Fred Beadle, 1872-1959, of Stowey, Clouds, Croydon, Beasley (and more)
Title
Fred Beadle, 1872-1959, of Stowey, Clouds, Croydon, Beasley (and more)
Subject
Description
Fred Beadle was born in 1872 at Erith, Kent, the son of Frances John (Frank) and Rosa Jane (nee Clayton) Beadle. His father worked as a Coal Merchant and "Railroad Wharfinger" (1), a Middle English and now archaic term for the manager and/or owner of a wharf (2). At the age of 19, Fred still lived with his parents, listing his profession as a "Commercial Traveler" (3). Three years later he married Ethel Marion Norris, the daughter of a silk merchant, in Erith (4) and on the 1901 Census, Fred was also a wharfinger. By 1911, still living in Kent, Fred continued to identify himself as a wharfinger but also a "Director of Companies" and he and Ethel had a live-in Butler and Cook, Mr. and Mrs. Meadows (5).
One of those companies directed by Mr. Beadle was British Fibro Cement, situated on the former Manor Road in Erith. The bottom photograph depicts the burly Fred Beadle in February 1923 escorting the Duke of York, the future King George VI, on a tour of the factory (6) .
Things were going well for Mr. and Mrs. Beadle. Before the outbreak of World War I, they had purchased a London home at the prestigious address of 1 Queens Gate, on a terraced row in Kensington, and another at Stowey, part of the Bouverie Estate surrounding Wheddon Cross and south of Timberscombe, the first of many Somerset properties Fred Beadle would own. In 2022, Stephen Humphreys and his mother, Ruth Humphreys, the current owners, credited Fred Beadle for creating what would become the celebrated manor home at Stowey by connecting two existing farm houses and a shed. A new butler, Harold Peirce, worked for the Beadles in London. After the beginning of the Great War, Fred, Ethel and the staff relocated to the country estate, as Stowey was now called. Harold Peirce's son, Godfrey(Geoff )Peirce, was born at Stowey and years later recalled Fred Beadle as a well-liked man and "a wealthy industrialist having made his money in coal" (7). Included in the staff were Charles Isaac and Ellen Emma (but known as "Nellie") Burton, who also traveled between 1 Queens Gate and Stowey, serving Fred and Ethel Beadle respectively as Gamekeeper (later Caretaker) and Cook and who remained in Timberscombe when they retired, c. 1950 (8).
Mrs. Beadle died on the 29th of April 1923. Her main address had remained 1 Queen's Gate but she died at Stowey (9). On 25 January 1925 and back in Kensington, Fred married Suzanne Bechely-Crundall (10), born 13 January 1905 (11). Suzanne was the daughter of Albert, a Property Dealer and Florence (nee Stevenson) Crundall of Hampstead, London (12). An artist, it is not clear how Suzanne's maiden surname became hyphenated with "Bechely". After her marriage to Fred, she painted as Suzanne Bechely Beadle. The painting above is her work, titled "The Blue Umbrella", which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in the Winter Exhibition, 1941 and at the London National Society in 1958. It is an oil signed and dated 1938 (13), at which time Fred and Suzanne Beadle were still living at Stowey.
On 27 May 1927, Fred had purchased Croydon Farm (14) , northeast of Stowey, followed in 1928 by taking ownership of lands and buildings around Holes' Square in Timberscombe and Beasley Farm, between Stowey and Croydon, in 1935 (15). Back in London, on 18 December 1939, the Court Circular Column of Buckingham Palace in The Times reported that Mr. and Mrs. Fred Beadle had left 1 Queens Gate and their present address was 15 Grosvenor Square, with their permanent address remaining as "Stowey Farm, Timberscombe, Minehead". Later a blue plaque was placed on the front of No. 1 Queens Gate, not for Mr. Beadle but for Benny Hill (1924-1992), the comedian and actor who later lived there.
In January 1943, Fred and Suzanne left Stowey, moving to Clouds, on Cowbridge Road, at Cowbridge, the hamlet northeast of Timberscombe (16). Built in 1925, in the Dutch Cape Style by Stone and French of Minehead, Clouds was described as "A good example of a gentlemen's residence of the period". It was Grade II Listed on 7 November 2003 (17). In this same time period, Mr. Beadle sold his complete estate to Eric William Towler, which now included Stowey, Croydon, Beasley, Bougham, Great House Farm and the Timberscombe Common (18).
By November 1943, Mr. Beadle purchased properties in Timberscombe, including Rosemont, an Apartment House on Brook Street in Timberscombe. Rosemont had been a former public house, the Rose and Crown, which operated from at least 1822 until it lost its license in 1915 (19), after which it had been converted into "First Class Apartments"(20) by Charles and Beatrice Ann Marie (nee Pyne) Hole. Mrs. Hole had grown up in the house when her father had been the landlord of the Rose and Crown at the turn of the century (21). Mr. Beadle allowed Mr. and Mrs. Hole to remain in residence at Rosemont until their respective deaths in 1955 and 1965 (22).
Despite this kindness and Geoff Peirce's memory of Beadle being well-liked, a business ruthlessness is also still recalled in Timberscombe. By 1930, the Old Forge in the centre of Timberscombe was converted into three residences. The first to be occupied was the centre flat, later addressed as No. 2 Old Forge. The tenants were John Burnett, a Farm Labourer originally from Luxborough, with his wife, Florence Bertha and daughter, Elsie May. Mr. Burnett died in 1943, the year Mr. Beadle was making his village acquisitions and unlike Mr. and Mrs. Hole, the newly widowed Mrs. Burnett and Elsie May were abruptly evicted (23).
Also remembered in Timberscombe is that Fred Beadle was instrumental in the building of the row of houses situated on the terrace cut out of the hillside, creating Willow Bank and he launched a lucrative side business in the valley, growing willow to make cricket bats. However with the outbreak of World War II and the "Dig For Victory" campaign promoted by the British Ministry of Agriculture-- where the population were encouraged to grow their own food due to strict rationing--Mr. Beadle's willows had to be dug up (24). Other recollections invariably mention Fred Beadle only had one arm. How he lost his left limb is not clear but it was also said that he shot better with one arm than most people managed to do with two (25).
The last home purchased, seemingly around 1950 (26), by Fred Beadle in West Somerset was a family home for him and Suzanne, Willet House at Elsworthy, built in 1816. It is the house behind Mr. Beadle in the photograph at the top of this entry, which was shared by Geoff Peirce for "WELCOME TO OUR VILLAGE:, the Wheddon Cross and Cutcombe community website for a Local History entry titled "Geoff Peirce on Stowey Farm". Willet House came with a folly built in the form of a ruined church tower. The house was Grade II Listed in May 1964, along with the folly being listed in December 1984 (27).
Fred Beadle was resident at Willet House when he passed away in Taunton on 4 April 1959 (28). A Perpetual Challenge Cup is awarded in his name yearly at the Dunster Show in Dunster (29). Suzanne Beadle died in 1981 at her final home, 1 Belgrave Place in London (30).
One of those companies directed by Mr. Beadle was British Fibro Cement, situated on the former Manor Road in Erith. The bottom photograph depicts the burly Fred Beadle in February 1923 escorting the Duke of York, the future King George VI, on a tour of the factory (6) .
Things were going well for Mr. and Mrs. Beadle. Before the outbreak of World War I, they had purchased a London home at the prestigious address of 1 Queens Gate, on a terraced row in Kensington, and another at Stowey, part of the Bouverie Estate surrounding Wheddon Cross and south of Timberscombe, the first of many Somerset properties Fred Beadle would own. In 2022, Stephen Humphreys and his mother, Ruth Humphreys, the current owners, credited Fred Beadle for creating what would become the celebrated manor home at Stowey by connecting two existing farm houses and a shed. A new butler, Harold Peirce, worked for the Beadles in London. After the beginning of the Great War, Fred, Ethel and the staff relocated to the country estate, as Stowey was now called. Harold Peirce's son, Godfrey(Geoff )Peirce, was born at Stowey and years later recalled Fred Beadle as a well-liked man and "a wealthy industrialist having made his money in coal" (7). Included in the staff were Charles Isaac and Ellen Emma (but known as "Nellie") Burton, who also traveled between 1 Queens Gate and Stowey, serving Fred and Ethel Beadle respectively as Gamekeeper (later Caretaker) and Cook and who remained in Timberscombe when they retired, c. 1950 (8).
Mrs. Beadle died on the 29th of April 1923. Her main address had remained 1 Queen's Gate but she died at Stowey (9). On 25 January 1925 and back in Kensington, Fred married Suzanne Bechely-Crundall (10), born 13 January 1905 (11). Suzanne was the daughter of Albert, a Property Dealer and Florence (nee Stevenson) Crundall of Hampstead, London (12). An artist, it is not clear how Suzanne's maiden surname became hyphenated with "Bechely". After her marriage to Fred, she painted as Suzanne Bechely Beadle. The painting above is her work, titled "The Blue Umbrella", which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in the Winter Exhibition, 1941 and at the London National Society in 1958. It is an oil signed and dated 1938 (13), at which time Fred and Suzanne Beadle were still living at Stowey.
On 27 May 1927, Fred had purchased Croydon Farm (14) , northeast of Stowey, followed in 1928 by taking ownership of lands and buildings around Holes' Square in Timberscombe and Beasley Farm, between Stowey and Croydon, in 1935 (15). Back in London, on 18 December 1939, the Court Circular Column of Buckingham Palace in The Times reported that Mr. and Mrs. Fred Beadle had left 1 Queens Gate and their present address was 15 Grosvenor Square, with their permanent address remaining as "Stowey Farm, Timberscombe, Minehead". Later a blue plaque was placed on the front of No. 1 Queens Gate, not for Mr. Beadle but for Benny Hill (1924-1992), the comedian and actor who later lived there.
In January 1943, Fred and Suzanne left Stowey, moving to Clouds, on Cowbridge Road, at Cowbridge, the hamlet northeast of Timberscombe (16). Built in 1925, in the Dutch Cape Style by Stone and French of Minehead, Clouds was described as "A good example of a gentlemen's residence of the period". It was Grade II Listed on 7 November 2003 (17). In this same time period, Mr. Beadle sold his complete estate to Eric William Towler, which now included Stowey, Croydon, Beasley, Bougham, Great House Farm and the Timberscombe Common (18).
By November 1943, Mr. Beadle purchased properties in Timberscombe, including Rosemont, an Apartment House on Brook Street in Timberscombe. Rosemont had been a former public house, the Rose and Crown, which operated from at least 1822 until it lost its license in 1915 (19), after which it had been converted into "First Class Apartments"(20) by Charles and Beatrice Ann Marie (nee Pyne) Hole. Mrs. Hole had grown up in the house when her father had been the landlord of the Rose and Crown at the turn of the century (21). Mr. Beadle allowed Mr. and Mrs. Hole to remain in residence at Rosemont until their respective deaths in 1955 and 1965 (22).
Despite this kindness and Geoff Peirce's memory of Beadle being well-liked, a business ruthlessness is also still recalled in Timberscombe. By 1930, the Old Forge in the centre of Timberscombe was converted into three residences. The first to be occupied was the centre flat, later addressed as No. 2 Old Forge. The tenants were John Burnett, a Farm Labourer originally from Luxborough, with his wife, Florence Bertha and daughter, Elsie May. Mr. Burnett died in 1943, the year Mr. Beadle was making his village acquisitions and unlike Mr. and Mrs. Hole, the newly widowed Mrs. Burnett and Elsie May were abruptly evicted (23).
Also remembered in Timberscombe is that Fred Beadle was instrumental in the building of the row of houses situated on the terrace cut out of the hillside, creating Willow Bank and he launched a lucrative side business in the valley, growing willow to make cricket bats. However with the outbreak of World War II and the "Dig For Victory" campaign promoted by the British Ministry of Agriculture-- where the population were encouraged to grow their own food due to strict rationing--Mr. Beadle's willows had to be dug up (24). Other recollections invariably mention Fred Beadle only had one arm. How he lost his left limb is not clear but it was also said that he shot better with one arm than most people managed to do with two (25).
The last home purchased, seemingly around 1950 (26), by Fred Beadle in West Somerset was a family home for him and Suzanne, Willet House at Elsworthy, built in 1816. It is the house behind Mr. Beadle in the photograph at the top of this entry, which was shared by Geoff Peirce for "WELCOME TO OUR VILLAGE:, the Wheddon Cross and Cutcombe community website for a Local History entry titled "Geoff Peirce on Stowey Farm". Willet House came with a folly built in the form of a ruined church tower. The house was Grade II Listed in May 1964, along with the folly being listed in December 1984 (27).
Fred Beadle was resident at Willet House when he passed away in Taunton on 4 April 1959 (28). A Perpetual Challenge Cup is awarded in his name yearly at the Dunster Show in Dunster (29). Suzanne Beadle died in 1981 at her final home, 1 Belgrave Place in London (30).
Creator
Anonymous /
Suzanne Bechely Beadle /
Anonymous
Suzanne Bechely Beadle /
Anonymous
Date
between c.1950 and 1959
1938 (when painted)
February 1923
1938 (when painted)
February 1923
Contributor
Language
English
Identifier
Fred Beadle, c. 1950's at Willet House, Elsworthy, Somerset /
"THE BLUE UMBRELLA", painted by Suzanne Bechely Beadle, 1938 /
Fred Beadle, 1923, with the Duke of York, Kent
"THE BLUE UMBRELLA", painted by Suzanne Bechely Beadle, 1938 /
Fred Beadle, 1923, with the Duke of York, Kent
Acquisition Date
2021
2021
2022
2021
2022
Acquisition Method
Research
Research
Gift
Research
Gift
Category
PEOPLE: Named / Timberscombe
PEOPLE: Occupations / Timberscombe
PEOPLE: Occupations / Timberscombe
Condition
Good
Condition Notes
entered by Tom Sperling
Condition Date
2021
2022
2022
Dimension Type
W X L
Dimension Units
cm
Dimension Value
11.5 X 11
14 X 9
13.5 X 13 (ARTWORK)
7.5 X 10
14 X 9
13.5 X 13 (ARTWORK)
7.5 X 10
Institution Name
St. Petrock's History Group
Notes
(1) 1881 England Census (2) Dictionary.com (3) 1891 England Census (4) Bexley, Kent, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1935 (5) 1911 England Census (6) Erith and Belvedere Local History Society, shared by Peter Burton (7) "WELCOME TO OUR VILLAGE", community website of Wheddon Cross and Cutcombe, LOCAL HISTORY, "Geoff Peirce on Stowey Farm", wheddoncross.org.uk (8) 1901 England Census, 1911 England Census, 1921 England Census and as shared in 2022 by David and Peter Burton, grandsons of Charles and Nellie Burton (9) England and Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations) 1858-1995 (10) England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005 (11) 1939 England and Wales Register (12) 1911 England Census (13) ARTFOX, artfoxlive.com (14) H.M.Land Registry, THE LONDON GAZETTE, 27 May 1927 (15) H.M. Registry, THE LONDON GAZETTE, 8 June 1928 and 1935 (16) H.M. Registry, THE LONDON GAZETTE, 19 January 1943 (17) Historic England, British Listed Buildings.co.uk (18) "CROYDON HOUSE TIMBERSCOMBE, Documentary Evidence on the History of the Farm Buildings", by Dr. John Prideaux, Draft dated 19th April 2001 and Dr. John Prideaux, 21 September 2021 (19)Journal of the House of Lords, June 1822, books.google.com>books and Victoria County History. ac.uk (20) as advertised on a hanging sign at Rosemont which can be seen at SP-193 (21) William Pyne was landlord of Rose and Crown by 1894 and on the 1901 England Census, his 13-year-old daughter, Beatrice Ann Mary Pyne, was listed living on the premises (22) England and Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 (Mr. Hole) and England and Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 (Mrs. Hole) (23) 1939 England and Wales Register and as recalled in 2022 by Joy Booth of The Knapp, Timberscombe, the grand-daughter of John and Florence Bertha Burnett and daughter of Elsie May (nee Burnett) Land (24) as recalled in 2022 by Wendy Hellewell of The Bracken, Hole's Square, Timberscombe (25) "WELCOME TO OUR VILLAGE", community website of Wheddon Cross and Cutcombe , LOCAL HISTORY, "Geoff Peirce on Stowey Farm", wheddoncross.org.uk (26) Elizabeth (Betty) Burton, the daughter of Charles and Nellie Burton, the games keeper/caretaker and cook of Fred Beadle, recalled her parents moved to Rona (later called Paxholt) on Great House Street in Timberscombe by April 1950, when Mr. and Mrs. Beadle moved to Willet House, as shared on 26 June 2022 by David and Peter Burton, grandsons of Charles and Nellie Burton and on 8 December 2008, Shirley (nee Peirce) Eason, the daughter of Harold Peirce, Mr. Beatle's butler, wrote the same information to Jim and Terry Bruce of East Harwood Cottages (where Mrs. Eason had lived as a girl), shared by the Bruce family (27) Historic England, British Listed Buildings.co.uk (28) England and Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations) 1858-1995 (29) as recalled by Arthur Webber of the Dunster Show, dunstershow.co.uk (30) England and Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations) 1858-1995
Storage Location
St. Petrock's History Group Archive
Storage Date
2022
Storage Notes
St. Petrock's History Group PHOTOGRAPHS
St. Petrock's History Group ARTWORK
St. Petrock's History Group ARTWORK
Item Reference
SP-275
Technique
Copies
Citation
Anonymous /
Suzanne Bechely Beadle /
Anonymous , “Fred Beadle, 1872-1959, of Stowey, Clouds, Croydon, Beasley (and more),” St. Petrock's History Group, accessed May 2, 2024, https://stpetrockshistorygroup.omeka.net/items/show/3547.
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