A talk by Meg Wise on 8 April 2025.
Report by Stan Morrissey.
We were captivated by Meg Wise’s account of how essential utilities like water, sewage disposal, gas, and electricity came to Thornbury – services taken for granted now but generally available only relatively recently.
Despite the presence of springs and streams, Thornbury has always had a water supply shortage. Its main sources were limited – Coppins Well, Polterbrook stream, and a well on the Plain. Huge cisterns were dug behind houses to collect rainwater; some are still in use today. One, converted into a cellar, can be seen in the Chantry. Meg noted that rumours of tunnels between the town and castle were likely based on these water reservoirs.
In 1851, a severe drought caused wells to fail, the brewery to close, and the entire town to go short of water. Proposals for water companies to provide a reliable water supply came to nothing but new public wells were built in Bulls Lane (top of Bath Road) and the Plain. Drilled through up to 91 feet of Thornbury rock these were significant undertakings, but the water on the Plain became contaminated and fit only for washing carts.
When the Railway opened in 1872 bringing drinkable spring water from Tytherington quarries to a storage tower at the station, the surplus was diverted to standpipes around town. In 1898, the West Gloucester Water Company (WGWC) started supplying mains water. Piped via Filton, over-usage ‘upstream’ sometimes stopped the supply to Thornbury altogether. A side benefit of pressurised water was that fire hydrants could be installed and the Thornbury Fire Brigade was founded.
WGWC amalgamated with Bristol Waterworks Company in 1959, and drinking water at last became reliably available. The wells were still in use in the 1930s, and Railway water was discontinued only in 1966 when the branch line closed.
Gas supply was first mentioned in 1839, with a gas works proposed for the centre of town, on the corner of St Marys Street and The Plain. Maybe this was not the safest location and the works were eventually built in ‘Gashouse Lane’, now Park Road, in what is now the parking area near the Scout Hut. Street lighting was introduced in 1856, along with some private lamps for places like the Castle, Church and the Bank. Domestic supplies followed, and it was said that children with Whooping Cough benefited from inhaling gas fumes!
Electricity came much later. Soon after 1906 the sawmill generated electricity for its own use from a gas engine that burned waste sawdust (recycling in action). This provided a DC supply which was used to feed selected properties in Thornbury. In 1926/7, the Thornbury & District Electricity Company was formed which linked to the AC current of the National Grid in 1933. A Gas and Electricity showroom opened in 1932 in St John Street and electric street lighting was gradually introduced.
And so to the smelly subject of Sewage. Disposal of our waste was a significant issue well into the 20th Century. Many houses had external privies feeding brick-built cess pits which leaked and frequently overflowed. The waste from earth or ash closets was collected weekly by ‘honey carts’. The first sewage treatment settling tanks were on what is now the Streamside Walk just down from Gloucester Road (where the stepping stones are) and was connected to the workhouse. So, the workhouse inhabitants enjoyed a better service than most houses in Thornbury.
In May 1925 there were reports about open gutters running with sewage and complaints about the lack of any public toilets but a sewage scheme was deemed too expensive. In 1933 it was noted that at least 50% of householders had the contents of waste closets carried through their houses. Over 50 buses stopped daily in town, and, with no public toilets, visitors had to use private facilities and even alleyways. Sewers were at last installed, a major undertaking as deep trenches had to be cut through Thornbury rock, and very disruptive as roads were closed and many gardens ruined. The treatment works on Oldbury Lane opened in 1935 and Thornbury finally got public toilets in Quaker Lane, recently converted into housing. Now Thornbury public toilets are back where they were a hundred years ago, reliant on private facilities!