North Common Village

Much of the content for this page has been provided by Margaret Stagg (nee Sheppard) who was born here in the 1940s.

Meredith’s Shop
Meredith’s shop was on the corner of Victoria Road and Poplar Road which also had a phone box. Mr Meredith was a good photographer. There were always advertisements for the Odeon Cinema at Kingswood on the wall outside. Later Meredith’s became Lynden’s who had a dog Spot, a handsome black and white Spaniel.

The photograph on the left was taken by Mr Malcolm Meredith, outside his shop in Poplar Road in 1960, of some of the young people of North Common and a young man from Oldland Common.

From left to right Robert (Bob) Morgan, Colin Price, Clive Odey, Dave Saunders, Francis Brewer, Kathleen Sheppard (My Sister) Raymond Willmott (Oldland Common) Pauline Goulstone, Monty Packer and Margaret Cook.

Poplar Road
Poplar Road had a  boot and shoe factory, Brain’s, which later became Decor an advertising company employing many local people. 

The Kings kept a local general stores shop on the right, now a private house and before it was owned by Mrs Evans. We paid into a Christmas Club each week and bought our knitting yarn and the very best ham. 

North Common Methodist
Next door to the Trubody’s General Store at the end of the rank was the lovely ‘Little Chapel’ as it was known, North Common Methodist Chapel. Many residents have wonderful memories of Mr and Mrs Noble, Mr and Miss England and the kind Sunday School Teachers, Harvest Festival, Whitsun, Anniversary and Band of Hope with Mr Noble on Wednesday evenings. Sadly it closed its doors as a place of worship for the last time in 2004.

North Common Methodist Church was originally known as North Common Primitive Methodist Church and later North Common Unity Methodist Church. The church opened in 1879 and remained a very active fellowship until its closure in the early 21st Century (2004).Two Stalwarts of the Church, Mrs Edith Lewis and Mr Alfred Noble, both served over 80 years at the Church and in the mid 1980’s the Parish Council acknowledged their long service to ‘The Little Chapel’ naming new roads in the village after them, Lewis Close and Noble Avenue respectively.

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, in his journal for the 13th October 1761, states, “ I preached at Newgate, at Kingswood in the afternoon, and in the evening outside at North Common. Hers a people had sprung up, as it were ‘out of the earth’ most of them employed in the neighbouring brass works. We took a view of these the next day, and one thing I learned here, the propriety of that expression from the Bible, Revelation Chapter 1 verse 15 “His feet were as a fine brass, burning in a furnace. The brightness of this cannot easily be conceived. I have seen nothing like it but clear white lightning”. Perhaps this indicates that John Wesley stayed overnight in North Common, probably with a local family.

Tweeney Lane
Tweeney Lane lead to a stone style to ‘Lovers Walk’, which ran across the fields and up to the side of the railway line with metal railings one side and the embankment the other and a stream in the dip at the bottom.  By the stone style in Sweeney Lane there were a couple of very old stone cottages at right angles to the lane on the right near the stile before the newer houses were built.

Mr Len Alridge had a welding business to the left near the style and the Lewis family lived opposite the entrance to the lane G & L J Lewis Builders. Over the railway bridge where my great grandfather would sit on the parapet the worse for wear and drink and shout obscenities to the ‘chapel people’ as they came by.

Greville Hayman kept what was called the Oil Shop opposite, he had a little van and delivered paraffin and household cleaning items locally.
Further along is the Dram Road, which in the earlier years carried coal from Coalpit Heath Collieries to the River Avon at Willsbridge, through a tunnel at one point. Horses were used to pull the drams or carts which is where the name Dram Road comes from.

Between the Dram Road and Poplar Road there was a rank of cottages, one was Mrs Jacobs house. She helped to bring a number of babies into the world and took care of those at the end of their lives. Later, Nurse Cockram played that roll. From 1905 to 1945 the local doctor was Doctor Aubrey, later to be replaced by Doctor Mayne while some residents had Doctor McDonald to care for them.

The Railway Tavern and the Hollybush Inn
Further along the road on the right, Hobbs Coal Merchants, and on the left, was the Railway Tavern Pub, now a private house. Mrs Ollis used to serve there always dressed in black. Mr William (Stafford) Ollis had sadly died in a direct hit on an air-raid shelter at Filton airfield during the war.

Across the main Bath Road is the Hollybush Inn, which was a favourite of the local timber merchants – the place the men had their Christmas gathering. Don and Olive Bracey kept the pub back then and later, Mansel Durbin .It was bought by Bristol United Breweries from Daniel Sykes and Co in 1897.

North Common Brethren Salem Chapel
Along the road to Cann Lane.was the ‘Old Chapel’ on the right -North Common Brethren Salem Chapel built in 1871 and closed in the late 30’s or early 40’s. It was used to garage the Gospel Mobile Van used by the Gospel Hall in Oldland Common by Mr Howard Harris. It is now a private residence .Further along on the right was John and Rex Jarretts Market Gardens where there were large greenhouses full of tomatoes and other plants. Frank Nowell and Sons Plumbing were next door.

Fews Farm was further along on the right and Cann Woods behind. A favourite walk was along the lane and up rugged Watery lane to Wick.

On  Bath Road was Harris’s Shop on the left hand side kept by Mr and Mrs Maurice Harris, selling everything from cheese to pigs trotters and home grown runner beans.

Bryce White Timber Merchants
Bryce White Timber Merchantswere on the corner of Victoria Road.  The offices were in a wooden hut, which cold in Winter and unbearably hot in Summer with an old fashiond switchboard with plugs each of the meters of staff had a one bar electric fire. Quite a few local people were employed there, Ian Golding, Jane (Pamela) Needs, Harold Hunt, Fred Haskins and Mario Borrocco an Italian POW. The Company sold, timber, doors, mouldings and sheet materials.

Just over Bucks Bridge and down on the other side on the right, just before reaching Close Farm was a small building which was a garage owned by Mr Bernard Gray, a thriving business serving most of the residence around the Common who had cars or even motor bikes. Bernard later went onto own the petrol station and garage not too far away in nearby Tower Road in Cadbury Heath.

Hardwicks Farm was on Lees Lane at the end (In the area near and around to where Millers Drive and North Common Community Centre is today). From here the cows were fetched each day and brought back to Close Farm on the right, now a doctors surgery. Mr and Mrs Vagg, lived at the farm with Josephine (Josie) and Margaret and their Spaniel dog. In August 1956 there was a severe outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease in the areas of both Oldland Common and North Common villages. In North Common Hardwicks Farm lost all their cows.

North Common Community Centre
Miller’s Drive is now the location of the North Common Community Centre which was run by the North Common Community Association, founded in 1971. The Chairman for many years, and one of its founder members, was Roger Fowler, a local councillor, who did so much for the North Common Community. The following are a couple of photos of the original ‘temporary’ building which was erected in 1983 and the ‘new’ building which was opened by the Mayor of Kingswood, Mr Les Bishop in 1991.

Further Details
The above account has been kindly provided by Margaret Stage. A much fuller account, with additional photographs and her memories of North Common is contained in Margaret Stagg’s article: Memories of North Common