EPW041214 ENGLAND (1933). F. Pratten & Co Horticultural Builders Works, Midsomer Norton, 1933

This is the home that my Grandparents moved into when they were married in 1931. It belonged to grandfathers mum who gave it to them as a wedding present! they lived here until nan died in 1982. Roland or as many people knew him as Gaffer Gould worked at Norton Pit all his working life as did his father George. George Gould was a very well known and respected member of the community.

Old Pit Road

Hazel Terrace

Charlton Road

NORTON HILL PIT Sir Frank BEAUCHAMP, owned the Norton Hill pit. This was so profitable that it became known as BEAUCHAMP’s Goldmine. The year 1947 saw the end of private ownership with the nationalisation of the coal industry. The Norton Hill pit closed in 1966. This pit had two "heads", old and new head.

F Pratten and Co History book- They Started Making SHEDS- The rise and fall of the prefabricated building company F. Pratten and Co Ltd. by Barrie Stevens. 2009. 93 pages. (Copies can be found to purchase - or printed to order by Blurb.co.uk). Book description: For 90 years the prefabricated building company F. Pratten & co Ltd was a major employer in the Midsomer Norton area which is situated in a small town south of Bristol in the county of Somerset. The book contains many photographs and covers the history from the start in 1912 to the closure in the mid 1990's. The book includes extracts from some of the old catalogues and memories from some of the ex employees. A selection of aerial photographs taken over the life of the factory clearly shows the developement and growth until the decline started after 1980. Advertisement from June 1928 is taken from Graces Guide, licenced under GnuFDL 1.2, compatible with CC BY SA 3.0 - Creative Commons- Attribution- Share Alike version 3.