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Post by merlin on Apr 16, 2011 16:41:00 GMT
Hi Dax,
Let me be the first to welcome you to Tetbury and wish you all good wishes for a successful venture.
I have recently been to the Stroud Farmer's market and just today visited Malborough market and have to confess that both put Tetbury's efforts to shame.
Considering how boastful we are about our wonderful historic Marketing past as a town we should be ashamed of just how little effort is made perhaps you are the welcome wind of change and I hope traders will get behind you and bring some pride back to our town.
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Post by merlin on Apr 14, 2011 18:43:27 GMT
Hi Cliff,
My reliable sources inform me that the 'Canteen' was one of the Bars in the White Hart Hotel, whether that was a nickname or official I'm still checking.
When I was in the Navy the Term Canteen was the name we gave the NAAFI (Navy, Army and Air Force Institute), so it's possible that British Forces may have used the facility during the Wars...
I'll keep digging.
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Post by merlin on Apr 13, 2011 8:43:53 GMT
Hi Bob, You are quite right about Tetbury being a great place to visit for all sorts of reasons and you are also right about that up coming Royal Wedding. It will attract a lot of attention and bring a lot of people to our town although I seriously doubt they will know why or what they have come to see... The Wedding itself is taking place in London and I'm sure the happy couple will jet off somewhere exotic as soon as possible afterwards.... I suppose having Royal neighbours should be considered an asset to a town and of course we have 'Highgrove' the Royal shop in the town. Although as a people watcher I can't help notice some leave the shop disappointed.... Now; whether that is because their purse and/or wallet has been severely dented or because they were expecting HRH and Camilla to be serving behind the counter or what.... Maybe they think Mum comes to lend a hand at the weekend... I don't know ! However, if Royal spotting is the reason for the visit then YEAH ! you are going to leave disappointed ! Highgrove House has a pretty wall as you drive past it ... I suppose ! Tetbury is a Twee Cotswold market town with over 1,300 years of history and all we have to show for it is a pretty town hall and a lot of antique shops.... We don't even have a decent market any more. Like most of our cloth trade that went to Stroud. Yes the people still come but we need to do a lot more than rely on our Royal neighbours to keep them coming back. If this all sounds a tad critical of my fellow Tetburian's and the town's traders are upset at me... then I invite them to prove me wrong people ! They fail to realise Tourism is our stock trade these days and as a town we are failing our customers and in turn they will vote with their feet and take their money elsewhere. Tourism is about entertainment and value for money, it is a SEVEN day industry and Sunday is a day when many people visit the town... where are the Tetbury Traders ? Even many of the cafes are closed ! Now how dumb is that....?
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Post by merlin on Apr 7, 2011 8:14:40 GMT
The Brochure is now out in Print and available locally at the following locations: Tourist Information Office, Church Street. Totally Pottery, in the Chipping Mall. St. Mary's Church Shop. Or direct from me of course. Price is £2.99. If I'm around I hope to offer an actual guided tour for small groups. The plan is to encourage people to spend the day in Tetbury, take the tour enjoy a meal and a wander around the shops. Even better come for a relaxing weekend. Attachments:
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Post by merlin on Apr 6, 2011 19:18:25 GMT
Hi Cliff/ Monica, I did know about the Eight Bells just don't have a closing date for it. An update on your Burial plots theme, This from this months Advertiser. Tetbury Burials Mapping & Recording. Over the past two years a project has been running to record the sites and inscriptions of burial monuments in Tetbury. All burials in St Mary's have now been recorded and are available at www.tetburyparishchurch.co.ukThe work is continuing and our current aim is to gather the records for St Saviour's which is a multi faith burial ground, during 2011.
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Post by merlin on Apr 5, 2011 8:45:52 GMT
In an earlier response I mentioned that at one time Tetbury had a mixture of 42 hotels, coaching Inns, and pubs. Cliff mentioned that in his time he could remember 13 Today we have only six originals and two Newbies..... I will start with my list and maybe Cliff or anyone else for that matter can fill in the gaps. Still Open for business today: The Snooty Fox Hotel (Formally the White Hart) opened in 1594 The Royal Oak 1791 (start line for the Wool Sack Race.) The Crown (Formally the Angel 1693) Race finish line. The Ormond's Head (1742 )was previously two separate pubs The Greyhound 1750 The Trouble House (just outside Tetbury on the Cirencester Road. ) I will mention two more The Close Hotel and the Priory although these are new arrivals as watering holes. The Close is an old building but historical it was a private house. Closed in recent memory : The Talbot Hotel Closed The Fox Inn (Fox Hill) Closed 1965 The 3 C-o-c-k-s Charlton Road closed 1961 The Plough 65 Long Street Closed 1960's The Prince of Wales West Street, Closed So Cliff who have I missed ? Over to you and Monica Mary.
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Post by merlin on Apr 5, 2011 8:18:46 GMT
I think we have an Auto censor on this site in my response to Monica Mary above My answer to her pub question has been altered unnecessarily from
C-O-C-K-S to 'thingies' and my reference to c-o-c-k fighting has also been changed.....
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Post by merlin on Apr 5, 2011 8:12:54 GMT
Hi Monica Mary,
I hope that Cliff answers your pub question as well, it is a fascinating subject and one I came across while I was doing the research for the Tetbury walk.
I came across this reference ; In the year the White Hart (now the Snooty Fox) was built in 1594 there was 13 Taverns in Tetbury. By 1715 it had risen to 33 rising to a peak of 42 by 1755.
In 1830 had 3 breweries and a Malt-house.
By 1891 the licensed premises were down to 22.
I have tried to find the 42 pubs and their locations and so far I have about 50 names, 41 confirmed. However I would welcome any extra input.
In answer to your pub question as far as I am aware there were two pubs in Charlton road ; one The Wheatsheaf was on the junction with New Church Street.
However I believe the one you're thinking of was further out the Charlton road and was the Three thingys. Locally known as the Ladies Delight !! Opened in 1795 Tetbury people had to pass through the Toll to get to this popular alehouse which leads me to think it may have been a sporting and/or gambling den for thingy fighting, hence the name.
The pub closed in 1961.
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Post by merlin on Apr 4, 2011 15:34:15 GMT
Hi Cliff,
I will look forward to your next visit and I hope you will bring your memorabilia with you, a chip shop in West Street, you know that a large part of West Street was demolished and left as a car park. The Drum and Monkey, otherwise known as the Prince of Wales is also gone.
Can you imagine the memories your great grandmother had, I bet she could have filled a lot of the gaps in my historic research.
It amazes me that not so very long ago if you didn't own property you didn't exist !
Please put together whatever you have next time you pass through I'll get the History of Tetbury Guys to meet with us I'm sure they'd love to meet with you as well...
See if we can't screw them out of a pint or three !!!
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Post by merlin on Apr 4, 2011 15:21:47 GMT
Hi Bob,
Simple answer is No... however the good news is there are many places within easy reach where you can. Cirencester and Yate, probably Stroud although parking there is a nightmare.
You could look to shop online.. many stores deliver these days.
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Post by merlin on Apr 2, 2011 8:51:59 GMT
Hey Cliff....
Question are you a local lad still living around Tetbury ?
Fancy a pint and a Chat ?
Merlin
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Post by merlin on Mar 30, 2011 11:29:54 GMT
Hi Cliff, I don’t think it was ever ‘TETA'S BERG’ although I am always open for more information and I welcome any discussion .
As far as I am aware the first written record of Tetbury, occurs in the year 681 AD, when Ethelred of Mercia (Not the Unready, that was Ethelred II ) gave 15 hides of land to the abbey of Malmesbury. The land was said to be close to a settlement called Tetta’s Minster, so called because of its proximity to an Anglo Saxon monastery called ‘Tettan Monasterium’ or 'Tetta's monastery'. Question is who was Tetta ? (The word "Tettan" is the possessive case of the feminine name Tetta.)
The word Bury is an anglicised spelling of the Anglo-Saxon word Burh, often misinterpreted as meaning fort or fortress, instead of the more general interpretation of place of retreat. Either would work it our case bringing the name to Tetta’s Burh or Bury.
This possible explanation of the name change gave rise to the assumption that there was an Iron Age hill fort, possibly on the site where the monastery was built, which I question...
I think it more likely that the name was changed in the reign of Alfred the Great who created a chain of Burh’s across Wessex as safe refuge for his people. The monastery here would therefore have qualified but as far as I can establish it was never official named as one by King Alfred, although Cricklade and Malmesbury were.
Still doesn’t tell us who Tetta was, of course, suffice to say it’s not who they think it was in all the local explanations I’ve seen ! I shall say no more, don’t want to spoil the read !
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Post by merlin on Mar 30, 2011 9:17:52 GMT
Hi Bob,
I too look forward to your visit and will take you on the tour if you fancy the excercise.
In fact the idea of taking small groups around has already been suggested by one of the Hotels in town as something they can offer their guests.
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Post by merlin on Mar 29, 2011 10:18:29 GMT
Today sees the launch of a new guided walked around the town taking the reader to places they probably not find by accident. There is a lot more to Tetbury than just an old Market Hall in the middle and a street full of antique shops. It is a town with more than 1,300 years of history most of which is not immediately apparent as you casually stroll around. Although not intended to be controversial, in this new guide I do challenge one or two of the old theories surrounding Tetbury’s history including how the town got its name or the fact that at one time it may have been the site of an ancient hill fort. Neither of which should detract from the real significant history of the town as an extremely important Wool and Agricultural Market Town stretching back to the year 1200 AD. Tetbury was also an important cross-roads and stop over for travellers and has its evidence with a wealth of coaching Inns and at one time a claim of 42 hotels, Inns and pubs in the town. For the moment the guide is only available at Totally Pottery, in the Chipping Shopping Mall (open on Sundays) however I hope to spread them around to Tourist Information Offices in the County. At a gentle stroll the walk takes about an hour and a half, a little longer if you stop off at the Magistrates Court and Police museum (open Mon- Fri normal office hours) and St. Mary’s church, both well worth a visit and the extra time. Of course, there is no reason to do it all at once and I also suggest a stop off half way through for refreshments and I include a list of the town’s major watering holes. No personal recommendations, only because I haven’t tried them all yet, suffice to say I haven’t any cause for complaint for those I have been to thus far. I guess what I’m trying to say is if you thought Tetbury was a nice place to stop for a cup of tea on your way somewhere else then I invite you to stay a little longer and let the town surprise you. I also promise you this is no boring school history lesson and there is no exam or test at the end. The image is from a drawing of the original Market Hall built in 1655 by the Feoffees of Tetbury. First seen in the book 'The History of the Town an Parish of Tetbury' by Alfred T. Lee. Attachments:
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Post by merlin on Mar 28, 2011 13:15:22 GMT
Hey Cliff,
Again thank you for your good wishes and support and I look forward to pulling upon your memories.
As a local author I was asked, it I would consider writing a short history and local walking guide around town. It was quite a challenge considering the 1,300 odd years of history the town has seen.
It was tough too to try and keep it light and entertaining so as not to put everybody to sleep as our history teachers once did to us.
Silly things kept popping up and side tracking me such as did you know that at one time the town had 42 pubs ?
I just had to find them, or see if there was a trace of them still to be found.
How Tetbury came to be called Tetbury was another side track...
As I did my research I found I was in complete disagreement with the semi official version that's been around for years.
That and the fact that I also disagree that Tetbury was ever a hill fort...
I haven't even got to the Dolphins yet !!!
So if I suddenly disappear from the site you'll know I've been lynched by a rampaging mob of local historians.... My brochure came out in print over the weekend...
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