Midsomer gladness
THE carved wooden figure has had something of a chequered career, as it originally lay on a tomb, followed by spells in a garden, then a church tower, where it was discovered wrapped up in fertiliser bags.
For the past three decades it has been kept at the Bristol Museum, where it was taken for analysis. Now, the Midsomer Norton Society, founded two years ago, is leading a campaign to get the 13th-century effigy of a knight in chain-mail armour restored and returned to its proper home, at St John the Baptist church in the town.
"We've teamed up with members of the church and Radstock Museum to see what can be done to bring the knight home," said Paul Myers, the society's secretary.
A number of events, including a tea dance party this autumn, are being held to raise funds to pay for a conservation report and buy a humidity-controlled showcase for it. This is just one of a number of projects the society's 100 members are working on, aimed at enhancing the town and cherishing its heritage.
"We may not be a Georgian city or a World Heritage site, but we want to influence the present and future development of our town. We also want to bring people together.
"The long-term management and cleaning of the River Somer was voted the number-one priority by our members. Volunteers have cleaned out the river and collected 96 sacks of rubbish," he said.
A River Somer management team has been formed with representatives from the society, local businesses, residents and others to tackle issues of litter, any vandalism or build-up of silt in the river.
Paul says the aim is to turn the river into "the asset it should be for the town, rather than the eyesore that many would claim it is in danger of becoming".
The society also wants to revive the Midsomer Norton Fair, which has its roots in a charter granted by Henry III in 1242 allowing the town to hold a fair once a year.
"This is something much larger than we can support as a single organisation," says Paul. "We are working to establish links with community organisations in the town, in the hope that we can pool our resources and resurrect the fair day as an event for the whole family.
"It will celebrate our heritage and bring the community together."
He hopes the fair will be brought back next year on the Saturday nearest to June 24 – Midsummer's Day.
Midsomer Norton lies in the valley of the River Somer, nine miles south-west of Bath, and has been a market town since medieval times.
During the 19th century it grew into a mining town with collieries at Welton, Old Mills and Norton Hill, which had one of the best safety records.
But in 1908 a pit explosion killed 10 men and left the community in shock and in mourning. The other 19 miners in the pit at the time were brought to safety. Norton Hill was the last colliery in the town to close, in the 1960s.
Midsomer Norton and its neighbouring town of Radstock are joined administratively to form the urban district of Norton-Radstock but Norton, as some locals affectionately call it, has its own atmosphere and character.
The River Somer, flowing through the town alongside High Street, is perhaps its main feature. It flows through a neat stone-lined channel, occasionally disappearing into a culvert to appear again a short distance further along.
High Street is the main shopping area with lots of traditional independent shops and supermarkets that fit in with the size and scale of the town. Free car parking attracts frequent shoppers from the local catchment area.
Much of the architecture here stems from the period of coal mining prosperity in late Victorian times, but there are also earlier buildings. Overall, it's probably best described as eclectic.
Half-timbered almshouses on High Street date from 1890, while the Old Town Hall in Silver Street has been at the heart of the community for 150 years, hosting every type of event from concerts and public meetings to dance and live theatre, a tradition that continues today. It was built in the Italianate Gothic style at a cost of £1,500 as a market hall for corn and cattle sales. For the past 25 years it's been run by the Sarah Ann Trust for the benefit of local people.
The trust takes its name from a girl who carried water from the River Somer for the stonemasons building the hall. Sarah is commemorated by her carved effigy and a water pitcher on either side of the hall's entrance.
The turreted Methodist Church is unusual, while St John's church in its elevated position just beyond High Street is imposing.
The Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Ghost around the corner is not only one of the town's oldest buildings, but also has an unusual history.
It started life as a tithe barn in the 1400s, but since then it's served as kennels, stables and even a chicken house.
The building was in a dilapidated state when the church bought it from a private owner in 1906 to transform it into a place of worship. Norton has a population of around 11,000 with more than half of its workforce commuting to Bath, Bristol and Wells. Nearly 800 people are employed in the town centre, in retail or service industries. Several hundred more have jobs at Welton Bibby & Baron.
With more than 150 years' experience, the firm has become the largest manufacturer in Europe of paper bag packaging. It makes more than a billion bags each year for everything from food products to fashion items and from takeaway meals to pet foods.
Meanwhile, the stage is being prepared for a night of twinkling lights, spectacular costumes and street entertainment as Midsomer Norton carnival snakes its way through the town on Thursday, November 13.
The town has its own version of the Mardi Gras, too, in July, featuring everything from home-grown musical acts to a fairground.
"It's a good time for any organisation in the town to raise funds for its projects. Everyone's welcome to take part," says Hazel Franklin one of the organisers.
THE Old Priory, now the Moody Goose restaurant, is one of the oldest buildings in Bath and North East Somerset.
Parts of the property date back to 1152, when the land (approximately two-thirds of present-day Midsomer Norton) was bought.
The priory was built in 1170 and many original architectural features from this period still exist. There's also a secret tunnel running to the 15th-century Catholic church, a 14th-century inglenook fireplace, and the fireplace in the yellow drawing room is Tudor. A fully intact 15th-century well is still preserved in the courtyard.
The house is now grade II* listed, and has been used as a hotel since 1994. Now called the Moody Goose, it is owned and run by Stephen and Victoria Shore, who previously ran a Michelin-starred restaurant of the same name in nearby Bath.
Earlier this year, Marc Cooper reviewed the restaurant for West Country Life. He wrote: "It attracts customers from far and wide. Among the diners you will hear local farmers' drawls, some stronger Bristolian, and more than a fair smattering of classic received pronunciation."
He added: "Unlike most restaurants, a meal at the Moody Goose does not just comprise arriving, sitting down, eating, paying, and leaving."
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