Where is this?

Items seem to be able to arrive at a museum without any documentation. We guess this photo has been hanging around for years. It’s a large photo being eight by six inches – a good old British photo size. It is card mounted with that mount measuring about 14 by 11.5 inches. The photo depicts a large four square brick built house with interesting chimneys. All very well, except that we can’t identify it. We appeal for your help.

A large and distinguished looking house – but where is it?

This really should be identifiable. The chimneys are certainly distinctive.

Distinctive chimneys

It’s probably too much to expect that anybody might recognise the family group.

A family group in the garden

The cow looks to be a Jersey. She could well be in calf.

The house cow, perhaps

 

Another distinctive feature could be the thatched wall to the right of the house.

The thatched wall could shelter a kitchen garden

If this is Market Lavington or Easterton then we do hope somebody can tell us just which house this is or was.

If it isn’t, then we feel the picture should go to a more suitable home.

Either way, do get in touch and let us know where this is.

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Grove Farm

Grove Farm covered an area which is now, largely, built up. The Grove Farm Estate occupies the area which was once the farm.

The farm house was placed roughly where our wonderful community hall now stands. This was the heart of activities on the farm.

Grove Farm which was roughly where the Community Hall now stands - a photo at Market Lavington Museum

The photo shows the farm house. A couple of cows can be seen below the house, alongside Church Street.

Were these cows, seen enlarged from the above photo, the Francis family house cows?

Using our electoral roll for 1964, we can see that the farm was held by the Francis family as it had been in 1939. Ronald Frances and his wife, Frances, were in charge.

Ronald had married Frances Candy in 1932. The marriage took place in the Bradford on Avon area. We know a son, Philip, was born around 1941 but we’d love to know more about this family.

Ronald died in 1969 and Frances some 20 years later. Both are buried at St Mary’s in Market Lavington.

A Cowbell

This item was found, many a year ago, in the grounds of Easterton Manor. It is a late 19^th century cowbell.

A 19th century cowbell found in Easterton and now at Market Lavington museum

Cowbells were worn by a member of a herd of cows to give a cowman an audio warning of the whereabouts and mood of his charges. They needed to be simple and cheap to make, reasonably light but also durable. It goes without saying that they also needed to make a lovely sonorous note as the clapper hit the bell.

The book, Shepherds of Britain, published in 1911 suggests that Market Lavington may have been something of a centre for bell making.

The Ellacombe mentioned is the Reverend H T Ellacombe who wrote extensively about bells in the 19^th century – mostly church bells.

At Market Lavington Museum we think our bell, which certainly has a sonorous tone, may have been made in the Cheverell area. Click here to listen to the sound of this bell