A special ‘nightwatchman’s’ clock is going on display in Hemyock, offering a glimpse of factory life in the village 70 years ago.

The clock has been put on permanent display at the Blackdown Healthy Living Centre at Millhayes in Hemyock by the Hemyock History & Archiving Association.

The building was once the canteen for the milk factory complex which existed on the site throughout the twentieth century producing cream, spreads and ice-cream powder as well as sending milk to London by rail.

During the 1940s, the factory’s nightwatchman would carry the clock with him on his rounds, inserting keys held at various points along the way which would mark a roll of paper inside. In this way, factory bosses could be sure that he was patrolling everywhere he was supposed to. Today, similar functions are performed by smart phones and GPS technology.

The clock, which was made in France, was donated to the Association by Michael Lowman, son of factory foreman Edgar Lowman. He remembers it being used in his childhood by nightwatchmen Jack Wood and Charlie Northam.

The project to display the clock was made possible thanks to a grant from the Sustainable Development Fund, which is administered by the Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Partnership.

To see the clock, visit the Blackdown Healthy Living Centre between 9am – 4pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 9am – 12noon on Wednesdays.

On Friday 12th July, members of the history and archiving society visited Longforth Farm in Wellington. The site, owned by Bloor Homes for redevelopment, was opened to local history societies to explore with talks lead by several of the site archaeologists.

Longforth Farm is an unusual site. Occupied between the 12th and 14th centuries this site was probably bustling with people, quite possibly this could have been the centre of a small settlement. However over the past 600 years there has been absolutely no trace of such a site until the excavation by Bloor Homes and Wessex Archaeology. Bob Davis from Wessex Archaeology said “This [site] is a significant find and therefore very exciting, particularly as there are no documentary records that such a site ever existed here’.

Several glazed ceramic tiles have been uncovered along with decorated floor tiles, thus indicating it may have been occupied by someone important or may have been a religious or manorial site. Some such tiles, as one illustrated with a knight on horseback, has added to the belief that Longforth Farm was a location visited by important people like bishops. The only other site where such tiles have been found is that of Glastonbury Abbey.

“These are our latest finds and the decorated floor-tiles have given us an avenue to pursue – they have raised the importance of this place for us” commented Bob Davis from Wessex Archaeology.

What is equally interesting about Longforth Farm, apart from it not appearing in historical archives, is the lack of evidence that has been left. Again, Bob Davis explains that “At some stage… the buildings were abandoned, the useable building materials were robbed out and recycled and the site was forgotten.”

The dig concluded at the end of July so we are hopeful that a full report will come out in time. For more information on Longforth Farm visit Wessex Archaeology’s website at www.wessexarch.co.uk.