallop’s cottage,” which is thought to have been used as a school.  Mr Gallop, seen here with a telescope, was said to have been fond of spying on his neighbours.  Sadly, both the cottage and the fives walls have long since disappeared.

First published in Local Reach
Many people today celebrate Easter by indulging in a lot of chocolate rather than commemorating the resurrection of Christ.  Chocolate eggs are, of course, a relatively new invention but the Easter egg, as a symbol of re-birth and fertility goes back a long way.

Before Christianity eggs were painted with bright colours to celebrate Spring and it was a popular custom in the Middle Ages.  In the household accounts of Edward I there was an entry in 1307 which recorded a cost of 18 pence for “450 eggs to be boiled and dyed and covered with gold leaf and distributed to the Royal household.”  

In the 18^th century people could buy papier-maché eggs which were then decorated and filled with a small gift.  

It was not until the 19^th century that a method of making chocolate eggs was devised, initially by the French and Germans and then copied by British manufacturers including John Cadbury who made the first Cadbury Easter egg in 1875.    The first decorated eggs were plain shells decorated with marzipan flowers and chocolate piping.

But it was not all about chocolate.

In Russia, during the early years of the 20th century, the jeweller Carl Fabergé made highly decorated eggs for both Czar Alexander III and Czar Nicholas II.  The very first was a gift from Czar Alexander to his wife.   It was made of gold and white enamel with a golden yolk, inside which was a golden hen with a ruby pendant inside.  This was so impressive that the Czar ordered Fabergé to make one for the Czarina every Easter and 10 were produced for her between 1885 and 1893.   Alexander’s son, Nicholas, carried on the tradition ordering two to be made every year for his mother and wife. Although the design was left up to Fabergé, each egg had to have a surprise in it. One amazing egg celebrated the opening of the Trans-Siberian railway. It was made of solid silver, with a map of the train route on it. The stations were marked with precious Jewels, and inside was a gold clockwork train! 

Whilst few, if any, of us can afford a Faberge egg at least we can have a chocolate one!

First published in Local Reach
As is normal with such major works, archaeologists have been involved with the project since the beginning.  The settlement sits in a wealthy Roman landscape not far from the ancient lead mines at Charterhouse-on-Mendip and the Roman Villa at Wint Hill.

They have made some very interesting finds including the remains of a Roman roadside settlement stretching from the Wint Hill to the north down to Loxley Yeo river to south. The buildings are situated either side of the Roman road which follows the modern Max Mill Lane and which has probably been built and re-built several times over the period.  

Although there is no evidence of industrial activity, the discovery of a commercial sized oven in an antechamber and other finds, suggest that the site might have been a sort of staging post. The site is of national significance and unique in the South West and Britain because of the high level of preservation of the site and the artefacts and its 2000 years of uninterrupted occupation.  The artefacts and types of structures found indicate a higher level of wealth in the settlement than the experts would deem typical for this rural landscape.

Among the items discovered are brooches, pottery and coins from 2nd century AD through to 4th century AD. A further significant discovery under the floor of one of the buildings is a Roman baby burial – a typical burial method for ancient Roman people.  

The site is still being excavated and is not accessible to the general public but they expect to complete the archaeology surveys in the Summer and will publish further information about the finds when the work is finished. They also plan to hold an Open Day when the artefacts will be on display.