CAN you guess where this week’s Mystery Photograph was taken?

Each week, the Journal invites readers to identify a historic location from days gone by.

Regular contributor Jeff Parsons wrote in to guess it was Clandown. He said: “I think this week the picture is of Clandown looking towards the colliery batch in the background. The building in the left foreground is the Primitive Methodist Chapel in Springfield Place.”

Mrs Angela Matthews, who lives in the converted chapel now known as Chapel Lawns in Clandown also got in touch to say that the foreground of last week’s photograph shows the old chapel which was converted into four apartments.

Jeff Parsons added further insight saying: “The buildings further back are the village school and behind that the terrace of houses, roofs barely visible in this photo, which were converted to workshops piecemeal, by Henry Gane Rogers, a coachbuilder, and which later became part of Bidwell's Tiger Works. At the top of the picture is the colliery batch.

A great old photo charting Somerset's heritage but where exactly?
There was no doubt that this great picture showed the colliery at Clandown. (Radstock Museum)

“Explorations for coal began in the late 1790s and eventually a depth of 1437 feet was attained.

“The colliery closed in 1929. Coal was transported via an incline which was just to the left of the chapel, to an S&D siding at the foot of the incline, thence down into Radstock.

“More details can be found in Down and Warrington's book: The History of the Somerset Coalfield.”

Thanks to Mr Parsons but also former Stratton resident Stephen Beale who got in touch about the St Vigor School photograph from the previous week: “St Vigor’s School relocated to Chilcompton many years ago but the buildings still exist and it’s now a private residence, it hasn't changed at all.”

Thanks again to Radstock Museum for this week’s photograph.

Drop us a line with your guesses to: [email protected].