Like every other house in the village in the 1800s, the Bell Inn was owned by the Tylney-Long-Wellesley family of Draycot House. The High Street used to be the main road from Bath and Bristol to Oxford. Coaches, as seen on the left of this 1960s photo, would stop here to change horses and for passengers to have a rest. There were fewer coaches on the road after the railway arrived in the 1840s.

In 1848 The Bell Inn became the home of the village doctor for over 100 years. The surgery door was in Bellside, and is still visible in the brickwork / paint on the side of the building. The last doctor to live here was Dr Clarke, who sold the property in 1955 to Berni Inns, who reopened it in 1958 as a hotel.

Herbing began in Sutton Benger in the 19th century and ended in the early 1950s. A herbing business was run by Tom Bray from Bellside. The sheds to the west of Bellside were used as storage.

The herbs grew in the countryside and people took all day to collect them. Teachers at the school would take the children on nature walks to collect rare herbs. The herbs were sold to make medicines and ointments.

The photographs from the 1920s show people outside the Old School House on Seagry Road after they have been gathering herbs.