The Minor Family of Somerset

The Old Berrett Homestead and Mormon Meeting House, "Berrett Roo
ts in England" LaMar C. Berrett
The most important Berrett ancestral home in Steeple Ashtonis l
ocated on the NorthWest corner of High Street and Silver Stree
t in thesoutheast end of the village. It is a small brick hom
e with oak beams and thatched roof. The beams are exposed bot
h on the outside and inside of the house. The walls were probab
ly made originally with"waddling" and plaster, then sometime aft
er the early 1700's, red bricks were placed between the oak beam
s. This beautiful little thatched cottage has been known to som
e as "TheThree Tuns". It is called this either because of th
e three chimneys in the center of the roof or because the buildi
ng was an ale house anciently. A "tun" is a large brwing cask
, barrel or vat, especially for wines. The cottage is probabl
y five hundred years old and may have been the home of Berrett
s from Robert Berret of 1661 down to John Watts who left Steepl
e Ashton in 1863.
This home is the most important Berrett ancestral home because p
robably six and definitely five generations of Berretts lived co
ntinuously in this small beautiful cottage. They lived there pr
obably 175 years and definitely 134years; 1730-1864. There i
s absolute evidence of the following five generations having liv
ed in "The Old Berrett Homestead." (1) William Berrett (b 17 Se
p 1699), son of Robert of 1661, his wife Susannah Salter and the
ir family lived there from at least 1744, the date of the leas
e to his death 2 Apr 1783,for a total of thirty-nine or more ye
ars. (2) William Berrett b 4 Nov 1738),son of William of 1699
, his wife Mary Woodman and their family lived there from abou
t 1783 to his death 9 Dec 1831, for a total of forty-eight years
. (3) Sarah Berrett (B 8 Feb 1767), daughter of William of 1738
, was a spinster (not married) all of her life. She lived ther
e from aged sixteen (1738) untilher death 28 Oct 1846. Of thes
e sixty-three years living in "The Old Berrett Homestead," the l
ast fifteen were after both parents' deaths. (4) John Berrett (
b 8 Jan 1797) son of Thomas of 1773, his wife Hannah Watts and a
t least part of their family, including John Watts Berrett, live
d there from about1846 until after Hannah's death 29 Aug 1864
, for a total of eighteen plus years. (5) John Watts Berrett (
b 3 Jul 1831) son of John Berrett of 1797, andfor a time his br
others James and Simon and perhaps others of the eight children
, lived there from about 1846 until 1863 when John Watts, the la
st childliving at home emigrated to the Untied States. Sometim
e after the death ofHannah Berrett in 1854, widower John move
d to a home on Church Street. He was there during the 1871 cens
us....
"The Old Berrett Homestead" was not onlya home, but was a Mormo
n Meeting House during the period of time when MormonsJohn an
d Hannah Berrett lived there, 1846-1864. John Watts Berrett tol
d about some of these meetings in his journal. One such entry f
ollows: "March 2nd 1856 A Council meeting was held at my Father'
s house at Steeple Ashton, Trowbridge, Wilts. England. Elder E
dward Hanham President of the Wilsthire Conference called and or
dained me to the office of priest, by the sanction of the branch
." Many blessing of babies, confirmations, ordinations and serm
ons within the walls of John and Hannah's home, made it a sacre
d Mormon chapel.
William of 1699 had four brothers and three sisters. There is n
o recordof his youth, but much is known of his life after he ma
rried susanna Salter19 jul 1730 in Steeple Ashton.