November 27th 2008
As a follow up to the talk the previous week, a group of members visited Coln House School and were shown
round by the headmaster, Chris Clarke and head of care, Sandra Rogers. It was fascinating to detect what was
left of the Iles buildings and compare the 1930s brochure of Dr A C King-Turner with the present day buildings.
We told of the school’s ethos at the present time and we wondered how the head master and staff cope in such a
rabbit warren of buildings. Grateful thanks to Coln House School for their time and hospitality.
November 20th 2008 - Fairford Asylum and the Iles Family
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Shelagh Diplock, a 3 x great granddaughter of the Iles family gave an informative and interesting talk
about the Iles family and the Fairford Asylum. Alexander Iles, son of Daniel Iles a yeoman farmer of Kempsford,
had worked in asylums in London and saw a gap in the market in the Fairford area. His father owned the land
called Curtis Piece on Milton Street. He obtained a licence for 10 patients in 1823 and took patients into
his own house. In 1827 he had 13 patients, but in 1834 the Poor Law Amendment Act increased the intake of
pauper admissions and Alexander quickly started to build to accommodate them. From 40 patients in 1829
the number of patients was over 119 according to the 1841 census and by 1844 there were 140 patients of
whom 119 were paupers. Charles Cornwall was the first physician and had as an apprentice John Hitchman
who married Mary Ann Iles and after qualifying in London became head of a new model asylum in Derbyshire.
John Hitchman’s experience may have helped with the policy of non-restraint that was adopted at Fairford.
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The Retreat - now Coln House School
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Mid 19th century - the corresponding interior ground floor plan
Picture from the Gloucestershire Archives
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In 1856 Alexander died and left everything to Daniel, his eldest son. At that time there was a change in
government policy and the County Asylum was enlarged to admit all paupers so that by 1859 there were only
77 patients and by 1861 only 49 patients. Despite the loss in revenue this reduced the strain on the
Asylum’s resources as patient numbers had reached almost 200. During the mid-1860s Daniel and his wife
Susan were joined by their eldest son, another Daniel, who qualified as a surgeon in 1864. Albert Iles,
another son moved back to Fairford in 1861 from his doctor’s practice in Cirencester. He bought Croft House
and had hoped to join Dr Charles Cornwall’s practice but tragedy struck in July 1863 when he was killed
when his phaeton carriage suffered an accident leaving Ellen pregnant with their eighth child. Some time
before 1870 Ellen Matilda Iles set up a small female private asylum in Croft House.
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Susan Iles died in 1883 and Daniel in 1887. Dr Daniel and Henry, their sons took over the asylum until
1899 when Daniel died and his son Francis, another doctor, decided not to take over the business. The Retreat,
as the asylum was also known, was sold to Dr A C King Turner in 1901 and it continued as an upmarket private
asylum until 1944.
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The Visitors' Room
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October 16th 2008 - A Special Event, Son Et Lumiere Reminiscence Evening
About fifty people gathered together for this entertaining evening. June Lewis-Jones gave the background
to the Son et Lumiere, the purpose of which was to raise money for Fairford Cottage Hospital, over £1000 was
raised. Oral recordings had been made of participants and Geoff Bishop introduced snippets of their contributions
which jogged people’s memories. Brian Routledge then facilitated a panel of participants: - Trevor Hing,
Maurice Jones and Gretchen Langford who talked about their memories with contributions from the audience.
There was then an opportunity to look at the displays of photos and articles from the play; have a
convivial drink and talk to other people. Leo D’Elia had made a cine film at that time and had lent
it for FHS to convert from video to DVD for people to watch in the Heritage Room.
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This event in St Mary’s Church in October 1978 was the first secular event to be held
in St Mary’s Church; there had been an influx of newcomers into the town and as so many people took part
it brought the town together. June Lewis-Jones wrote the script and as far as possible actors played the
same role throughout the 1000 years of history and in some cases their real role in life. Maurice Jones
was the town crier; Trevor Hing, the reeve or justice; Peter Juggins, the stonemason; June Lewis the
shepherd with real sheep, they had been lambs when planned which had grown to sizeable animals by the
time of the performance. The amount of costumes and props that had to be organised - many people had
multiple roles which involved many costume changes in the semi-dark in the chapels. There was over a
mile of cabling for the lighting and the most beautiful music and sound effects. The play lasted almost
three hours with no break and although cushions had been hired the pews were very hard and the audience
deserved a plaudit as well.
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Everyone remembered ‘the Cross Keys’ the pub referred to throughout the play which historically had been
thought to be sited at Montacute House opposite the Church. There was a barrel of beer in the Centre available
to participants at 30p a pint. There was an outbreak of warts which grew more prevalent throughout the week (
rice krispies or puffed wheat glued on to people’s skin); tricks were made to make Trevor Hing as Justice of
the Peace laugh during the sentencing of the culprits of the Swing Riots - a most serious event.
Diana Lee Browne was crouched under the lectern as prompt during the whole of the performance. David Niven
and Peter Ustinov had made recordings for the play and June had written to the RAF Fairford and Brize Norton
to ask them not to carry out any NATO exercises over Fairford during those weekday evenings!
It was a wonderful community event and its importance is shown by the fact that it is still remembered.
A thousand years of Fairford’s written history were encapsulated in a few hours. The play showed the
continuity of life in a small country town, its social structure and how it was affected by national events.
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The DVD will be available to watch (12 minutes) and a compilation of Son et Lumière recorded memories
will be available on CD shortly.
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18th September 2008: Fairford in Canada
June Lewis-Jones told the Society something of the fascinating story of Abraham Cowley who left his native
Fairford to minister to the indigenous people of Canada. He was the son of a stonemason and left school at the
age of 12. He overcame his lack of formal education and with the encouragement of the Vicar, the Rev Francis
Rice (later Lord Dynevor), he trained for the ministry and went off to the wilds of Canada. He and his wife
coped with the harsh winters and raised a family there. Converts were slow to appear but eventually he made
progress and built a church and school house. His family background in stonework undoubtedly helped him in
such practical tasks. The original Indian name for the settlement was changed on the suggestion of the Bishop
of Rupert’s Land to Fairford in honour of Cowley’s home town in 1851.
June described the warm reception on her visits to Manitoba – that warmth contrasting with the chill
of -30o C outside – and she showed pictures of the more recent occasion when in 1997 a deputation came to
Fairford for the 500th anniversary of the re-dedication of St Mary’s Church. A colourful procession made its
way from the Market Place to the Church for the thanksgiving service. The Bishop of Gloucester was present
in his robes plus priests, choir, two Mounties, various members of the visiting party and most important
the chief with his feathered head-dress.
The only picture of Abraham taken from his obituary in the Church Missionary Quarterly 1888. During
his time in Canada Abraham returned to Fairford, Glos, only twice; he died at the age of 71 on
September 11th, 1887 and is buried in St Peter’s Churchyard, Dynevor, Manitoba.
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The visiting group from Fairford, Manitoba with the Bishop of Gloucester and the Rev John Willard.
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19th June 2008: Fourth AGM
The Society returned to the newly refurbished Community Centre for its fourth Annual General Meeting. In his last
report as Chair, Keith Cottam began by showing everyone the lectern beautifully crafted by Ian Westlake for the
Heritage Room. It had been funded from a donation from the collection at the funeral of Enid Johnson, a founder
member of the Society: Enid had been extremely interested in local and family history and kindly bequested a
donation to the Society. Keith continued by reviewing the substantial achievements since the setting up of the
Society four years ago from its tentative beginnings to the culmination of the Fairford Community Play and with
the resulting income setting up the Heritage and Archive Room in the Centre. The Society has also held successful
events and produced scholarly publications. He thanked his Committee for all their support and hard work. An appeal
was made for a treasurer and Gill Compton kindly volunteered.
The new Committee was elected with Geoff Hawkes
as Chairman, Brian Routledge Vice-Chair, Alison Hobson Secretary, Gill Compton treasurer, Ian Westlake Membership,
Margaret Bishop FCC representative, Maurice Jones FTC, John Read, Julie Parker and Chris Hobson. Geoff Hawkes
thanked Keith for his expert leadership and gave him a token of appreciation, a photographic record of his years
as Chair and some liquid refreshment.
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The lectern crafted by Ian Westlake for the Heritage Room in memory of Enid Johnson.
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The retiring Chair Keith Cottam being presented with a token of the Committee's appreciation by the incoming Chair Geoff Hawkes.
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The refreshments which followed were generously sponsored by our president June Lewis-Jones to celebrate the setting
up of the Heritage and Archive Room.
Geoff Bishop gave an interesting and informative talk on Fairford during World War II compiled from the oral
history recordings, finishing with a very moving account from Tony Rogers, a Pole from what is now Lithuania, who
had survived horrific experiences and finally ended up in England flying with 18 OTU, RAF and eventually retired to
Fairford. Over 20 CDs have been made of the recordings and Geoff asked for anyone interested in interviewing or
being interviewed to contact him.
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21st February 2008: From Crawling to Concorde
Edwin Cuss gave an excellent slide show from his vast collection at this meeting. He covered the topic of transport in
Fairford ranging from a delightful picture of him crawling as a baby to nostalgic pictures of Concorde. Prams, wheeled toys,
bicycles, motorcycles, tractors, steam powered vehicles, buses, cars and aircraft plus walking all featured with interesting
pictures of local people, some of whom were known to the audience. Edwin said he had thought it was going to be an easy
selection but when he came to it he found it difficult to choose what to exclude. The talk was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
15th November 2007: God Sent a Plague of Frogs to Fairford
Dr Andrew Warmington gave a fascinating talk about the religious turmoil that followed the English Civil War
when Fairford hit the national headlines! He told the story of the pamphlets that were published in 1660 telling
of a plague of frogs that visited the houses of Fairford’s Justice of the Peace and Lord of the Manor as a ‘punishment’
following their refusal to act when nonconformists were harassed by the locals. Dr Warmington studied the English
Civil War for his doctorate and is the author of books and articles on the subject, especially Gloucestershire’s
part in the War.
See Dr Warmington's Prize winning Essay
on the Subject
20th September 2007: Farmor’s School – in transition
Hugh Dudley, deputy head teacher at Farmor’s School gave an interesting insight as to how Farmor’s made the change
from a school of a few hundred when it moved to the Park site in 1961, to a comprehensive school in 1966 and in 2007
has 1094 pupils. It also gave an insight to the great changes in education that were happening when some of the audience
were at school and was also an exercise in nostalgia for ex teachers and former pupils present.
Mr Dudley gave the Society a metal box with Farmor’s Endowed School printed on the side which was used as safe
storage for registers and also the school cane!
17th May 2007: Third AGM and Fairford’s Railway
The Society held its third Annual General Meeting at the new venue of Fairford Primary School as the Community Centre is
undergoing its refurbishment. The Chairman and Treasurer gave their reports after which the Committee was voted in for
another year. The Treasurer divided his report into funds belonging to the Society and funds relating to the Local Heritage
Initiative grant. He reported that, as far as the Society’s funds were concerned, expenditure had exceeded revenue and a
vote was called for to increase subscriptions from £2.50 to £3. The vote was carried.
After the business meeting Colin Moulden gave a fascinating account of the Fairford Branch Line and its place in railway
history. Well illustrated by some excellent photographs, many taken by Colin himself, the talk was very well received as it
brought back many memories to some of the Fairfordians in the audience!
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The next two meetings will be held in the Business Centre of Farmor’s School, after which we should be able to return to
the Community Centre.
2007 – 2008 events are:-
September 20th - Hugh Dudley will talk on Farmor’s School
October 17th- 20th - Lizzie Farmor’s Edifying Circus in St Mary’s Church
November 15th 2007 – Dr Andrew Warmington - God sent a Plague of Frogs to Fairford
February 21st 2008 - Edwin Cuss
May 15th 2008 - AGM
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15th February 2007: Along the River Coln in Fairford
Despite technical difficulties Edwin Cuss gave an interesting and informative illustrated talk on views along the River Coln
through Fairford. The photographs spanned well over a century, the earliest being 1858. He pointed out important sighting landmarks
such as the gas works chimney and the Church and useful dating clues such as costume and the size of trees. One of the more recent
pictures was of several youths sitting on the town bridge, one of whom was sitting in the audience much older and wiser!
We were very grateful to the member who lent a substitute projector that enabled the talk to continue. Edwin was very disappointed
that his equipment let him down and has offered to give us another talk on a different topic in 2008.
Meeting Reports for 2006
Meeting Reports for 2004 and 2005
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