Easterton High Street – 1937

We know this photo dates from 1937 for the flags are out for the coronation of King George VI.

Easterton High Street in 1937

On the left we have Easterton’s Jubilee Buildings – a terrace erected in 1897 which was Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee Year. The one marked with an X shows the home of the Shepherd family who ran a bakery from there.

The cottage facing up the street has long gone. Pass to the left of it and you’d have been on the sands (Kings) road. Pass to the right and you’d have been on the main road heading towards Urchfont.

At the far end of the right hand row we can see The Homestead and down at this end, with the open windows is the terrace which has been called ‘The Barracks’.

We cannot identify the lone cyclist.

And here’s a similar 21^st century view.

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Milsom’s Garage

We have seen this photo before on this blog, in connection with the Milsom family but this copy is sharper and shows more of the car on the right. It has damage, but we think it is worth seeing again.

Milsom’s Garage, Market Lavington with an interesting collection of cars in 1937

Let’s start by dating the photo. Our museum documentation gives a date of 1937 and there is evidence here to prove that is certainly within plus or minus 2 years.

The garage sold Essolene petrol

This style of bulb sign, for Essolene petrol, was, apparently, only in use from 1935 to 1939. So we’ll be happy with that 1937 date.

Mr Milsom may well have been flying Union flags because of the coronation in 1937.

We have no expertise on cars but the leading car looks to have a Jaguar motif on the bonnet. As far as we know such cars appeared in 1935. There will be car experts out there who know more than us and who can tell us what each of the cars actually are.

The garage, it seems, had an agency for Morris cars.

Morris Cars at R. Milsom motor and general engineer

The old garage has completely gone now but the name is remembered for the new houses built in this area have an address of Milsom Court.

This is a delightful period photo of Church Street in Market Lavington.

There is one person in the photo.

Was this Mr Milson – or maybe a member of the workforce?

We do not know who this is but just maybe he’d be recognised.

The Grove in 1937

We have a postcard today which shows the Grove in 1937.

A rural scene in Market Lavington in 1937

As the card says, it is a rural scene and clearly a spring time one with lambs in the field. It is very hard to get a precise fix on just where this is, but it does look like Grove Farm with the road up Lavington Hill rising behind it.

Grove Farm and Lavington Hill

An added interest on this card is the message on the back.

This card was sent to Belgium

It was sent from Palm House to Lessines, Hainault in Belgium by Gilberte.

Can anybody tell us who lived at Palm House then – and who was Gilberte who definitely seemed keen on Mme J Keymeulon?

Royal mug shot

Many people have collected royal memorabilia in the past and many continue to do so. Not all, or even much of it can come to the museum for reasons of space or, more usually, because people hope to pass it down through their family. But they will often let us record a photo and today we look at a photo of one ‘royal’ mug. It belonged (and still does) to the Merritt family who lived at Vicarage Farm in Easterton. It is a coronation mug.

Mug (only a photo) for the coronation that never was in 1937

People who know about royal history will realise that this is a mug for a coronation which never took place – the coronation of King Edward VIII.

King Edward VIII abdicated before his coronation could take place.

This coronation was scheduled for May 1937 but of course, the King chose to marry the woman he loved and abdicated the kingship.

The country got its coronation for the plans made were transferred to the new king – George VI.

No doubt souvenir makers were a bit cheesed off at having to scrap the original memorabilia and producing new.

More on Easterton Fire Brigade

Some readers may recall that on January 1^st 2013 we showed a picture of ‘Easterton Fire Brigade’. It was clearly some kind of carnival item but we had no idea when or why or who was involved.

A blog comment suggested it was after World War 1 to judge from the souvenir helmets some of the men wore.

But now we have much more information along with a second picture of the same ‘Easterton Fire Brigade’.

A pretend Easterton Fire Brigade at the celebrations for the Coronation of King George VI

This picture was made into a postcard so it has a caption which gives us a date.

The postcard caption

So, the ‘New Engine and Brigade’ were a creation for the Coronation Carnival of 1937’

This picture is taken from the other side of the ‘appliance’. We see that the hon. Sec. of the brigade was a rather dubious character

I Doubtem was said to be the Hon. Secretary

Our donor for this picture tells us that he was led to believe that the driver was his Uncle Jack – Arthur John Spencer. He’d have lived and farmed at Halstead Farm on Easterton High Street at the time.

The other men are still not known and maybe we’ll struggle to identify them under the false whiskers. But once again, we’ll try. Can you name these men? Of course we now know the photo dates from 1937.

 

Can you name any of the men?

A 1937 register

We have a number of school registers at Market Lavington Museum. Let’s take a look at one of them here. It dates from 1937 to 38 and is for the infant class.

Market Lavington School register – the infants of 1937 – 1938

Inside we have a list of names.

The names in the register

Some registers have addresses. All have dates of birth but we have missed that information for these people are now aged about 80 and many are still alive. You can, of course, look at the full register at the museum.

The names on this list are – boys:

John Gingell, George Perry, Douglass Wills, Frederick Reid, Gilbert Jenks, Edward King, Albert Lord(?), Anthony Sainsbury, John Chapman, Ronald Maynard, William Davis, Geoffrey Alexander, Terence Boulton, Eric Baker, Maurice Thompson, Robert Reid, Wilfrid Jenks, Donald Sainsbury, Leonard Cartwright, Thomas Roberts and George Love.

The girls are:

Brenda Holmes, Beryl Holmes, Ada Hopkins, June Baker, Honor Cooper, Valerie Cooper, Margery Burt, Joan Ellis, Mary Sargant, Joan Baker, Betty Maynard and Gladys Owen.

These are the top twenty UK baby names in 2012. Ethan, Eva, Leo, Dylan, Jacob, Oliver, Noah, Ella, Alfie, Amelia, Mia, Isla, Max, Charlie, Alice, Joshua, Jack, Oscar, Isabella, Imogen.

It looks like none of them were in use 80 years ago in Market Lavington.

Farewell 2012

2012 has been a mixed year at Market Lavington Museum. Let’s get the minus features out of the way first. Now we wouldn’t gripe about the Olympics and Paralympics, brilliantly organised and executed as they were, but they did impinge on visitor numbers, both real through the museum door visitors and virtual visitors to this blog.

Against that must be set the absolutely fantastic Jubilee weekend. This was again, wonderfully organised and executed, but this time on a local level. That weekend was a ‘best ever’ for visitor numbers at the museum.

Visitor cash donations were down on the previous year – probably as a result of the current economic climate.

But we had two very successful fund raisers – both now traditional. We braved uncertain weather for our friends’ party – and just got away with it. The Museum Miscellany played to another crowded hall. We remain solvent.

Donations of items remain first rate. One could almost say that photographs flood in with that Jubilee weekend being an occasion when folks sorted out their own photos of royal events past.  It has been another very good year.

Market Lavington Coronation Band in 1937

Here’s a beauty we haven’t looked at before. The Coronation Band on Parade in 1937. The venue is Market Lavington market Place.

Close up from above photo

What a glorious photo.

We must give a special thank you to the good people of Easterton. They have been particularly forthcoming when it comes to donations.

An Easterton celebration – more information needed – please

They do seem to find ways to enjoy themselves in Easterton.

So, it is goodbye to 2012. And the good easily outweighed the less good.