Once upon a time, the street known as Northbrook in Market Lavington was lined with cottages. Many have now been replaced with larger dwellings but there are plenty that remain. One of them is Jubilee Cottage, a pleasing detached house, which was built in 1887, when Victoria had been queen for fifty years – hence its name of Jubilee Cottage.
Market Lavington Museum has a faded, sepia print photo of the cottage in its early days.
Faded photograph of Jubilee Cottage at Market Lavington Museum
The photographer for this late nineteenth century image was J H Tatton of Trowbridge.
The photo can, of course, be enhanced with computer technology.
Jubilee Cottage - enhanced version of photo
People outside Jubilee Cottage, but just who are they?
The house was built by Robert Oram who we believe we see here in the small front garden. Our museum information suggests that Mrs Oram, the lady, is either his wife or his mother. We now think that Robert’s mother had died before Jubilee Cottage was built.
One can but wonder if, in fact it is Mrs Oram with a son for Robert would have been approaching 50 by the time this photo was taken.
Above the house porch there is the simple inscription of R O 18 JUBILEE 87. This is still there, but the strange head has vanished.
Inscription and head above the porch of Jubilee Cottage
The net curtains and tassels look very proper.
Delightful net curtains at Jubilee Cottage from the photo at Market Lavington Museum
A brief outline of the lives of Robert and Priscilla Oram can be found here.
Tags: house, Market Lavington, Museum, photograph, Silver Jubilee
Market Lavington Museum 
April 9, 2011 at 9:43 pm |
The head above the porch can be found at a Mrs F Wheeler’s house, as she is a decendant of the above family and also would be able to tell you who the people in the picture are, she has given me a copy as well as I now live at Jubilee Cottage.
April 9, 2011 at 9:58 pm |
That’s brilliant thanks. I’ll drop in and see you sometime as I live very close by.
Rog (curator)
August 11, 2011 at 9:26 pm |
[…] was clearly a loyal and patriotic subject who,commemorated his queen and who, later, was to build Jubilee Cottage on Northbrook. A loyal and patriotic V R on the […]
August 2, 2012 at 5:53 am |
[…] Robert Oram was born Henry Robert Oram in 1876. His parents, Robert and Priscilla lived on Northbrook in Market Lavington. We think we have met them before on these pages – click here. […]