The Bastables and the Fair painting

NOW I KNOW THAT YOU’VE SEEN THIS PHOTO BEFORE. And a part of the Bastable story. This is just an update, to keep you all tuned in!

This, ca early 1900, painting, of my Gt Grandmother , Eliza Bastable’s stall is of the weekly markets in the village of Woolavington in Somerset. I got permission to photo this.

Lisa and Dianne

Many years ago[1970’s?], Mum and I got this when we went down to the village of Woolavington in Somersetshire England,

You will notice on the white horizontal name[‘BASTABLE ‘] adorns the canvas red and white roof of the stall in the forefront lower, LHS stall  in the painting.

Your Grannie Ellis imbued in me the importance of family history. My view of the family history scene was a bit sexist ie., ‘wimmins gossip’. But as I started at uni , studying economics and economic history, I realised that the rich and famous had there geneaolgy laid out to prove that they owned land and other property.

Our working class folks had their oral family history as their ‘claim’ to who and what and where we workers came from!

This painting backs up what Maw told me about our Bastables of Woolavington. Your Grannie Ellis was fair chuffed at the photo. All of these years of listening to, and touring with the Bastable, from Stirling, Showfolk, when she was a wee girl.

From them came your Grannie Ellis’s Mum, Eliza Forrest[ms Bastable] My Grannie, She was of Show and Circus folks who toured the country from Woolavington to making Scotland their home. Your Grannie Ellis’s[ms Forrest] mother, was the daughter of Bill Bastable  and his wife

SO WHY AM I TELLING ALL OF THIS TO YOU.

WELL, My cousin, Freddy Bastable died early this year. Mum and I visited Freddy a few weeks prior to his death. There’s only Freddy’s sister in law and her two daughters left to carry on the ‘Woolavington BASTABLE ‘ name, in Scotland. Once they pass the mortal coil, it’s curtains for future Bastable lineage!

Like Steam Traction engines , the’re history!

Just a refresher;

YOUR Grannie Ellis’s Mum was Eliza Forrest , MS BASTABLE.

HER Dad and Mum was , WILLIAM Bastable[Born NEAR Woolavington] and Helen Bastable ms Reader. William was one of two brothers[that I know off], the other being Frederick[WHOM I KNOW NOTHING OFF]

WILLIAM’s mother was Eliza Bastable, the lady whose name Eliza, was given to her daughter, my Grannie Forrest[ms Bastable] and your Grannie Ellis [ms Forrest], and your Auntie Eliza  Linda Forrest Taylor, ms Ellis.

And of Course, Our Lisa Nash, ms, Ellis. Name of Lisa, comes from the same lineage of Eliza et al

It’s a small world, really1

Now, DIANNE, where does that name come from? Well! Ask your Mum1

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The painting above is of a village square (Woolavignton?) with the fair setup and note a banner says Bastable painted based on .  Sent from Godfrey Hebdon who says"The painting you mention was done fairly recently, based on the description of the Village Fair in an earlier edition of the book.

Dad's correspondence with his cousin Fred and various historians regarding the history of the Bastables -his Grannie was Eliza Forrest ms Bastable.

In this linked pdf is the correspondence from all including From Ian Trowell - National Fairground Archive:
An excerpt from Ian: "There isnt a great amount of readily available information on the Scottish show families such as the Bastables. We certainly have photographs of their rides and equipment, and there are obvious regular mentions in the weekly 'World's Fair' newspaper but finding and collating that material is very time consuming"