Grace Parish and her husband farmed together in Pawlett near Bridgwater. Here she discusses flooding, a common occurrence for residents of the low lying Somerset Levels.
Somerset Voices: Grace Parish (b.1919)
May 25, 2009 at 4:00 am (History, Location)
Tags: Bridgwater, Grace Parish, Pawlett, Somerset
Somerset Voices: Eric Jones (b.1908)
April 15, 2009 at 4:00 am (Biography, History, Location)
Tags: Bridgwater, North Petherton, Somerset
Eric Jones was born in 1908 and farmed in North Petherton near Bridgwater. He sold cattle, sheep, poultry and eggs at Bridgwater market, as well as cultivating and harvesting peas on the rich farmland around North Petherton. Eric remembered the ploughing competitions held in May by local farmers in the 1930s. The landowner would supply beer or cider to acknowledge his gratitude for the free ploughing carried out by the competitors.
Somerset Voices: Fred Cousins
February 2, 2009 at 4:00 am (Biography, History, Podcast)
Tags: Bridgwater, Cousins, Meare Green
Fred Cousins was born in 1915. Fred began his working life as a farmer; growing withies and teasels was a way of earning extra money in his spare time. He took early retirement after working in the Bridgwater concrete works for twenty years, and went back to teasel growing at Coate’s willow works, Meare Green. It is now difficult to buy the tools and gloves required to grow teasels.
