If you dont know anything about this village, it is on the A37 about 8 miles south west of Bath in Somerset.
High Littleton and Hallatrow, Somerset, have Saxon origins. High Littleton, recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Liteltone (“little enclosure”), was an agricultural village of arable farming, dairy, and sheep, within the hundred of Chewton.
From the 17th century, coal mining transformed the area. Early bell pits gave way to deeper shafts, with Mearns Coalworks opening in 1783. In the 1790s, surveyor William Smith studied local rock strata, earning the title “Father of Geology” and giving the district significance in scientific history. Greyfield Colliery (1833) expanded with the Bristol and North Somerset Railway (1873), and Hallatrow station became a junction for coal, milk, and goods. Yet industry declined: Greyfield closed in 1911, and the railway shut by 1964.
Population peaked at about 1,100 in 1841, then declined as mining jobs disappeared. Surviving parish registers date from 1599, with more continuous records from the 18th century.
Notable landmarks include Holy Trinity Church, with monuments to the Mogg and Hodge families, Brook Farmhouse (17th–18th century, Grade II listed), and Greyfield Wood—once a colliery site, now a reserve with Stephen’s Vale waterfall. Today, traditions live on through the annual Village Day (since 1997), celebrating the area’s agricultural, industrial, and community heritage.
I was handed a program by Chris, the indefatigable organizer who admitted to having a certain involvement with the Village Day to which a friend replied, “Involvement up to his head”. He has used a platform for smaller companies, Weebly, which in my view is more than adequate for the task. Keep it direct, keep it simple. The addres is here https://hlhvillageday.weebly.com
There is definitely a place for old-fashioned entertainments, and bowling is one of them, so it is lovely to see someone set up so lovingly a bowling alley where those of us that are more senior can be nostalgic. Needless to say, the children and youngsters saw this as a great challenge.
This is normally a sports field, as you can see, and it’s been taken over today. I’m going to prepare something by the villagers. People sell their bits and bobs, normally old DVDs, children’s clothes, books, tools, and women’s clothes that are normally not required anymore. Strange but no men’s clothes
It lloks a mess but who cares
I remember seeing this in the days of the GPO (General Post Office) when the engineers came round to fix the phone. This must be about 50 years old and again the feelings of nostalgia prevail
How nice to see people ‘picnicking.’ It is a tradition that has not died out
Two images of the brass band, the second one with a solo player. The whole was accompanied by dogs, of which there were many, which is not surprising since there was a dog show on at the time. Listen to a piece being played here
This example has been owned by the same family since its manufacture in March 1961 when I was 17 years of age. It is in daily use.
This was a most active stand with good quality meat and queues of people living up to feast.
To my surprise I saw a woman being made up – maybe just for fun.
The tent personnel consisted of helpers from Holy Trinity, High Littleton.There was a very good choice of sweet and savory items, including sausage rolls and a variety of lovely cakes. Tea and coffee were available, and I must admit I availed myself generously of the produce
The Competition Tent
It looked like the contributions were offered mostly by children, but there’s nothing wrong with that, of course. I’ve tried to show items that display inventiveness, and this is precious to me because young minds are involved, and that’s where habits are formed.
What clever thinking. Strawberries with a banana.
There is a passion for creating and enclosing anything that moves or does not move. Here we have a knitted cover for carrots. It is artwork indeed
I love the invventivenss of these plates. Well done kids.
Is this a knitted octopus? If so, it’s a very friendly one.
These people know their onions for sure.
It’s called a coconut shy because “shy” is an old, informal word for “throw” or “fling”. The game involves players attempting to dislodge coconuts from their posts by “shying” wooden balls at them. Therefore, a coconut shy is essentially a game of throwing balls to knock down coconuts.
Conclusion
My conclusion from a very enjoyable event. I could have done without dogs yapping at each other, but it was very nice to have a significant presence by a brass band, which is always popular in this area around the time for village fairs and fetes.
I reckon at any one time there were between five and six hundred people in attendance, so if we include the comings and goings during the day, let’s say a maximum footfall of 800, which is not bad for a population of just over 2,000 people.
Of course there were people like us who were popping in from other areas, but I reckon anyway that is a pretty good turnaround.
Vote of thanks
Well done, the car park attendants.
Well done the unpaid volunteers on the various tombola stands raising money for good causes
Thanks to the weather gods for great weather, unlike last year.
Well done Chris Wootten who is the chairman of the Village Day committee, and also for the indefatigable person who got together over 9 pages of advertising on this A5 publication
