Wednesday 13 January 2021

The history of Unison House

This year, the Society of One Place Studies has invited everyone to take part in their Blogging Prompts 2021. I am looking forward to taking part. So what are the blogging prompts that have been set for the first six months of 2021...


So, January 2021 is focused on #OnePlaceLandmarks. In my first blog post, I considered the possible landmarks that were in my One Place Study of The Crescent in Taunton and looked at those listed on the Historic England's Listed Buildings website. There were 6 listed buildings. I have decided to focus on one of these and have chosen Unison House. 



Unison House is on the East side of The Crescent in Taunton, Somerset, England, was where the regional offices for UNISON Somerset were based. UNISON is a trade union, based in the United Kingdom, open to members who are mainly employees in public services. They represent their paying membership, negotiating and bargaining on their behalf as well as campaigning for better working conditions and pay for public services workers. UNISON moved out of Unison House in Summer 2017, after signing a 10 year lease for offices in Tangier Central, Taunton [1], which is just a 10 minute walk from where it was located on The Crescent in Taunton.       

In April 2018, Windsor Properties (Taunton) applied for planning permission for a change of use to the building from being office space to become residential [2]. Conditional planning permission was approved on 11 June 2019 by Somerset West and Taunton Council [3]. I have found it really interesting to look through the planning application [4] that Windsor Properties (Taunton) made to Somerset West and Taunton Council as it gives detailed survey drawings of the building along with proposed plans for changing the building into residential apartments. As UNISON House is on the Historic England's Listed Buildings, there are rules around what can be changed to a building which is listed. It is noted that the list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 14 September 2018 [5]

Next time, I will look further back in time into the history of Unison House, on The Crescent in Taunton. It would be wonderful to hear from you via the comments section on this blog or via my Facebook page if you have any information regarding Unison House and its history or on any residents of The CrescentThis study is also part of the Society of One Place Studies and the One Place Studies Directory



[4] Somerset West and Taunton Council - Planning Application 38/18/0068 (https://www2.somersetwestandtaunton.gov.uk/asp/webpages/plan/PlAppDets.asp?casefullref=38/18/0068)
[5] Historic England's Listed Buildings, UNISON House, The Crescent, Taunton, Somerset - List Entry Number: 1060042 - (https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1060042)

Tuesday 5 January 2021

The Turle Children - Clara Jane Turle

Welcome to this update of The Crescent, Taunton, Somerset, One Place Study. I will be continuing to look at the children of Henry and Jane Turle (nee Hobbs) in this update. As you may recall, they had 8 children altogether. This post will focus on their only daughter, Clara Jane Turle.

Clara Jane Turle was born on 22 August 1856 [1], according to the date of birth given on the entry for her baptism at St Mary Magdalene Church in Taunton, Somerset, England [2]


We already know from previous posts that Clara Jane was living with her parents at Risdon House, which is on The Crescent, Taunton, Somerset, England, at the time of the 1861 Census [3] (see post) and at 1 The Crescent, Taunton, Somerset, England, at the time of the 1871 England Census [4] (see post). Also listed on the 1871 England Census were Anne Thorpe, sister of Clara Jane’s mother, Jane, who is a farmer's widow, along with her 2 sons, James and Robert, and 2 daughters, Elizabeth and Rosa Cole. At the time of the 1881 England Census, Clara Jane was living with Anne Thorpe and 3 of her 4 children at Addiscombe Grove in Croydon, Surrey, England [5].



When I previously researched Clara Jane’s older brother, Edward Turle, we discovered that she was living with him and his wife, Jessie, at the time of the 1891 England Census [6], at Wimbledon College in Surrey, England, where he was a schoolmaster (see post).    


On January 6th 1892, Clara Jane married Charles Petre Lovell at St Mary’s Church, in Wimbledon, Surrey, England [7] [8]



There was a short article regarding their marriage in the John Bull newspaper on Saturday 27 February 1892 [9].


Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Sadly, the marriage was short-lived as on Sunday 29 July 1894, Charles Petre Lovell passed away following an incident on the Thames, in Cookham, Berkshire, England [10]. There was an article in Surrey Comet on 4 August 1894 regarding this [11]


Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Charles was laid to rest at Holy Trinity Church in Paddington, London, England [12] according to his death notice in the Morning Post on 2 August 1894.


Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

An inquest jury following the incident found that Charles died an accidental death [13].


Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Charles’ estate is granted to his widow, Clara Jane Lovell [14]. The entry on the Probate Service website is as follows:


LOVELL Charles Petre of 43 Portchester-square Hyde Park Middlesex died 29 July 1894 in the river Thames at Cookham Buckinghamshire Administration London 10 October to Clara Jane Lovell widow Effects £240 12s 6d. 


On the 1901 England Census, we see that Clara is a visitor at Hindhead School in Frensham, Surrey, England, where her brother Edward is a schoolmaster and lives with his family [15] (see post


Clara Jane Lovell passed away at Buckland House in Wellington, Somerset, England, on 22 April 1909 [16]. Her death was noticed in the Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette on 29 April 1909 [17]

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The entry reads as follows:

LOVELL - On the 22nd April, at Buckland House, Wellington, Somerset, Clara Jane, of Oak Hill, Hindhead, widow of the late Dr. C. Petre Lovell.

Clara was buried at St Alban Church in Hinehead, Surrey, England on 27 April 1909 [18].


Clara also has a memorial on the Find A Grave website [19].


There is the following entry on the Probate Service website for Clara Jane Lovell [20]


LOVELL Clara Jane of Oak-hill Hindhead Surrey widow died 22 April 1909 at Buckland House Wellington Somersetshire Administration London 9 August to Arthur Turle surgeon. Effects £2644 7s 9d.

There is only one child left of Henry and Jane Turle nee Hobbs to research, which is their youngest son, Walter Turle, who was named in memory of their elder son Walter Turle (1852-1856). In the meantime, I hope that you have enjoyed reading this blog much as I have enjoyed researching the Turle family for my One Place Study. 

This year I am also taking part in the Society of One Place Studies #OnePlaceBlogPrompts. In January 2021, the social media prompt is #OnePlaceLandmarks. I have started with this post on the listed buildings of The Crescent, Taunton, Somerset, but I am still contemplating which one to research for this. What do you think I should research?


It would be wonderful to hear from you via the comments section on this blog or via my Facebook pageIf you would like to see the tree that I have been building for my One Place Study for each individual house, it is on Ancestry under 1 The Crescent Taunton One Place Study. This study is also part of the Society of One Place Studies.

[1] General Register Office (https://www.gro.gov.uk/) - Births GRO Reference: 1856 S Quarter in Taunton, Volume 5C, Page 388

[2] Ancestry.com. Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1914 ~ Somerset Heritage Service; Taunton, Somerset, England; Reference Number: D\P\tau.m/2/1/8 page 53

[3] Ancestry.com 1861 England Census - The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1861 England Census; Class: RG9; Piece: 1616; Folio: 15; Page: 1; GSU roll: 542840

[4] Ancestry.com 1871 England Census - The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1871 England Census; Class: RG10; Piece: 2370; Folio: 15; Page: 1; GSU roll: 835103

[5] Ancestry,com 1881 England Census - The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1881 England Census; Class: RG11; Piece: 813; Folio: 74; Page: 46; GSU roll: 1341192

[6] Ancestry.com 1891 England Census - The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891; Class: RG12; Piece: 605; Folio: 13; Page: 17; GSU roll: 6095715

[7] General Register Office (https://www.gro.gov.uk/) - Marriages GRO Reference: 1892 M Quarter in Kingston, Volume 2A, Page 417 

[8] Ancestry.com Surrey, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1937; Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Reference Number: 2853/1/5; page 27

[9] Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk, John Bull newspaper, 27 February 1892, page 14 - Image (c) The British Library Board - All Rights Reserved.

[10] General Register Office (https://www.gro.gov.uk/) - Deaths GRO Reference: 1894 S Quarter in Cookham, Volume 2C, Page 210

[11] Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk, Surrey Comet, 4 August 1894, page 5 - Image (c) The British Library Board - All Rights Reserved.

[12] Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk, Morning Post, 2 August 1894, page 1 - Image (c) The British Library Board - All Rights Reserved.

[13] Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk, Lloyd’s Weekly Newspaper, 5 August 1894, page 11 - Image (c) The British Library Board - All Rights Reserved.

[14] https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/ - 1894 - Lovell, Charles Petre

[15] Ancestry.com 1901 England Census - The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1901 England Census; Class: RG13; Piece: 616; Folio: 57; Page: 31

[16] General Register Office (https://www.gro.gov.uk/) - Deaths GRO Reference: 1909 J Quarter in Wellington, Volume 5C, Page 186

[17] Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk, Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette, 29 April 1909, page 1 - Image (c) The British Library Board - All Rights Reserved.

[18] Ancestry.com Surrey, England, Church of England Burials, 1813-1997; Surrey History Centre; Woking; Surrey, England; Reference 8821/1/8 page 1

[19] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/220654236/clara-jane-lovell

[20] https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/ - 1894 - Lovell, Charles Petre


Friday 1 January 2021

Society of One Place Studies - Blogging Prompts

A New Year, a new challenge! 

In 2020 I joined the Society of One Place Studies with my Street Study of The Crescent in Taunton, Somerset, England. It was one of the best decisions I made in the craziness that was the year 2020! Like everyone else, I have had real ups and downs this past year, but working on my study has been a stabilising force in a changing world. I am fortunate in that I live just a short walk from the place that I have chosen to focus my One Place Study on, although the residents of The Crescent came from and moved away to many different areas around the globe.  

This year, the Society of One Place Studies has invited everyone to take part in their Blogging Prompts 2021. I look forward to taking part. So what are the blogging prompts that have been set for the first six months of 2021...


OK...so January 2021 is #OnePlaceLandmarks. In my very first blog post, I discovered that many of the structures on The Crescent are listed on Historic England's Listed Buildings. This includes most of the buildings that were once people's homes but are now business premises. The Listed Buildings are the following:

I also found a great website called Somerset Historic Environment Record (HER) which has some great information and links to further materials available at the Somerset Heritage Centre in Taunton, Somerset, England regarding listed buildings and monuments along with conservation areas. 

So fundamentally most of my Street Study is a listed building with the exception of Exchange House at 12-14 The Crescent which was formerly the General Post Office Telephone House and is now a flexi-office space in the centre of Taunton. Telephone House was built in 1941 and "breaks the modesty of the street, with "its thick-set Tuscan porch" [1].    

During January, I will probably just consider one of the 6 listed buildings, although I am yet to decide which one! Any thoughts or suggestions appreciated along with hearing from folks taking part in #OnePlaceBlogPrompts. My handle on Twitter is TheCrescentOPS.

It would be wonderful to hear from you via the comments section on this blog or via my Facebook page. If you would like to see the tree that I have been building for my One Place Study for each individual house, it is on Ancestry under 1 The Crescent Taunton One Place Study. This study is also part of the Society of One Place Studies.







[1] Pevsner, Nikolaus (2001) [1958]. The Buildings of England: South and West Somerset London: Penguin Books. p. 317–8. ISBN 0-14-071014-0.