A charabanc at Salisbury

Charabancs at Salisbury are a frequent theme. Photographers saw a golden opportunity to turn a profit since photographed passengers were likely to buy a print. We do not always know much about them and this one is just captioned 1923.

A charabanc in Salisbury – 1923

Because this formed a part of the Peggy Gye collection we assume it is a Market Lavington charabanc, probably belonging to Mr Sayer’s company. But we are not certain.

Signed Whitworth of Salisbury

We know the photographer was Whitworth of Salisbury – Harold Whitworth. But we don’t recognise the people on board so over to you.

We quite hope there is enough detail there for the vehicle to be recognised as well.

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Dusty Feet

The Dusty Feet exhibition opens to the public in the Young Gallery at Salisbury Library today.

This delightful, quirky and interactive exhibition is about text in all its forms and signs.

And we at Market Lavington Museum have contributed by loaning items to it. And good folks from our area and elsewhere have embroidered text messages onto handkerchiefs – they make a wonderful backdrop.

Actually, the exhibition extends into the library itself and you are greeted, in the library entrance, by a Market Lavington typewriter.

The exhibition is themed in yellow – it’s very striking.

Elsewhere downstairs you’ll find a James Neate collection.

These items are normally close to floor level in our museum. It’s great to see them at a higher level.

There’s also a brick and brick box display in the main library.

But the main exhibition is upstairs (or lift). That’s where we find the handkerchiefs and here’s one of them, produced by an Easterton embroiderer.

And another is by a Market Lavington person.

There are others produced by local talent – maybe more than we realise, for some are anonymous.

Our well known door from Mr Walton’s shop is in the main exhibition.

The photo doesn’t show that staff at the shop, over the years, signed the door. The exhibition has another door which you are invited to write on.

Our rubber stamps with the names of all the local parishes also feature.

We have another typewriter in the IT room.

Of course there are plenty of items from elsewhere to tell the tale which has been curated by Kat and Alister of Two Destination Language.

The exhibition runs until August 23^rd. How wonderful that the folks and visitors in Salisbury can see something of Market Lavington as well.

 

A trip out

 

There has been some lovely weather this May and thoughts turn to trips out. These days we all go off in our private cars, but back in the 20s – 90 years ago – trips were occasional and probably by charabanc. And here we have yet another photo of a charabanc outing.

Charabanc party at Salisbury in the 1920s

 

It always disappoints the bus enthusiasts that the photographer concentrated on the people. But of course, he was in business to sell the images to the people. He was based in Salisbury and took the photos in the morning as the party headed south to the coast. Prints were ready for people to buy when the returning merrymakers stopped off for a break on their way home.

A few names are given on the back of this card.

The information we have

The driver, Percy Notton and the man thought to be Bill Hobbs are easy to identify.

Driver Percy Notton and (believed to be) Bill Hobbs

George Pike must be one of the most photographed of Lavington people so he can be picked out and we think his wife is with him.

Mr and Mrs George Pike

We are not sure which man is Joe Compton.

Let’s just enlarge some other people, in case they can be recognised.

Can you identify any of these people?

Trips out like this were very much high days back then. They were days to linger over and savour for months afterwards

Another charabanc in Salisbury

Today we look at another of the many charabanc photos we have at Market Lavington Museum.

Fred Sayer had a substantial fleet of vehicles, based in Market Lavington and he ran trips to all sorts of tourist destinations during the 1920s. If trips were heading to the seaside they were almost bound to pass through Salisbury where a ‘comfort break’ was made. An enterprising photographer took photos of the party on the outward journey and had prints for sale on the return. So, as per usual, the location is Salisbury but certainly quite a few of the people come from Lavington.

A Charabanc carrying Market Lavington people photographed in Salisbury in about 1922

The driver, in white coat and cap is Percy Notton and amongst those on the vehicle we have Ivy Pomeroy, Jack Plank, W Trotter senior,  Harry Merritt, Mrs Gye and baby Tom Gye and also Mrs Ross and her son.

Standing by the bus we have Joe Gye and Charles Ross.

The charabanc is a Commer Car and has a registration, partly hidden by the starting handle of A? 9868.

The photo can be dated by the age of Tom Gye, the baby, to about 1922 or 23.

As ever, any tales about these people, or identities of others in the photo would be very welcome.

Reverend Sturton

John Anthony Sturton was Vicar of Market Lavington for more than thirty years at the start of the twentieth century. It seems amazing that we know so little of this man.

He was born in Little Bedwyn  in 1874 so he was a Wiltshire man.  His Father was Vicar of Little Bedwyn. In fact church service seems to have been a norm in the Sturton family. Certainly John Anthony followed in his father’s footsteps and on the 1901 census we find him as a clergyman in Lyme Regis, living in lodgings, so probably a curate. He became Vicar of Market Lavington in 1906.

By 1911 he was in Market Lavington with his mother and a brother who was also a member of the clergy.

John Sturton married in 1916. He and his wife, Iva, had no children.

We have a couple of photos of Reverend Sturton and this is one of them.

Reverend John Sturton, Vicar of Market Lavington, on his motorbike at Salisbury.

This is said to be a charabanc trip from Market Lavington in the 1920s. The picture was taken in Salisbury. It looks as though Reverend Sturton has joined the party on his motorbike. He has a youngster in his sidecar.  The bike, by the way, is a BSA. The lamp on the sidecar looks as though it might be an acetylene one. We have a lamp like it in the museum.

We have not positively identified any of the people on the charabanc but we wonder if the large man sat next to the driver might be Fred Sayer who owned the bus company.

After he retired in 1940, John lived in Easterton. He died in 1945. He is buried in Market Lavington churchyard. Iva joined him there in 1958 and his brother, Thomas, followed in 1960.