The Ridouts of Bath

From 'The Ridouts of Sherborne', this second book follows my 3x great grandfather John RIDOUT as he moved from the rural Dorset town to the bustling Roman city of Bath in 1807; here he married, had children and started a cabinet-making business. Sadly, over time, John lost two wives and several of their children, but others survived and the family grew. The Ridouts are traced through to WW2 and beyond; latterly, the cold genealogical facts are gradually warmed with photographs, anecdotes and personal memories.

Of the related families, some are traced & described: The SOMERTONs were a well known dynasty from Bristol, three generations of which had printed, published and written for newspapers of the day, most notably the Bristol Mercury.

In 16th century Widcombe, just south of the city, lived farmers Tobias and Thomas ORCHARD; their children eventually moved into the centre: Joseph was a popular peruke maker in the Abbey Green, made famous by poet Christopher Anstey. Jacob, the Quaker, made biscuits; his sons Abraham & Isaac were friends of John Wesley and helped to bring Methodism to Bath. ARCHARD's pawnbroker's shop was prominent in 15 Bath Street; Thomas and his son were also local politicians. One branch of the Orchards married into the famous Irish Guinness family.

Other prominent names include BEATON and OLLIS, two well known Bath families who lived, worked and died in Walcot, an historically fascinating thoroughfare in Bath. It was Walcot Street in which Elsie Beaton and Reginald Ridout, lived with their respective families, but met, married and eventually became my grandparents.