DEDICATED volunteers have been unearthing the history behind one of the largest and most influential companies in Gloucester's history.

Remnants of the Talbot Mineral Water Company still exist on the site where it once stood – now known as the old Clutch Clinic.

The old sign is still visible to anyone who walks past, but a group of history fans have been digging deeper into the history of Thomas Talbot and the empire of buildings he created in Gloucester.

Lisa Donel, an archaeologist who has been based in Gloucester since 1997, headed up the team.

She explained: "We called it the Clutch Clinic Community Recording Project.

"It's a project which needed to go ahead before the demolition of the buildings, but it was all carried out with members of the community.

"The whole thing was commissioned by the South West Regional Development Agency."

Lisa added that the project had yielded a lot of interesting results for the team.

Professional

She said: "We have been able to identify a number of the 19th century bits of the Talbot buildings.

"We've got quite a good idea now of what actually sat there.

"In a sense it's been like putting together the pieces of a jigsaw."

She added: "They've had to do everything in the same way that a professional would do it.

"They had to survey the buildings, photograph them and do historical research."

Among the researchers was Frank Colls, originally a Londoner who was brought to the area by his work.

He said: "I'm very interested in industrial archaeology, so that was what made me want to get involved.

"I came into this as something very new, I'd never done anything like it before, but it was something which interested me."

Another member of the team, Jeff Hogg, said: "Some of us have been in the construction industry for many, many years, so it's a natural interest."

Pam Daw, who was involved in the research side of the project, using the Gloucestershire Archives to find out more about the company, said she had a very personal reason for wanting to learn more.

She said: "I used to live in one of the houses in Ladybellegate Street, so it was something I was very interested in.

"I just love Gloucester's history."

The team is now compiling its final support, which will form a formal part of the planning process for the area, which is being re-developed.