AXMINSTER RESIDENTS LISTED IN THE UNIVERSAL BRITISH DIRECTORY c.1794 |
The Universal British Directory of Trade, Commerce & Manufacture was issued in separate volumes over a period of 7 to 8 years between 1791 and 1798. As the different volumes were published, updates and alterations were made so that no listing can be specific to a single year but rather, to the final years of the 18th century.
No street locations were given for the traders. The original spelling has been retained.
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The Minster church of St. Mary the Virgin, Axminster - 1792 |
The first town in this county is situated 152 miles from London, 60 from Bath and Bristol, 25 from Exeter, 13 from Taunton, and 5 from the British Channel. It takes one part of its name from the river Axe on which it stands, the other from a Minster, now standing, erected here by King Athelstan, for seven priests to pray for the departed souls of some persons buried here who were killed in his army, when he defeated the Danes at the bloody battle in a neighbouring field, which to this day is called King's Field, and their monuments are yet remaining in the church, which is a vicarage, with two daughter churches belonging thereto, at Kilmington and Membury, value £500 per annum, in the gift of the Prebend of York; the great tithes belong to Mr. Kerney. There are also two Meeting houses, one for the Independents, the other for the Methodists; also a Roman Catholic Chapel, and a priest kept here by Lord Petre, lord of the manor.
The carpet manufactory is carried on here in great perfection; it is worked of any size in one piece, with needles by women; in point of colour and strength, it is allowed to be the first in the world. Broad and narrow cloth, cotton tapes, druggets, leather breeches and gloves are made here.
There is a bank kept by Messrs Hallett, Stevens and Whitby jun. The principal inn, the George (kept by Mr. Ellard) is the best in the west of England. An exceeding good boarding school for young ladies, kept by Miss Braddock; likewise a charity school, for instructing 20 boys to read and write; and a large airy, good house for the poor; here is a Sunday School established by the late Mr. Wesley's people where 150 boys and girls are taught to read.
The mail coach passes through every morning at half past eight, and every evening at six; two other coaches go to London every morning at 9 o'clock; there are eight wagons to and from London every week.
This town and parish contain 2500 inhabitants and the following are the principal ones: |
GENTRY etc. Forward, Mrs. Kate, Mrs. Knight, Mr. Steward to Lord Petre Leat, Mrs. Liddon William Esq. Taunton Thomas, Esq Thomas Mrs. CLERGY
Buckland Rev.Charles, Curate Steer, Rev. Charles, Vicar Small, Rev. James, Dissenting Minister PHYSICIANS Bragge, Nicholas & Son, surgeons and apothecaries Garniss, Robert, surgeon and apothecary Robertson, Robert, druggist Symes, Samuel, surgeon and apothecary White, ----, surgeon LAWYERS Forward Samuel, attorney Smith George, attorney
TRADERS etc.
Beer, George, thatcher Bilk, Jonathan, post master and farmer Bishop, Elizabeth, blacksmith Bishop, Samuel, farmer Bond ,William, land & timber surveyor Bowdidge, John, baker Bracknay, Thomas, butcher Bragge, Joseph, linen draper & mercer Brice, Samuel, peruke maker and grazier Bryant, Robert, shopkeeper Buckland, T, shopkeeper & gardener Buckmole, Elizabeth, blacksmith Bull, F. William, baker Bull, John, cooper and auctioneer Bull, Richard, ironmonger and printer Burch, William, fish carrier Butcher, Samuel, printer and perfumer Cawley, Joan, ironmonger and hunter Champ, George, shoe maker Charles, Robert, shopkeeper Cheek, Charles, plumber and glazier Clark, Bridget, linen draper Coles, Thomas, shoe maker Collier, Giles, miller and farmer Coombs, G, sen.,saddler and grazier Daniel, John, currier Dight, Francis, breeches maker and leather dresser Duer, Samuel, joiner and glazier Dunster, Henry, blacksmith Dunster, Thomas, victualler Edward, James, cooper and butter factor Ellard, George, innkeeper Enticott, Isaac, fruiterer Garnis, Andrew, joiner Garnis, Linard, joiner Gillett, James, farmer Gillett, William, farmer Gosling, Jacob, victualler Gosling, Nathaniel, baker Hallett, Robert and Thomas, merchants and bankers Hamlen. Benjamin, shoe maker Hardey, John, butcher Harner, John, breeches maker and leather dresser Harvey, Israel, manufacturer of broad cloth Hawkins, H.,victualler and wheelwright Hawkins, Joseph, watch and clock maker Hayman, Hugh, baker and victualler Henley, William, glazier Hill, Elias, gardener Hill, Richard, saddler Hoar, George, blacksmith Hoar, James, cooper Hoar, John, farmer Hoar, Robert, taylor Hodge, John, innkeeper Holstone, Mary, victualler Irish, John, thatcher King, Sarah, milliner Kingsbeer, William, breeches maker and shopkeeper Lewis, John, carpenter Liddon, John, tanner Liddon, Matthew, farmer Liddon, Sarah, mantua maker Lowring, William, carpenter Lucks, Susanna, shopkeeper Major, William, glazier & shopkeeper Mallock, Richard, schoolmaster and shopkeeper Mills, Samuel, cooper Morgan, J. sen. taylor and stay maker Mullins, William, shoe maker Newman, John, farmer Oliver, William, taylor Peironnet, Stephen, dancing master Pering, Richard, farmer Pitcher, Amos, shopkeeper Restarick, John, tiler Restarick, William, peruke maker and cordwainer Rocket, Joseph, shoe maker Shiles Henry, narrow cloth worker Silk, James, cordwainer Skinner, Richard, victualler Smith Henry, carpenter Spence, John, cabinet maker Stevens, Francis, banker Thatcher, John, bailiff to Lord Petre Thatcher, Samuel, cordwainer Towt, John, taylor Towt, William, taylor Tozer, Margaret, drugget-maker Tucker, Benjamin, brewer Tucker, George, timber merchant Tucker, Isaac, mercer and draper Tucker W. George, cotton tape maker Turner, Mary, school mistress Welch, John, baker Wellman, George, victualler White, Peter, innkeeper Whitty, Thomas, sen, carpet manufacturer Whitty, Thomas, jun.,carpet manufacturer Willmott, Elizabeth, shopkeeper Wooley, Benjamin, cotton tape maker Wooley, John, shoe thread maker Wooley, Samuel, shoe maker Wooley, William, shoe maker |
The following seats are in the vicinity of Axminster:
Cloakham House, ¾ of a mile north of the town, situated on a hill, commanding a fine view of the British Channel.
Wood House, 1 mile, a neat little house, the residence of Mr. Liddon.
Coryton House, a mile and a half, the seat of William Tucker, Esq. one of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the county of Devon.
One mile and a half distant, about 100 yards to the right of the road to Exeter is Shute House, the seat of Sir John William De la Pole, MP. 3 miles from hence, to the left of the same road, stood the old mansion belonging to the family of De la Pole, which the present Sir John has had taken down and rebuilt.
At a small distance, on a delightful spot, commanding a view of the river Axe and the sea, is Ash House, the seat of William Drake Esq. It is gone to decay for want of an occupier; one part of the mansion is now taken down and the other is converted into a farm house. The chapel is still kept in repair.
Six miles from hence is Stedcombe House, the seat of the Rev. Mr. Hallett, and four miles distant is Road House, the seat of Major Williams. It is situated on an eminence called Road Hill in the parish of Up Lyme, commanding a view of the sea and the town of Lyme.
Ford Abbey, 5 miles distant, lies to the right, on the road to Chard. It is the only entire Abbey in the kingdom, and is now undergoing a thorough repair by order of Francis Gwin, Esq, the present owner. It is a stately fabric, loft and very magnificent, adorned with curious carvings and embellishments of the Gothic kind. |
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Ford Abbey in 1832* |
*At the time at which Axminster's entry in this Directory was written, Ford Abbey and Lyme (not yet renamed as Lyme Regis) were both in the county of Devon. Today, both are in the county of Dorset. Ford Abbey is in the parish of Thorncombe, which, at the beginning of the 19th century, was in the Axminster Hundred. Thorncombe was annexed to Dorset in 1842 when the parishes of Dalwood and Stockland, formerly in Dorset, were annexed to Devon. |
© M.E. Brine. This page last updated
31 July, 2009
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