East Dundry
Encyclopedia
East Dundry is a south-facing hamlet some 160 metres above sea level in a sheltered valley of Dundry Hill just south of Bristol
. The hamlet is in the parish of Dundry
and about two kilometres east of its village church. The iron-age Maes Knoll
tump (2.5 kilometres to the east) and tumuli
(in the field just north-east of North Hill Farm) are evidence of long occupation of the valley.
The original settlements probably owed their existence to the quarrying of the local Dundry stone, which is found at Cardiff Castle and was used in mediaeval Bristol. Nearby Dundry, was originally a Roman fort built as part of the local defences against the invasions of the Anglo-Saxons.
The hamlet today has some 16 houses including two active farms – there were five active farms until the 1950s, then mostly supplying milk to Bristol. Most buildings are built from the oolitic
limestone quarried locally, probably mostly by the sites of the houses. Until 1930, the inhabitants were almost entirely farmers and farm workers: gradually since then the hamlet has become a dormitory village for Bristol.
East Dundry Lane in the 1920s was the first to be tarred into the hamlet. Bristol, with its centre only 6 kilometres away, had mains water, electricity, gas, dial telephones and mains drainage by the 1930s – but the Second World War and its ten years of ensuing austerity stopped all extension of these facilities to places such as East Dundry.
and the higher layer of Dundry hill’s oolitic limestone
– this allowed wells to be sunk for them, with a reliable supply. The farmhouses North Hill Farm and Walnut Farm were built on the village’s higher and flatter land in the late 19th century – they were served by separate hydraulic ram
s until the 1950s (for instance North Hill Farm had a pipe from the spring below Upton Farm to its ram by the stream and on up to the farm). Mains water (needing to be pumped up Dundry hill) was only supplied to the hamlet in 1957/8 after negotiations since 1952 (Dundry village had mains water supplied several years earlier than East Dundry).
was routed through East Dundry passing from Bristol along the track north of North Hill Farm, down the hamlet’s lane to Cross Cottage, down the west end of Cross Cottage’s garden, along the road past Spring Farm and up the track towards Rattledown Farm. In a few years every joint of this steel pipeline had to be resealed when the supply was converted from town to natural gas.
manual telephone exchange. Due to the Second World War and the following austerity, two houses often shared one of the few available lines with party lines
(for example The Dingle had the number Chew Magna 81 from 1930 and the neighbouring North Hill Cottage later shared with Chew Magna 1081). In the 1950s Bristol’s automatic “Strowger”
Bedminster exchange 66xxxx numbers served the hamlet, changing later to 63xxxx and 963xxxx. Subscriber Trunk Dialling
with the local code of 0BR2 became available on 5 December 1958 to a few UK cities. The dialling code progressively changed to 0272 (the same on the dial as 0BR2) and then 0117.
Acts of 1936 and 1951 established the compulsory redemption of English tithes by the state where the annual amounts payable were less than £1, so abolishing the bureaucracy and costs of collecting small sums of money. This applied to East Dundry as elsewhere.
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
. The hamlet is in the parish of Dundry
Dundry
Dundry is a village and civil parish, situated on Dundry Hill in the northern part of the Mendip Hills, between Bristol and the Chew Valley Lake, in the English county of Somerset. The parish includes the hamlets of Maiden Head and East Dundry...
and about two kilometres east of its village church. The iron-age Maes Knoll
Maes Knoll
Maes Knoll is an Iron Age hillfort in Somerset, England, located at the eastern end of the Dundry Down ridge, south of the city of Bristol and north of the village of Norton Malreward near the eastern side of Dundry Hill...
tump (2.5 kilometres to the east) and tumuli
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
(in the field just north-east of North Hill Farm) are evidence of long occupation of the valley.
The original settlements probably owed their existence to the quarrying of the local Dundry stone, which is found at Cardiff Castle and was used in mediaeval Bristol. Nearby Dundry, was originally a Roman fort built as part of the local defences against the invasions of the Anglo-Saxons.
The hamlet today has some 16 houses including two active farms – there were five active farms until the 1950s, then mostly supplying milk to Bristol. Most buildings are built from the oolitic
Oolite
Oolite is a sedimentary rock formed from ooids, spherical grains composed of concentric layers. The name derives from the Hellenic word òoion for egg. Strictly, oolites consist of ooids of diameter 0.25–2 mm; rocks composed of ooids larger than 2 mm are called pisolites...
limestone quarried locally, probably mostly by the sites of the houses. Until 1930, the inhabitants were almost entirely farmers and farm workers: gradually since then the hamlet has become a dormitory village for Bristol.
East Dundry Lane in the 1920s was the first to be tarred into the hamlet. Bristol, with its centre only 6 kilometres away, had mains water, electricity, gas, dial telephones and mains drainage by the 1930s – but the Second World War and its ten years of ensuing austerity stopped all extension of these facilities to places such as East Dundry.
Second World War
Bombs and shrapnel fell in East Dundry: bombs fell in the bull pen of North Hill Farm on 3 January 1941.Electricity
Negotiations with the Electricity Board started with a meeting in Walnut Farm in 1952 and installation in 1953 of an 11kV supply from across the valley in 1953.Water supply
The houses and farms built before about 1890 (and dating back to mediaeval and earlier times) are all geologically close to the division between clayClay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
and the higher layer of Dundry hill’s oolitic limestone
Oolite
Oolite is a sedimentary rock formed from ooids, spherical grains composed of concentric layers. The name derives from the Hellenic word òoion for egg. Strictly, oolites consist of ooids of diameter 0.25–2 mm; rocks composed of ooids larger than 2 mm are called pisolites...
– this allowed wells to be sunk for them, with a reliable supply. The farmhouses North Hill Farm and Walnut Farm were built on the village’s higher and flatter land in the late 19th century – they were served by separate hydraulic ram
Hydraulic ram
A hydraulic ram, or hydram, is a cyclic water pump powered by hydropower. It functions as a hydraulic transformer that takes in water at one "hydraulic head" and flow-rate, and outputs water at a higher hydraulic-head and lower flow-rate...
s until the 1950s (for instance North Hill Farm had a pipe from the spring below Upton Farm to its ram by the stream and on up to the farm). Mains water (needing to be pumped up Dundry hill) was only supplied to the hamlet in 1957/8 after negotiations since 1952 (Dundry village had mains water supplied several years earlier than East Dundry).
Gas supply
Gas was first supplied in the 1960s when a gas main to Chew MagnaChew Magna
Chew Magna is a village and civil parish within the Chew Valley in the Unitary Authority of Bath and North East Somerset, in the Ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The parish has a population of 1,161.To the south of the village is Chew Valley Lake...
was routed through East Dundry passing from Bristol along the track north of North Hill Farm, down the hamlet’s lane to Cross Cottage, down the west end of Cross Cottage’s garden, along the road past Spring Farm and up the track towards Rattledown Farm. In a few years every joint of this steel pipeline had to be resealed when the supply was converted from town to natural gas.
Telephones
East Dundry was served until the 1950s by poles and overhead open-wire cables all the way some 6 kilometres from the Chew MagnaChew Magna
Chew Magna is a village and civil parish within the Chew Valley in the Unitary Authority of Bath and North East Somerset, in the Ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The parish has a population of 1,161.To the south of the village is Chew Valley Lake...
manual telephone exchange. Due to the Second World War and the following austerity, two houses often shared one of the few available lines with party lines
Party line (telephony)
In twentieth-century telephone systems, a party line is an arrangement in which two or more customers are connected directly to the same local loop. Prior to World War II in the United States, party lines were the primary way residential subscribers acquired local telephone service...
(for example The Dingle had the number Chew Magna 81 from 1930 and the neighbouring North Hill Cottage later shared with Chew Magna 1081). In the 1950s Bristol’s automatic “Strowger”
Strowger switch
The Strowger switch, also known as Step-by-Step or SXS, is an early electromechanical telephone switching system invented by Almon Brown Strowger...
Bedminster exchange 66xxxx numbers served the hamlet, changing later to 63xxxx and 963xxxx. Subscriber Trunk Dialling
Subscriber trunk dialling
Subscriber trunk dialling is a term for a telephone system allowing subscribers to dial trunk calls without operator assistance.- Terminology :...
with the local code of 0BR2 became available on 5 December 1958 to a few UK cities. The dialling code progressively changed to 0272 (the same on the dial as 0BR2) and then 0117.
Tithes
The TitheTithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
Acts of 1936 and 1951 established the compulsory redemption of English tithes by the state where the annual amounts payable were less than £1, so abolishing the bureaucracy and costs of collecting small sums of money. This applied to East Dundry as elsewhere.
Notable residents
- The plant pathologist Lawrence OgilvieLawrence OgilvieLawrence Ogilvie was a Scottish plant pathologist.Ogilvie was a UK expert on the diseases of commercially-grown vegetables and wheat from the 1930s to the 1960s....
used to live in The Dingle. - The sculptress Doris Katherine Flinn lived in The Rookery.