St. GILES
IN THE WOOD
By
R. J. BLACKMORE and J. CLEMENS
THREE miles from Torrington, a lane leads away from the South Morton road to the quiet village of St Giles in the Wood. St. Giles is unlike most North Devon villages in that its cottages’ are singularly uniform in character, having been built for the purpose of housing the retinue of artisans, overseers, and labourers who comprised the outside staff of the Rolle estate which spread far and wide around the impressive mansion of the Rolle family—Stevenstone House.
There
is not, therefore, that air of antiquity which one assumes with villages in
these parts, so that it fails to claim the attention of the historian in quite
the same marked degree as some of the neighbouring settlements whose past is
rooted in more ancient times.
There
are, nevertheless, numerous visitations and pilgrimages to the spot for one
reason or another, and both the local records and the long memories of older
inhabitants are in constant demand as the various inquiries came trickling
through.
A most
practical inquiry came Last autumn from a man with a Yorkshire accent who pulled
up in a big car in which were his wife and small family and asked the simple
question: Where is the wood?”
FAMILY TREE
Unfortunately,
he accosted one who was not a native, with the result that the inquirer found
himself surrounded by a consortium of natives and newcomers, none of whom was
quite certain what had happened to the wood, but were all convinced that there
had been one here once.
In a
different category altogether were the two sets of searchers who came from
distant places of the earth seeking to trace and confirm a link with their
forbears.
There
was a remarkable disparity in their way of life, for one is a business magnate
in the sugar refinery world, while the other works as a missionary in faraway
Papua. The curious thing was that both parties were unaware of each other’s
existence, even though they were bent on the same errand and were branches of
the same family tree.
The
relationship in each case was on the side of the respective wives, one of whom
had been born in America and the other in Australia as the result of emigrations
from St. Giles in the early part of the last century.
Mr.
Hadley Brinsmead Williams, the sugar refiner, is now back in his American home
in Douglastown, New York, while Mr. William Merriweather has returned to Tari to
continue his work among the Dumas and Huli tribes under the banner of the
Unevangelised Fields Mission.
STAUNCH WESLEYAN
They and their families have taken with them pleasant memories of their sojourn in which North Devon together with the satisfaction of having established a successful claim to a common ancestry. But what was the name they sought in faraway remote St. Giles in the Wood? And what is the story that emerges in the simple annals of the village?
The name is Brinsmead, and the first to live in St. Giles was one, William, who came to reside in a house called “The Holdings” around 1820. Little is known of him except that he was a staunch Wesleyan and was instrumental in the erecting of - a Wesleyan chapel on his own ground near to his house.
It is also known that at he helped with the labour, and made many laborious journeys with horse and cart transporting stones from a farm in Torrington, but as this project must have been dear to his heart, coupled with the fact that all else about him is shadowy and obscure, it may be as well to resist the urge to introduce the more entertaining account of his son Thomas at this point and follow the fortunes of the little Bethel.
The fact is, this old place of
worship is still in existence on its original site, but is now used as a general
utility farm outhouse. It was built in 1833, and there are entries in its
records which note a baptism in 1841 besides
various births, marriages, and deaths.
For
the first half century the cause seems to have held its own, but later reports
reveal only too sadly a story of slow decline. A circuit report of 1897 states:
“St. Giles chapel is forsaken except by two members, one of whom lives at a
distance. The circuit has for some time had to pay all expenses.”
But
for the long memories of village folk the “two members” would be faceless
units in a dry inventory, but they were in fact both notable worthies in their
day. One was the postmistress, Mrs. Trick, whose office in those days was a part
of “The Holdings.” while the other was Thomas Couch, the village shoemaker,
and both of them attended the final service which was held one Sunday morning in
1900.
Actually,
the place had been rebuilt in 1854 to seat 130 persons at a cost of £150, so
that there must have been reason for great expectations at that time. Some say
that it was the arrival of a certain Rev. A. Buxton, M.A., as Vicar at the
Anglican Church, almost opposite, that turned the scales, for it is attested
that he was a man of great charm and persuasion, besides being most eloquent in
the pulpit.
MANY TALENTS
Others
blame the fact that the chapel came under the aegis of a different circuit, but
all that is sure is that the lease was surrendered in 1906.
There
are still traces and indications inside the building of its original function
but, unless informed, few passers-by would see in this plain and practical shed
the meeting house of those dour Dissenters of a century ago who entered the
portals with reverence, held their services, celebrated their festivals, and
held their treats and lovefeasts, until the day came when the sounds of the
songs of Zion echoed around the precincts of “The Holdings” no more.
It is to Thomas Brinsmead that the spotlight must now turn, for he was an outstanding man of many talents. He was primarily an agricultural engineer, and had a workshop adjacent to the Parish Church. He employed a wheelwright, a blacksmith, and a couple of sawyers; and it is interesting to note that when excavations were made a little over a year ago prior to erecting four council bungalows, traces of the forge were discovered along with other small finds that spoke of these craftsmen of long ago.
Thomas was his own inventor and designer, and specialised in the manufacture of reed-combing machines which were much in demand for the thatching industry.
He was sought after by the farming fraternity for his seed drills, too, as they incorporated useful innovations of his own design; and there was one memorable occasion in the village when a demonstration was held in a field behind the church of a revolutionary mowing machine that he had constructed. The whole neighbourhood turned out to watch events, and it is recalled that among the interested parties present were representatives of the famous firm of Ransomes, of Ipswich.
MUSICAL STRAIN
An existing memorial to his skill is the tower-like upper storey which he added with his own hands to his house. “The Holdings,” but it is also known that he constructed a complete pipe organ in his workshop for the Wesleyan chapel, and played upon it at the services into the bargain. One who remembered him, but has now passed from the scene, described him as a tall, upright, man with a flowing white beard.
Thomas’s musical strain must have been in others of his family, for it was one of them who branched out into the piano-making industry, and there are Brinsmead pianos in a number of homes hereabouts bearing testimony to the versatility of these one-time worthies of St. Giles.
There is a pleasing story of a childhood association in connection with Thomas’s daughter, Rachel. She married a man by the name of Williams, and among the children that were born to them was a son whom they christened Hadley.
In the classrooms of the old charity school at St Giles, Hadley became friendly with a boy called John Clemens. When it became time to make a way in life their paths divided, and, somehow or another, Hadley was able to turn his inherent gifts to advantage and become a doctor.
IN THE BLOOD
Emigration seems to have been in the blood of the Brinsmead clan, for Rachel’s son went off to London, Ontario, where he practised as Dr Henry Hadley Williams. F R.C.S. for many years.
His old school friend had in the meantime served an apprenticeship as a wheelwright at Eberleigh and strangely enough, bitten by the emigration bug, also betook himself to Ontario. When, later, he developed appendicitis he insisted on having no other but his old St. Giles friend to perform the operation.
Dr. Williams had no children, but his brother Alfred had a girl and a boy, and it was the latter, Hadley Brinsmead Williams, who really sparked off this delve into the past when he thought it worthwhile to make the pilgrimage from America to the Old Country, here to worship at the shrine of his ancestors and see the broad acres where once the Brinsmeads dwelt.Hugh Brinsmead - Hugh's Family - The Canadian Family Tree - West Country Roots - Meeting the Relatives - John Brinsmead - Guest Book - Links - Home - Site Map