Thrupp and Brimscombe (grid reference SO862032) are two small linked villages situated in the narrow Frome Valley just outside Stroud, Gloucestershire in the parish of Thrupp, which also includes the hamlets of Upper and Lower Bourne, Lypiatt, Quarhouse, the Heavens and Claypits.
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Early records indicate that there was a cloth mill at Thrupp dating back as far as 1381. By 1770 the premises had expanded to include a house, four fulling mills and a gig mill.[1]
The gig mill, which eventually became known as Thrupp Mill, was leased to Edward Ferrabee in 1793. By 1828 the entire premises were leased to the Ferrabees, and an iron works, the Phoenix Iron Works had been established. The Ferrabees became well known for their production of cloth-making machines, steam engines, agricultural machinery and water wheels.[2] It was here that John Lewis had invented a machine in 1815 to shear the surplus fibres or nap from the surface of cloth, using a horizontal blade.[3]
In the 1820s Edwin Beard Budding, a machinist or ‘mechanician', was employed by Edward's son, John, at Thrupp.[4] It was while Budding was working at Thrupp that Lewis' machine was developed to use rotary cutters, and Budding realised that this machine could be adapted for other purposes. Using gears, a revolving horizontal shaft and three blades he developed a machine to cut grass, which until then had been cut manually, using a scythe. This resulted in the world's first lawn mower being invented at Thrupp.[3][5] It received its patent in 1830.[6] Budding is also credited with the invention of the screw adjustable spanner.[7]
Brimscombe was an important local centre during the Industrial Revolution with its canal and rail links, with Brimscombe Port serving as the hub of the Thames and Severn canal.[8][9]
Brimscombe Port was originally built to transfer cargo from Severn Trows, which travelled from the River Severn down the Stroudwater Navigation, to Thames barges which carried the goods eastwards towards London.[10] This was necessary because the locks to the east of the port were too narrow to accommodate the larger sea-going Trows. There were also several boat-building yards at the port, including Abdela & Mitchell, who exported boats, notably paddle steamers, all over the world.[11][12] According to recent on-the-ground research the legendary riverboat ‘Queen Of Africa’ which gave a star performance in the John Huston movie The African Queen was built at the Abdela & Mitchell Brimscombe works between 1908 and 1911. [13]
Many of the Abdela & Mitchell river-boats went to the Nile, the Niger and other African rivers, and especially to the Peruvian Amazon and other Amazonian tributaries. The Abdela river-boats were highly regarded for their elegance, shallow draft (often less than 40cm), and flexibility, viz the ‘Adis Ababa’ for Lt-Col John Harrington’s White Nile/Ethiopia expedition of 1903 – ‘boiler arranged to burn oil, coal or wood’. Lesley Abdela who lives in East Sussex is the last direct descendant bearing the name of the Victorian/Edwardian shipbuilding family which owned yards on the Manchester Ship Canal, Queen’s Ferry, and Brimscombe. Her marine architect grandfather Isaac Abdela was the proprietor of the Abdela & Mitchell shipyards when the ‘Queen Of Africa’ was built at Brimscombe. The Shipyards announced themselves as ‘Contractors To The Admiralty, War Office, India Office And Allied Governments’.
Until the construction of what is now the A419 road along the bottom of the valley in 1815, Thrupp Lane was the main thoroughfare between Stroud and Chalford. The condition of this road was such that it required a whole day for a team of horses to draw a loaded waggon and return, a distance of only four miles each way.[14]
Brimscombe railway station was opened on 1 June 1845 as part of the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway from Swindon to Gloucester. It closed on 2 November 1964, and the nearest station is now at Stroud.[15]
The former port is to be regenerated as part of the canal restoration project by the Cotswold Canals Partnership.[16] This will require considerable engineering expertise as much of the basin has been infilled and in places factories have been built over the canal. Initially the canal is planned to become navigable from Brimscombe Port to the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. Plans are in place, and much activity being undertaken to restore the whole length of what is now known as The Cotswold Canals, eastwards from Brimscombe to Inglesham on the Thames.[17]
Although small-scale textile weaving and cloth manufacturing had been taking place for centuries it was with the construction of the Thames and Severn canal and Brimscombe port in 1789 that the two villages expanded rapidly, and many former cloth and woollen mills built around the port at that time have been restored and converted for modern business use.
Bourne Mills latterly produced walking sticks but now houses a cycle shop, auto repair services, and a metal polishing company.
Griffin Mill, which was founded in 1600 by the Griffin family for the making of cloth,[18] subsequently turned to furniture making, and is now occupied by a variety of small businesses including a paint factory, a painting and decorating retail business, a fitness centre, an antiques emporium, a computer supplier, a print making co-operative and an art shop.
Ham Mill produced textiles from 1601 to 2000, when the carpet manufacturer occupying the premises ceased trading.[19] It presently lies empty.
Hope Mills business centre contains a tree maintenance company, a car body repair centre, a banner maker and an electrical, plumbing and building maintenance contractor.
Phoenix Mill, the site of the old iron works, is now a trading estate containing among others a swimming pool installer, a hot sauce manufacturer, an electronic component manufacturer and a printers.
Port Mill was at one time a grist mill. It later became a textile mill (until the 1930s) and is now occupied by The History Press.
Although there are still a handful of shops in Brimscombe including the Newsagent, Post Office, Fish & Chip Shop, Hairdressers and Antique Furntiure store the number of retail outlets has been in steady decline. The last shop and post office in Thrupp, The Happy Shopper, closed in 1998.
Thrupp primary school is a mixed school of non denominational religion with a thriving arts community, while Brimscombe C of E Primary is a mixed school of Church of England religion. Both schools act as feeder schools for Thomas Keble, Stroud High School, Marling School, Archway School, Deer Park in Cirencester, Sir William Romney, Maidenhill and St. Peter's School in Gloucester.
There is a public house, the name of which reflect the local history, the Ship Inn at Brimscombe, which takes its name from the Severn Trows which are mentioned earlier. Until recently there was another pub called the King and Castle. This acquired its name from its proximity to the railway line, 'king' and 'castle' being the names of two classes of locomotive used by the Great Western Railway. It is now an Indian restaurant.
Unusually for a parish there is no parish church within the boundaries of Thrupp, but there is a parish church, Holy Trinity, and a Methodist church on Brimscombe Hill, as well as a non-denominational Christian Fellowship that meets in the Brimscombe & Thrupp Social Centre.
Brimscombe & Thrupp F.C.,(known as the Lilywhites) play in the Gloucestershire County League and Stroud District Football League. Their home ground is The Meadows, where they have been playing their games for over a hundred years.[20]
There are two Councillors who represent Brimscombe and Thrupp Parish: Stroud District Councillors Elizabeth Peters (Conservative Party) and Martin Whiteside (Green Party).