BOWER HOUSE,  WINTER WELL , THURLBEAR

See Sixsmith Map 1957 and Winter Well Hamlet

A History of Thurlbear: by R. A. Sixsmith 1957 ....Opposite Winterwell is Bower House where Mrs Shire has been since 1903; About 18 years before that it ceased to be Lime Kiln Inn. She and her son lease 16 acres and specialise in threshing, hauling and sawing....

The Tithe Map of 1837 shows the lands and property today known as Winterwell and Bower House, under the single title of Winterwell in the ownership of Charles Channing. By 1844 the eastern side of Winterwell became The Lime Kiln Inn and Thomas Channing paid a church rate for the Inn and the holding called Willey's (long since pulled down). Around 1885 the Lime Kiln Inn changed its name to the Bower House and at the turn of the century, agricultural labourers working for Shires at The Bower House, used their Lower Barn (on the road and opposite the entance to Winterwell) to sleep and eat. During the 1920's - 1940's the Portman family at Staple Manor used the barn to store apples. At the road end of this barn was the Victorian letter-box which mysteriously disappeared in 2000. Located at the side of this barn today is the original well which fed Winterwell and was pumped from Winterwell to a horse-trough outside Lime Kiln Cottages and opposite the Bower House. The horse-trough provided water for livestock travelling to and from Taunton. The well is being restored by David and Gill Widden. Sources: A History of Thurlbear, R.A.Sixsmith, 1957. Terry Rowles 2001

Postbox dated 1859-1861

It is troubling to learn that in recent years there had been a spate of thefts of wall-boxes in Somerset, with some of the oldest boxes in the country being stolen and removed from their rural settings. This listed (see below) Victorian box at Winterwell was such a casualty. Dating from 1859-1861 it was one of the oldest in the country. Post boxes of varying design were introduced in 1840 following the introduction of the Uniform Penny post. This photograph was originally taken after the removal of the postbox on the wall of the barn but the postbox has been photographically reimposed in an attempt to restore the earlier appearance. Photographic Artwork: Alan Prime, Mount Pleasant, Stoke St. Mary.

Internet link to TDBC Listed Buildings - Orchard Portman

Listed Buildings WALL LETTER BOX AT NGR ST 2597 2039, ORCHARD PORTMAN Grade : II List Entry Date : 21 February 1986 Wallbox. 1859-1861. By Smith and Hawkes of Birmingham for the Post Office. Cast iron. A rare example of which only 48 are known to survive in the country. (The Letterbox Study Group).

Bower House, today owned and occupied by David and Gill Widden with their son Peter.

Photographs provided November 2001 by Gill Widden.