A William Cambridge jar

In Market Lavington, we are proud to be able to count William Colborne Cambridge (1807 – 1869) amongst our former residents. He was born in Bath, but his wife Sarah came from Lavington and the family lived here for a time during the 1830s and 1840s.

Unfortunately, the 1841 census for Market Lavington has not survived, so we cannot find the family there. By 1851, they had moved to Bristol, but that census entry shows that three of their children had been born here in the 1840s.

However, Hunt’s Directory of 1848 mentions his works in the description of East (Market) Lavington – ‘Here is an iron foundry for the manufacture of steam engines, implements of husbandry etc.’ The directory lists William Colborne Cambridge as ‘Engineer, ironfounder, machinist and millwright’. The family lived on High Street, in a house, later replaced by the Workman’s Hall.

His 1844 patent for a clod crusher roller, gives Market Lavington as his place of residence.

We only have such snippets of information about his time here, so we are very pleased to have a tangible object linked to him in our museum collection.

In the museum kitchen, we have a row of wine jars and flagons, including this one. It is clearly marked –

For more information on William Cambridge and his time in Market Lavington, see William Cambridge, William Colbourne Cambridge, The William Cambridge Engine and The east end of the High Street in 1837