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Butt Family of Ashley and Kingsdown Julia Romain (nee Lovell) and Cliff Lovell Unless stated photos courtesy Lovell Family March 2020 On the wall of the Kingsdown Methodist Chapel there is an engraved memorial plaque to Simeon Butt, stone merchant. Simeon lived at Woodside Cottage, Kingsdown and died 2 November 1930, leaving £1,046.15s.10d (nowadays £65,000) to be administered by Mr John Brooke of 2 Meade Villas, retired grocer and former postmaster of Kingsdown sub-office.[1] Simeon was a staunch Methodist and he trusted a fellow brother, John Brooke, Box Parish chairman 1937-44, to administer his wishes. They were both members of the Bath United Methodist Circuit. The whole Butt family were involved with the quarrying industry and all were Methodists living in Kingsdown. Left: Kingsdown Methodist Church Below: The Butt epitaph (both courtesy Carol Payne) |
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Simeon (1859-1930) was the second son of George Butt (1827-1911), mason, who married Maria Champion in Bath in 1854. George obviously made money because in 1901 he is referred to as a stone merchant. We might assume that the stone was laid when Simeon was in ill-health in 1926 because it was dedicated by his younger brother Frederick.
Simeon called himself a stone merchant and he married Ellen Fear of Bath in 1882. They lived at Woodside Cottage, The Swan Road, Kingsdown and had at least three children –Simeon Frederick (born 1882), Francis James, carpenter (born 1883) and Ellen Melinda (born 1894). |
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Our great-grandfather was Simeon’s eldest brother, George William (1855-1908), a freestone quarryman (an underground stone miner) who married Sarah Jane Langford. They lived at Lower Kingsdown Road between 1891 and 1901 and had at least three children - William George (Billy) Butt (our grandfather), Eva Grace and Williefred John. This article focuses on the life of our grandfather, Billy Butt at Ashley Farm.
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William George (Billy) Butt
Billy Butt was born on 23 July 1888 and lived in Kingsdown and Ashley all his life. His whole family were associated with the Methodist Chapel, Kingsdown, including his uncle Simeon. After school in Bathford, Billy set up trade as a haulier, carrying stone, timber and coal in horse-drawn carts going as far as Radstock and North Somerset to collect coal. His uncle Frederick also ran a hauliers’ business and probably taught Billy to drive. Before he started farming, Billy wasn’t exempt from serving in World War I as a timber haulier and pit wood merchant.[2] He claimed exemption on the grounds that he was the principal support of his mother and kept four horses and four men and, if called up, there was no one to whom the business could be left. He lost his appeal and served in the Royal Artillery in France. Demobilised in 1919, he took up dairy farming and continued his haulage business until 1957, running a livestock hauling business when his cattle truck was a common sight in Box. |
Billy and Violet in 1933 (courtesy Lovell family)
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In 1920 Billy married Florence Mabel H Collett (1891 - 1927) and they had two daughters, Kathleen Margaret and Hilda Mary (our mother). On Florence’s death, his younger sister Eva Grace Butt moved into Ashley Farmhouse to look after the girls until he married to Violet Primrose Comm (1903 – 29 May 1981) on 4 March 1931. Sister Eva then started work as a housekeeper for Gilbert Walker at Blue Vein Farm, Longsplatt.
Butts at Ashley Farm, 1923-64 Our grandparents didn’t own the farm; they rented it from Wiltshire County Council as a council smallholding for forty years after 1922. The holding comprised 48 acres, mostly pasture, and only really suitable for dairy and cattle grazing. Even then, it was difficult to make a profit and Billy took in a partner in 1932, William Ivor Bishop Cooke. Billy split his time between the farm and his haulage business, sharing profits equally. The partnership lasted ten years until it was dissolved on 15 May 1942 when Billy took back the farm in his sole name, although there is no doubt that his wife Vi was actively involved in the family and the work. Left: Billy and Vi in 1941 (courtesy Lovell family) |
Undoubtedly the work was physically demanding but the happy faces shown below are how we remember them at Ashley Farm: below left, a motor bike ride in 1930 and right together in 1933 (both photos courtesy Lovell family).
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Kathleen Margaret Butt married James H Hotchkiss on 1 August 1942. During the war they moved to Newcastle-upon-Tyne where their first child Keith William was born in 1943. The photos below are from their family visits back to Ashley Farm after the war.
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Hilda Mary Butt left Box Church of England School in 1938 at the age of 14 and obtained a job in the offices of James Colmer Ltd, department store, Union Street, Bath. She would deliver the milk around Ashley each day then ride her bicycle into Bath. However, if the weather was particularly bad, she would leave her bicycle with the garage owner at Batheaston and spend some of her meagre wages on a return bus ticket into Bath. She left Colmer’s at the outbreak of war and returned to work on the farm as a land girl. Hilda met Bernard Lovell in Box. Bernard was from Caernarfon, mid Wales and served in the RAF in the Second World War. He was posted to a military supply depot in Ashley and the young girl delivering the milk caught his eye. They married on Boxing Day 1945 when the war was over and remained together for 71 years. Their story is given in the article about the Lovell family. Left: Bernard's RAF photo |
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Sale Particulars Our grandparents, Billy and Vi, retired from farming in September 1964 and sold all the live and dead stock.[3] There were 21 Friesian milking cows with names Sally, Clara, Daisy, Minnie, Primrose, Rose etc), 9 yearlings and 2 fat steers. The small size of the herd reflected a manual style of farming and milking with low inputs and low yields. The equipment mirrored this style of husbandry with a Massey-Harris manure spreader, Mayfield Auto-Coulter with scythe and hoe attachments and hay rick sheet. It was mostly outdated although the details did include an electric milking machine . Nonetheless, Billy kept three milking pails as backup in case he needed to get back to traditional ways. They moved into Homestead, Ashley, on 14 September 1964 and lived there until Billy’s death on 14 January 1973. Vi died in 1981. Even then, the Butt and Brooke families were still connected. Billy’s cousin, Gertrude Lydia (b 1896-1977) married Arthur PJ Brooke (b 1895) in 1947, the son of John Brooke that Simeon Butt entrusted to do his wishes. |
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The Butt family have been part of the village as long as most current residents can remember and probably their parents and grandparents. They were hard-working, honest and honourable citizens who never made a fortune. Nor did they seek election as local councillors or civic representatives. It was because of their moral integrity that they won public esteem in Box.
Butt Family Tree
George Butt (1827-1911), mason, married Maria Champion at St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Bath in 1854. They lived at Kingsdown in 1861-1901. George obviously made money because in 1901 he is referred to as a stone merchant, living on Swan Road, Kingsdown. Children:
George William (1855-1908); Simeon (1859-1930); Frederick (1862); Fanny Ann (1865).
George William Butt (1855-1908), freestone quarryman, married Sarah Jane Langford. They lived at Lower Kingsdown Road in 1891-1901. Children:
William George (Billy) Butt (23 July 1888-14 January 1973); Eva Grace (6 April 1891 – 4 October 1950); Williefred John (b 1896)
William George (Billy) Butt married Florence Mabel H Collett (1891-1927). Children:
Kathleen Margaret (23 May 1921 – 11 October 2017) married James H Hotchkiss;
Hilda Mary (5 February 1924 – 13 June 2017) married Bernard Lovell.
After Florence’s death, Billy married Violet Primrose Comm (1903 – 29 May 1981) on 4 March 1931, who brought up the step-children as her own.
Hilda Mary (5 February 1924 – 13 June 2017) married Bernard Lovell (1922-2017). They had two children: Julia Romain (nee Lovell) and Cliff Lovell. The story of Hilda and Bernard Lovell is told in a separate article.
Frederick Butt (b 1862) was a stone quarryman and haulier who married Lydia Sheppard from Atworth. They lived in Kingsdown and had at least two children:
Gertrude Lydia (b 1896-1977), who married Arthur PJ Brooke in 1947, the son of John Brooke that Simeon Butt entrusted to do his wishes; and
Arthur Frederick (23 November 1897-1970) who married Blanche Hilda Butler (16 May 1900-81) in 1928 and farmed locally, also running a dairy and milk round. In 1939 they lived at Hillside, Lower Kingsdown Road with their two evacuee children: Ronald Henry Smith (b 1931) and Margaret (Peggy) Smith (b 1936).
George Butt (1827-1911), mason, married Maria Champion at St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Bath in 1854. They lived at Kingsdown in 1861-1901. George obviously made money because in 1901 he is referred to as a stone merchant, living on Swan Road, Kingsdown. Children:
George William (1855-1908); Simeon (1859-1930); Frederick (1862); Fanny Ann (1865).
George William Butt (1855-1908), freestone quarryman, married Sarah Jane Langford. They lived at Lower Kingsdown Road in 1891-1901. Children:
William George (Billy) Butt (23 July 1888-14 January 1973); Eva Grace (6 April 1891 – 4 October 1950); Williefred John (b 1896)
William George (Billy) Butt married Florence Mabel H Collett (1891-1927). Children:
Kathleen Margaret (23 May 1921 – 11 October 2017) married James H Hotchkiss;
Hilda Mary (5 February 1924 – 13 June 2017) married Bernard Lovell.
After Florence’s death, Billy married Violet Primrose Comm (1903 – 29 May 1981) on 4 March 1931, who brought up the step-children as her own.
Hilda Mary (5 February 1924 – 13 June 2017) married Bernard Lovell (1922-2017). They had two children: Julia Romain (nee Lovell) and Cliff Lovell. The story of Hilda and Bernard Lovell is told in a separate article.
Frederick Butt (b 1862) was a stone quarryman and haulier who married Lydia Sheppard from Atworth. They lived in Kingsdown and had at least two children:
Gertrude Lydia (b 1896-1977), who married Arthur PJ Brooke in 1947, the son of John Brooke that Simeon Butt entrusted to do his wishes; and
Arthur Frederick (23 November 1897-1970) who married Blanche Hilda Butler (16 May 1900-81) in 1928 and farmed locally, also running a dairy and milk round. In 1939 they lived at Hillside, Lower Kingsdown Road with their two evacuee children: Ronald Henry Smith (b 1931) and Margaret (Peggy) Smith (b 1936).
References
[1] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 20 December 1930
[2] The Wiltshire Times, 25 March 1916
[3] Ashley Farm Sale Particulars, 14 September 1964
[1] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 20 December 1930
[2] The Wiltshire Times, 25 March 1916
[3] Ashley Farm Sale Particulars, 14 September 1964