A chapel centenary

Yes, a chapel centenary, but not in Market Lavington or Easterton. In fact this chapel was in Bristol and when they celebrated their centenary they produced a medallion. One of them was lost in Market Lavington and found by a metal detectorist.

Medallion found in Market Lavington

The front of the medallion has an image we believe is John Wesley. It has the message, ‘The best of all is God is with us’. This is reported as being what John Wesley said as he died.

The reverse has more information.

The medallion commemorates the centenary of the Ebenezer Wesleyan Chapel , Bristol in 1895

First of all we can see that at some time this medallion was converted to what would have been a cumbersome and heavy pin brooch. The remnants are over the top of some of the writing but we can make it out. This medallion commemorated the centenary of the Ebenezer Wesleyan Chapel of Old King Street in Bristol which took place in 1895. We can see that the circuit ministers were Rev Henry Foster, Rev J Gregory Martin and Rev A H Walker.

For the record this chapel no longer exists.

We can only wonder as to who lost this in Market Lavington.

 

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Opening a clothes store

This metal detector find seems an unlikely one for the good old recreation ground in Market Lavington. It’s a medallion commemorating the opening of a clothing emporium in the City of London.

It is remarkably well preserved.

Medallion struck by E Moses and Son, clothiers of London in 1846

“In commemoration of opening the cheapest and most spacious fashionable tailoring, ready-made clothing, hosiery, hatter & outfitters establishment in the world.

E Moses and Son 154-155 Minories and 33, 34, 35, 36 Aldgate, London”

Sadly, there is no date but maybe the other side can help.

A calendar of 1846 Sundays is on the reverse of the medallion

Well, it is a calendar showing the dates of all the Sundays in the year 1846. So we’ll assume the medallion dates from that year – 1846 and E Moses and Son were, perhaps, reminding people that they kept the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday) and may, thus, have been open on Sunday.

What a fascinating item. And we do suggest you look at http://tonyseymour.com/people/elias-moses to discover more about E Moses and the shop.

Another Diamond Jubilee Medallion

It must have seemed amazing that Queen Victoria celebrated 60 years as the monarch of the United Kingdom and the Empire. Well, it is amazing that anyone should be head of state for 60 or more years. Our present Queen, Elizabeth II is only the second English/British monarch to serve for more than 60 years.

So no wonder, when Victoria reached her Diamond Jubilee, it was celebrated and memorabilia manufacturers had a field day. We have already seen two Diamond Jubilee medallions or brooches on this blog and here is a third, found by metal detectorist Norman on the old recreation ground.

Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Medallion found on the old Recreation Ground in Market Lavington

The front tells us, or would without the damage, that Victoria the Good had reigned from 1837 to 97.

The reverse has a little more information.

The reverse side of the brooch

To commemorate the 60^th year of the reign of H. M. Queen Victoria.

It is not clear how this medallion was fixed to a garment. Not all that well, presumably, as it got lost.

But it has been found and is now safely at Market Lavington Museum.

Not the Great Exhibition

The Great Exhibition of 1851 was a roaring success. This was the exhibition for which the huge Crystal Palace was built in Hyde Park. People flocked to visit it and, under the stewardship of Prince Albert it was seen as ‘the’ place to go. And people could get there for the new railways provided relatively rapid routes to London from all over the country. Of course the Crystal Palace was moved when the exhibition was over and gave its name to an area of South London.

It was inevitable that such a wonderful event would be repeated and so we come to the London International Exhibition of 1862.

If, reader, you have never heard of this event – vastly bigger than the 1851 exhibition – then you are not alone. It failed to inspire the great British public back then in much the same way as the Millennium Dome did 140 years later. It has largely been forgotten although the site it occupied now houses the Science and Natural History museums. The building itself was demolished and demolition materials were used to build Alexandra Palace in North London.

And what has all this to do with Market Lavington? Simply that a metal detectorist found a small medallion depicting the building and giving the date and name.

1862 International Exhibition medallion found in Market Lavington

For a base metal item found in the ground it is in remarkably good condition It is about 2½ centimetres in diameter and as we can see from the damaged areas it is thin with strength provided as much by the embossing as by any thickness of metal.

Presumably somebody from the area actually went to the exhibition. Let’s hope they weren’t too sad when they lost this memento.

The Army Temperance Association

With the 100^th anniversary of the First World War, one rather imagines that many a soldier felt in need of a stiff drink, to relieve all sorts of symptoms – fear, pain, utter discomfort and, at times, a goodly dose of boredom.

However at some time in the past there was an Army Temperance Association and this medallion, found by local metal detectorist, Norman, is for that organisation.

Army Temperance Association medallion found in Market Lavington

We know very little about this organisation, beyond the obvious. Presumably members of the army could join. And the association was anti-alcohol. The Fusilier Museum, London has more information which you can see by clicking here.

We believe this item was a 6 month medal and we guess this was given to members who stayed dry for 6 months. 1889 was, presumably, the year in which it was issued and that may have been about the high water mark for association membership.

As ever, we’d love more information on this item which was, of course, found in Market Lavington.

Golden Jubilee medallion

It was a couple of years ago that we really had a royal year at the museum as we celebrated the diamond jubilee of our present queen.

Today we look back to 1887 and the golden jubilee of Queen Victoria via another of Norman’s metal detector finds.

1887 Queen Victoria Golden Jubilee medallion – a Market Lavington metal detector find

This medallion measures less than two inches (5cm) across. It shows a profile view of Victoria in the middle and traces four major events in her life on the four branches of the cross.

Starting on the left we have that she was born in 1819 and this branch of the cross shows a shamrock plant to represent Ireland which was all, then, a part of the one country.

At the top we have that she was crowned in 1838 (she became queen in 1837). That branch of the cross shows a crown.

On the right we have that she married in 1840. Her husband, of course, was Albert. We also see here a thistle to represent Scotland.

And at the bottom we have jubilee year of 1887 with an English rose.

The medallion looks as though it might have had a bar at the top and may have been held to a garment with a ribbon and pin.

We imagine somebody was sorry to lose it. Maybe they’d be happy to know that nearly 120 years after it was made it now has a home at Market Lavington Museum.

Collecting for the centenery

Next year – 2014 – we will mark the centenery of the start of World War 1 which, sadly, did not live up to the name given – the war to end all wars.

Market Lavington and Easterton played quite significant roles in the war. First of all, many of our own young men served in the forces and in the various theatres of war which opened up during the next four years. If you have personal stories – letters, postcards or just things told you about how the ordinary chaps from our area coped during the war –  then we’d love to hear from you so that we have the opportunity to share your stories with a wider audience. Maybe you have photos of a local soldier (and for us that means from Market Lavington or Easterton) in uniform and just a little tale of what the soldier did. It would be good to be able to honour such men who served.

But our parishes also had a wider role. Salisbury Plain was a training area for Commonwealth troops and we know that many Australian and Canadian soldiers spent time in Lavington and Easterton before being sent to the front to fight. People all over the world may have tales they have heard about Market Lavington and, in particular, the Pond Farm Camp.

Here, as a reminder, is a  little medallion from Valcartier Camp in Canada. This was an embarkation point for soldiers coming to train in England.

Medallion from Valcartier Camp, Canada, found in a house in Market Lavington

This medallion was found in a crack in a cupboard at 60 High Street, Market Lavington. The house had been occupied by Mrs Crouch and her sister married a Canadian who was billeted in Market Lavington. It was a more recent resident at the house who found this item and gave it to the museum.

It’s people like the descendants of  Mrs Crouch’s sister that we’d love to hear from with any tales they might be able to share.

You can contact our curator on lavingtoncurator@gmail.com .

The Wiltshire Friendly Society

The Wiltshire Friendly Society was (and still is) a mutual assurance company. These days it is based in Trowbridge but from the time it was founded, in 1828, there were members from across Wiltshire including Market Lavington and Easterton.

Market Lavington Museum was recently given a medallion from the early days of the society.

Wiltshire Friendly Society Medallion at Market Lavington Museum

The Friendly Society logo on the other side of the medallion

We are not sure what this item was for, but the hole, to make it into a medallion looks like an afterthought and it was not well done.

The good thing about this organisation is that they kept records of quite a meticulous kind and, as many members of the society were born before National Registration began in 1837, the details about members can be very useful to family history researchers.

The Wiltshire Family History Society is the place to go for actual records. They hold the database and make it available to members and non-members of their society.

The table below is just a small part of what is a huge database. Wiltshire Family History Society has much more information than this.

HISCOCK,Frederick George	Market Lavington	1865
HISCOCK,William Henry	Market Lavington	1864
HOBBS,Charles	Market Lavington	1846
HOBBS,Charles Benjamin	Market Lavington	1867
HOBBS,George William	Market Lavington	1871
HOBBS,James	Market Lavington	1868
HOBBS,William	Market Lavington	1846
HOLLEY,Charles	Market Lavington	1850
HOPKINS,James	Market Lavington	1853
HOPKINS,John	Market Lavington	1846
HOPKINS,Joseph	Market Lavington	1859