By Jacqueline Bennett
The Shubbery Manor House – The Shepherd Family
Before it became a hotel The Shubbery was a manor house build but the Shepherd Family. Here is their history:
James Shepherd
1855 (ish) – Arrives in Ilminster from a banking family in Taunton and starts life here as a bank clerk in Stuckeys Bank, now the Nat West
1858 – 1864 – Purchases land and builds the Shrubbery Manor House with extensive gardens. More gardens and stables go with the property situated across the road (now Speke Close.)
1864 – Marries Jane Chapman of Whitelackington
1864 – 1866 – Sometime between these years he buys the Dowlish Ford Mills (now Gooch & Housego) saving the then owner, Samuel Hutchings, from bankruptcy. The two men had formed a great friendship – when James takes possession of the factory he names it Hutchings, Shepherd & Co and it remained that way until it was sold/compulsory purchased in the late 1930’s, early 1940’s. James also gave his only son the middle name of Hutchings.
1870 – 1892 – Enjoys a flourishing career investing heavily in property and land in Ilminster, including the best part of Station Road! He builds The New Buildings (opposite the mills) & an accommodation block on the mills’ site, for his staff. He serves on numerous committees and as a magistrate on the Ilminster Courts – eventually going on to become a Magistrate of the County.
1889 – James Shepherd builds & gives the townspeople of Ilminster a reading room (now the library.) He also represents our district on the newly formed South Somerset District Council.
1895 – James dies of pneumonia and his funeral attracts just over 2,000 lining the streets, with all businesses in the town closing for the day as a mark of respect.
Herbert Hutchings Shepherd
Only son of James & Jane Shepherd, born in 1868.
In 1900 he married Irene Lovibond, eldest daughter of George, solicitor of Bridgwater.
Herbert lives his whole life in Ilminster and practically mirrors his father’s life, kindness & dedication to the town.
He is educated at Harvard to practise law but on his father’s death he takes over running the mills whilst serving on many committees. He was Chairman of the Governors of the Ilminster Grammar School, Vice-Chair of the Urban Council & Chairman of its Finance Committee, President of the Ilminster Carnival Committee, Reading Rooms & Cricket Club, Vice-President of Ilminster Football Club, very instrumental in the Scout Movement and a staunch Conservative.
In the late 1920’s one of his investments went horribly wrong and Herbert was forced to sell off most of his assets, including the Shrubbery Manor House. He moved into The Chantry in Court Barton (then owned by James’ brother Frederick, who also had helped to run the mills but had moved to London shortly after James’ death,) and the only asset he held onto was the mills, which he kept until his death in 1938.
Herbert & Irene had two children – Richard James & Majorie. Richard inherited the mills on his father’s death, but I can’t find whether or not he sold them to Standard Telephones, leased them or sold them to someone else. He moves to Devon ultimately and died in Moreton Hampstead quite a wealthy man!
The Shubbery Hotel
In 1932 the Shrubbery was bought by Karl Crompton (who liked to refer to himself as Captain Brill!) and the Shrubbery Manor House became the Shrubbery Hotel.
Three years later, Thomas Edgar Phillips buys it and stays there for 9 years. He sells the hotel in 1944 to Alfred Harrison but, unfortunately, he dies just two years later and his widow sells it to Robert Pratt in 1946. Robert stays there until his death in 1958 and during this time two other people join him in running the business – Miss Jones (who I think was his sister) and a Mrs Gladys Tooley.
The two ladies continue to run it for a while and at some point, introduce another partner, Mr Denis Shepherd (thought to be no relation to the original family.)
In 1966 Denis bought the hotel and the property was once again in the hands of a “Shepherd” family. Through father and son, Stuart, the hotel hosted many of the town’s events including weddings, dances, dinners for just about every association in the town, public and private meetings and several generations celebrated special family events here.
Another chapter recently began when it was sold in 2015 to another private owner, Kevin Newton.
In 2020 for the first time since 1930, the doors to this property were shut, due to the pandemic. Many of us drove or walked past it during lockdown and saw the empty car park, a scene which most of us have never seen in our lifetime!!
Like most of the other businesses in town it is now due to start re-opening its doors. Recently, it was lit up in red to highlight the plight of one of the hardest hit industries of the pandemic – the hospitality trade.
Let’s all continue to support our independent shops and our only hotel in the town and keep Ilminster the vibrant community it has been throughout our towns history.