Crowshute House

Formerly Love’s Furniture Emporium and later Towns Fire Station. A small Quaker Buriel ground lay to the West.

Origins of the name in 1681 the lane was called Crow Lane, in 1780 it is listed as Crow Close, the ‘shute’ part of the name comes from ’shute’ of cool spring water, which is now piped underground, hence Crowshute Lane.

We do not have written evidence of this being a Furniture Emporium but we do have photographic evidence.

The Crowshute Fire Station came into being during WW2. Before then it had been in Holyrood Street.

From Craig Douglas

On the roof you can see the call out siren.

With kind permission from Sharon Pickford.

Dennis F28 Fire Engine that was stationed at Chard Fire Station from 1960 until 1968. This was delivered new to Somerset Fire Brigade at Chard in 1960. As the photo shows it carried both types of ladder in use at the time a standard 35 ft ladder and a 50 ft Wheeled escape.

The station closed around 1978 when it moved to Tapstone Road.

The Quakers, (The Society of Friends), had a chapel at the head of High Street with a burial ground in Bath Lane at ‘Crow Shute’ .