A Short History
A Somerset Beekeepers’ Association has been in existence almost continuously since 1876. It was in 1905, however, that L.E. Snelgrove, a young schoolmaster at Weston-super-Mare, became the Honorary Secretary of the former Bristol, Somersetshire and South Gloucestershire Beekeepers Association. He set about re-forming it into one that was viable, effective in fulfilling its function, and covering the whole of the county of Somerset.
Snelgrove established it on such a firm footing that in 2006 the Association celebrated its centenary, having promoted the craft and fulfilled the changing needs of beekeepers through two world wars and two major crises caused firstly by the dreaded ‘Isle of Wight’ disease and more recently through the arrival in this country of the varroa mite.
At first, the Association comprised seven branches. By 1920 there were 20 branches, and Snelgrove moved to place the Association on a more representative and efficient footing. The rules were re-drawn and the branches were placed into five Divisions: Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western and Central. This worked well for a number of years. The membership continued to grow and other Divisions were formed, starting with the North-Eastern Division. We were fortunate in having the great Thomas W. Cowan as President between 1914 and 1926 and Snelgrove himself was President from then until his death in 1965.
During the late 1940s there were more than 1,600 members in 11 Divisions, but since then, mostly in line with national trends, there has been a gradual decline. In the mid-1970s, resulting from the Maude report and the creation of the County of Avon, an amicable split occurred, the three Divisions within this new county forming their own Association. This reduced our membership considerably. Even so, by the 1990s there were just below 500 members in 13 Divisions, the most thriving branches having secured divisional status. In the interests of efficiency Council took steps to reduce this number, but there was much resistance to this. The current number is 12, varying greatly in size, degree of activity and with a considerable geographical overlap.
Fewer people keep bees these days, but Somerset Beekeepers’ Association has had a growing membership for several years and currently stands at around 850. This success is attributed to a strong team of officers with their own specialist areas of expertise, such as education, examinations, communication, fund-raising and gift aid. These officers constantly promote the craft, attending various events such as shows, organising beekeeping demonstrations, classes at various levels to assist beekeepers in their management techniques. This constant drive not only encourages people to take up the craft, but brings in new members and encourages them to remain so, thus fulfilling the Association’s constitutional objectives “to advance the craft of apiculture and to promote and foster the education of its members, and of the public.”
Further reading: Somerset Beekeepers and Beekeeping Associations; A History, 1875-2005 by David Charles
Snelgrove established it on such a firm footing that in 2006 the Association celebrated its centenary, having promoted the craft and fulfilled the changing needs of beekeepers through two world wars and two major crises caused firstly by the dreaded ‘Isle of Wight’ disease and more recently through the arrival in this country of the varroa mite.
At first, the Association comprised seven branches. By 1920 there were 20 branches, and Snelgrove moved to place the Association on a more representative and efficient footing. The rules were re-drawn and the branches were placed into five Divisions: Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western and Central. This worked well for a number of years. The membership continued to grow and other Divisions were formed, starting with the North-Eastern Division. We were fortunate in having the great Thomas W. Cowan as President between 1914 and 1926 and Snelgrove himself was President from then until his death in 1965.
During the late 1940s there were more than 1,600 members in 11 Divisions, but since then, mostly in line with national trends, there has been a gradual decline. In the mid-1970s, resulting from the Maude report and the creation of the County of Avon, an amicable split occurred, the three Divisions within this new county forming their own Association. This reduced our membership considerably. Even so, by the 1990s there were just below 500 members in 13 Divisions, the most thriving branches having secured divisional status. In the interests of efficiency Council took steps to reduce this number, but there was much resistance to this. The current number is 12, varying greatly in size, degree of activity and with a considerable geographical overlap.
Fewer people keep bees these days, but Somerset Beekeepers’ Association has had a growing membership for several years and currently stands at around 850. This success is attributed to a strong team of officers with their own specialist areas of expertise, such as education, examinations, communication, fund-raising and gift aid. These officers constantly promote the craft, attending various events such as shows, organising beekeeping demonstrations, classes at various levels to assist beekeepers in their management techniques. This constant drive not only encourages people to take up the craft, but brings in new members and encourages them to remain so, thus fulfilling the Association’s constitutional objectives “to advance the craft of apiculture and to promote and foster the education of its members, and of the public.”
Further reading: Somerset Beekeepers and Beekeeping Associations; A History, 1875-2005 by David Charles
Key Events
1906 |
The Somersetshire Bee-keepers' Association held its inaugural meeting on 3rd May. |
1912 |
Mr. L. .E. Snelgrove, the driving force behind this rapidly growing association, resigned as honorary secretary and was succeeded by Mr L. Bigg-Wither of Wells. |
1914 |
On the death of the President, Lady Smyth of Ashton Court, Bristol, Mr Thomas W. Cowan was elected President. Isle of Wight disease became prevalent in Somerset and hundreds of colonies were wiped out. Three quarters of our members lost all their bees. |
1915 |
With the loss of colonies many beekeepers gave up, Some members were away in the armed forces, sugar was scarce and the association went into a decline, its membership falling from 500 in 1914 to 115 in 1918. |
1918 |
The Great War ended. A re-stocking scheme was instituted. Colonies were imported from the Netherlands and queen bees from Italy. |
1920 |
The association was growing rapidly again. New rules were drawn up dividing the twenty branches into five large divisions, each electing their own delegates to SBKA Council. |
1924 |
Experimental apiaries were established at Cannington and Long Ashton in order to advance the craft. |
1927 |
Because of dissatisfaction with the national body the withdrawal of this association's affiliation with BBKA was considered but was not approved. Mr Snelgrove was elected president following the death of T. W. Cowan. |
1931 |
SBKA joined the South Western Counties Federation. |
1944 |
Somerset County Council appointed Mr A. C. Rolt as County Beekeeping Instructor. He worked closely with the association until 1969. |
1947 |
Membership peaked at 1,587. |
1955 |
Taunton Division established its own building and teaching apiary on land donated by Mr Clarence Harris. Radstock and Midsomer Norton Branch in Eastern Division also established a teaching apiary in the grounds of Dymboro, Dr Bulleid's home at Midsomer Norton. |
1967 |
Death of Mr L. E. Snelgrove, our President since 1927. |
1973 |
The SBKA annual honey show was inaugurated, the first one being held at Cannington College. The South West Counties Joint Consultative Council was formed on the initiative of officers of SBKA. |
1975 |
Resulting from the Redcliffe-Maude report a new county of Avon was established. Three northern divisions broke away and, largely through the initiative of Mr T. Jackson, the Avon County Beekeepers Association was formed. This depleted our numbers considerably. |
1977 |
A regular SBKA newsletter was established. |
1991 |
The West Country Honey Farms Rose Bowl annual award was introduced. |
1992 |
Confirmation of our status as a charity was received from the Charity Commission, thanks to much work by our Treasurer, Roland Dell. The first infestations of varroa mites were discovered. |
1993 |
Some restructuring took place to improve the effectiveness of SBKA council and new posts created to cover Public Relations, Events, Promotions and Pollination. |
2000 |
The association's first website was launched, devised by Gerald Fisher, chairman at this time. |
2001 |
Council's attention was drawn to a Government funded scheme, controlled by the Further Education Funding Council, (FEFC) from which there could be major financial benefit. Ken Edwards explained the scheme and was appointed as the association's funding officer. Ken led a team that brought in major funds over many years and from which we still benefit. |
2005 |
The association's website was completely re-designed and upgraded. It was entered in the 39th Apimondia Congress held in Dublin in August of this year. With 26 entries it was considered the best and was awarded a gold medal. |
2006 |
The association proudly celebrated its centenary with many special events taking place during the year, including: a special exhibition at Somerset Rural Life Museum, Glastonbury; a dinner; a commemorative honey pot by Leach of Muchelney; and fund-raising to promote beekeeping in third world countries. |
2017 |
With more than 850 members in twelve divisions the association flourishes and is active throughout a smaller county than when formed. Lectures, demonstrations, beginners' classes, tuition in special areas such as first aid, and food hygiene, shows and outings are the main activities. Other important activities are publicity, promotion of the craft and the value of honeybees as pollinators. The association's activities are more broad-ranging and outward looking than at any time in its history. |
