[A] Sources

Please consult these sources for more accurate information. The SAY AI Radio pages provide only a quick and no doubt inaccurate summary.

Institute of Historical Research.
[a] Victoria County History of Gloucestershire
[b] VCH Gloucestershire vol. XIV - Yate and District

[c] Local government records for Chipping Sodbury Grammar School, later Gaunts School and then Chipping Sodbury School

[d] Some law and lots of bad behaviour discovered in 1826: Report of commissioners following 'An Act for appointing Commissioners to inquire concerning Charities in England for the Education of the Poor'

[e] Lots about the interesting land rights problems around The Ridings etc Common land by Great Britain. Royal Commission. 1956.

These books are also interesting.

[i] An excellent, readable and very relevant book published in 1907 is: The History of the Parishes of Old Sodbury and of Little Sodbury, and of the Town of Chipping Sodbury, in the County of Gloucester.
FRANCIS F. FOX, F.S.A.. This contains many interesting stories and a list of public houses: 'In 1726 there were fourteen : the George, Cap and Feathers, White Hart, Star, Goat, Portcullis, Horse Shoe, Bell, Crown, Mitre, Swan, Three Crowns, White Horse, Queen's Head. In 1780 the Cap and Feathers lost its licence and at the end of that century the principal inns were the Swan, Bell, George, and Royal Oak.'

[ii] A book from 1805 mentioning Chipping Sodbury and saying the area was known for cheese Topographical and statistical description of the county of Gloucester by George Alexander Cooke.

[iii] A book from 1784 mentioning Chipping Sodbury The new British Traveller which comments 'Sodbury formerly called CHIPPING-SODBURY, is a considerable town, pleasantly situated on the banks of the Frome. It has many handsome buildings, and several good inns for the accommodation of travellers. The church is a large structure, with a lofty tower adorned with battlements and pinnacles, from whence there is a most delightful prospect over the neighbouring country.'

[iv] A book from 1699 mentioning Chipping Sodbury The traveller's guide: ... 1699. Includes '... enter Sodbury alias Chipping-Sodbury of 3 F. on the Road, in a Bottom ; an ancient Borough-Town, with a great Market, for Corn, Cheese, etc. on Thursday,'.

[v] See also: The Bob Jordan (Postcard) Collection.

Useful Terms

Borough: A borough is a type of town or district that historically had special privileges granted by royal charter. These privileges often included the right to self-governance, representation in parliament, and the ability to hold markets.

Burgage: Burgage refers to a specific type of property tenure that was common in medieval English boroughs. A burgage was typically a strip of land or a property within a borough, often with a house facing the street.

[B] The Origins of Chipping Sodbury

The Sodbury area needed a market to more efficiently distribute agricultural produce. In 1218 or thereabouts a local nobleman called William le Gras. (also called le Gros.) was granted the right to hold a weekly market and an annual fair. The word 'Chipping' was associated with markets and the townfolk still refer to the area of the 'chippings' on the main streets. The Borough of Chipping Sodbury was created either at that time or fairly soon thereafter, and indeed is known to have granted a specific Burgage in 1232.

The new Borough was taken from the land of the Manor of Sodbury and was given only a small area with boundaries defined by the River Frome to the north and various lanes and field boundaries running around the other sides. There must have been a small town there already which now gained the addition of the preface Chipping. Do read the Francis Fox book referenced above for much entertaining content on the area prior to these dates.

See also: Domesday Book reference to Old Sodbury which includes a reference which Francis Fox translates as: 'The salt works were under his care, and the poor tenants pertaining to the manor of Sodbury, who had to pay twenty-five measures of salt'. Salt was particularly important for those living before modern refrigeration.

A further interesting note from Francis Fox says of William le Gros. 'He was a great benefactor to the burgesses of Chipping Sodbury, in granting to them and to their heirs all the liberties pertaining to the "Law of Bristol " ; also by giving license for every burgher to have common for a cow in the place now called The Ridings, also lot meadow rights in the Meadow Ridings.' Both areas are used today by citizens of the town, and across the centuries were extremely important as noted below. Furthermore there is reference at about the same time: 'William Green, of the same town, granted them by deed, the date of which is lost, Gaunts Fields, four in number '. There is much more on Gaunts Field(s) later, not least with reference to education.

The very existence of a new market town started to define trade routes. The road between Bristol and Chippenham passed through the town and was turnpiked. The Tollhouse remains to this day, though turned to less threatening uses. The road north out towards Wickwar was also given a turnpike. Note that today's road which passes over a bridge and past St John's Church (and Waitrose) was a relatively recent addition in 1772.

See this pdf for lots more: Chipping Sodbury Settlement

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[C] The development of the economy of Chipping Sodbury

Chipping Sodbury is quite small and there has always been only a limited amount of agricultural land for growing crops, which was further limited as the town built out from the original centre. There is however, a lot of pasture within reasonable distance, and an area called Gaunt's Field was available for summer months. There was also Stub Riding and Mead Riding to the North of the town.

It is said that in the 16th century, Stub Riding had capacity for 60 cattle which was shared out as one cow ( a horse, or 5 sheep) for each of 60 locals, using a complex process to decide who those were. As can be imagined, the allocation of land right within a small community was subject to regular dispute.

The small River Frome flows through Chipping Sodbury, and there was a mill since the late 15th century. In the 19th Century it was known as Trotman's Mill, with the millpond and race being filled in in the 1930s.

Quarrying began in the mid 19th century across the area, and continues in the Chipping Sodbury area to this day, even though some original quarry areas are now given over to housing and leisure. There was originally associated industrial production of building materials.

The wide main streets of Chipping Sodbury were designed to allow markets to take place, for cattle, horses and sheep as well as other agricultural produce such as cheese. the town benefited in many ways, not least from custom gained by the many local public houses and hotels. There is more on Chipping Sodbury as a market town below.

See this pdf for more detail: Chipping Sodbury Economic History

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[D] Chipping Sodbury as a market town

By the mid 17th Century the borough was receiving fees associated with holding markets, and putting them to good use for the upkeep of the town and the care of the poorer citizens. Goods traded included cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, cheese, bread, barley, oats, peas and beans as well as products like wool. The market evolved in response to success, with new markets introduced and new areas in the main street prepared to support them. Such was the success that the 'market chippings' had to be paved to ensure locals did not have to wade through manure from the markets.

Each year the town holds a Mop Fair which has its origins in a hiring event initiated in 1807 where women offering themselves as female servants assembled to be selected by local households and businesses. As can be imagined this event had the potential for bad behaviour, as it was surrounded by public houses and accompanied by all sorts of food, goods and fairground stalls. Nowadays only the fair remains, and of course a certain amount of bad behaviour.

Chipping Sodbury did well for many years because of its position on trade routes between towns like Bristol, Bath, Cheltenham, and Cirencester, as well as Castle Coombe and Chippenham. In the 17th and 18th Century it seems to have been a centre for a period for cloth production, with wool readily available, and many local no doubt producing piecework from home. Indeed in the 16th Century, some of those who traded cloth were among the richest of the locals. Similarily there were leather workers.

Professional services are needed wherever there is trade including legal services and banking. As much of the business might be carried out in a public house on market day those might be combined with owning such an establishment. Medical services and provision of medical supplies also grew with the town.

While Chipping Sodbury remains a vibrant community, its role as a market town has clearly diminished in the last fifty years and more. One reason was the creation of a large shopping centre in nearby Yate, but the majority of the change is due to wider changes in society, and how much easier it is for people to travel distances to work and to source goods and services.

Again see this pdf for more detail: Chipping Sodbury Economic History

[E] The History of Education in Chipping Sodbury

Nowadays Chipping Sodbury has several Primary Schools and a large Secondary School, since the 1970s simply called Chipping Sodbury School. This is in easy walking distance of the centre of Chipping Sodbury, to the south side, on an area of land rich in its own local history, Gaunts Field. Before the school moved to that site in 1938 it had been Chipping Sodbury Grammar School which continued to be its name until the change towards comprehensive education made that innapropriate.

There is an interesting note (below) about an interim name - Gaunts School. The quotation below shows that the name was suggested, and there are several online social media posts by ex-students who mention that they attended Gaunts School Chipping Sodbury. There is also other online material. e.g. this advertisement from a local paper: CHIPPING SODBURY GAUNTS SCHOOL BRISTOL 870 pupils coed wanted for September 1973 TEACHER cf Rural Studies and Biology Apply to Headmaster with two testimonials and two referees ...

'departmental memorandum concerning proposal by governors to change school's name from Chipping Sodbury School to Chipping Sodbury Gaunts School, as the school premises were built on a field called Gaunts Field and the existing school badges could continue to be used as the school would have the same initials as Chipping Sodbury Grammar School, 1972'
ref: File concerning Chipping Sodbury Grammar School [later Gaunts School], 1961-1972

Free education for poor children started in Chipping Sodbury as early as 1594. The research pdf linked immediately below tells stories of a range of teachers, coping with little money and often very poor classroom facilities. The formation of a traditional grammar school was decided upon in around 1832, with little initial success until 1861 when the Chipping Sodbury Endowed School was conceived. That itself had limited success with typically 12 to 25 boys attending.

By 1905 there were only 6 pupils. In 1912 a new start was made with mixed sex education. It had a combination of free and fee-paying places, and taught a more practical combination of subjects than had been offered previously. By 1931 there were over 150 pupils at the school, and plans began to move to the site at Gaunts Field mentioned in the first paragraph above.

The education discussion starts midway through: Social History of Chipping Sodbury

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