The annual Clutton Flower Show, organised by the Clutton Horticultural Society, is always looked forward to as one of the highlights of the year for the villagers and has a long history, dating back to 1894, when the first one took place. The show was held annually up until the depression of the 1920s, when the society was wound up.

The Clutton Brass Band organised an annual fête and sports day later in the 1920s and the flower show restarted in 1928. Its popularity was such, that railway excursions were run from Bristol and Frome!

The organisers went to great lengths to welcome visitors, as they alighted from the trains, by building a huge ornamental archway at the exit from the station. The arch was covered in floral decorations and flags. On one side of the arch in large letters, ‘Welcome to all’ was displayed, while on the other side was a Latin inscription, ‘Vix ea nostra vocco’, believed to mean ‘I scarce call these things our own’.

As Clutton was a mining village, many of the miners’ cottages had quite large gardens. Fruit and vegetables were grown to supplement the family income, so that when it came to the flower show, there must have been keen competition. The exhibiting classes would have been much the same as today in fruit and veg, but there were other classes as well. The local school children were also encouraged to take part and the school log book of the time records prizes given for handwriting, freehand drawing, a collection of wild flowers, needlework and others.

Today the Flower Show is as popular as ever and the show this year, held on August 12th, was no exception, with a very good attendance helped by a warm and sunny afternoon. The history group had its display stand depicting various aspects of village life through the years. As usual, there was a great deal of interest in the section of ‘then and now’ photographs and the group’s photo albums are always of interest, particularly amongst the villagers and former residents.

The next meeting of the Clutton History Group will take place in the village hall on Tuesday, 12th September when Colin Johnston, from the Bath Record Office, will be giving a talk on ‘Tales from the Bath Archives’. The meeting will commence at 8 p.m. Visitors are always very welcome to the meetings with a small entry fee which includes refreshments. For further information please telephone: 01761 471533.

Terry McGill