Walking Past The West Lodge, Possibly pre 1915
Title
Walking Past The West Lodge, Possibly pre 1915
Subject
Description
A photograph of a woman walking along Cowbridge Road, having just passed The West Lodge, a gatehouse to the estate of the manor house called Knowle House.
The woman is walking toward the hamlet of Cowbridge and will soon cross over the small hump-backed bridge called Cow Bridge, crossing over the Avill River. Afterwards the woman would come to Cowbridge Mill and the junction with a road that she would probably know as the old Dunster Road, connecting the medieval town of Dunster with the village of Timberscombe. This road will be classified as the A396 in 1922 (1). Behind the woman, Cowbridge Road soon comes to a junction, Cowbridge Cross, with Knowle Lane to the right, while continuing to the left toward the village of Wootton Courtenay. Knowle Hill rises in the background.
A break in the hedges along the right side of the road, just before The West Lodge, is the beginning of a lane that leads to Knowle Farm and Knowle House, completed c. 1878 by John Dando Sedding, the architect of the Diocese of Bath and Wells. It was built for Mr. James Hole, Esquire (2), the landowner of Knowle Estate, consisting of 2100 acres, about a third of the land in the parish of Timberscombe (3). There had been previous houses, some also called Knowle, on the site of Knowle House since the Domesday Book, including one built c. 1800 by Michael Hole, grandfather of James Hole (4). Knowle House also had a southern gatehouse, The South Lodge, situated along the old Dunster Road, which was probably built around the same time as Mr. Sedding's version of Knowle House and was likely designed by Sedding (5).
The West Lodge, as seen in this photograph, may be older. In his classic "The Buildings of England, Somerset: South and West", Nikolaus Pevners identifies the West Lodge as "Early C19C", suggesting it may have been built at or around the time Michael Hole was building the earlier version of Knowle House (6). The western gatehouse does not appear on the Tithe Map of 1843, which could be an oversight or the West Lodge was completed shortly after that time. Both West Lodge and South Lodge are depicted on the Ordnance Survey Map of 1844 to 1888.
The photograph is undated and anonymous but could well be the work of Herbert John Hole, who went by the name, Bert. Bert Hole was born in 1871, the son of Herbert Henry Hole (1836-1900), also a photographer. The Hole family was from Williton, but Bert Hole set up his studio in Watchet (7) and was certainly connected to Timberscombe through his marriage in 1902 to Alice Maud Williams, born in the village, the daughter of Robert Williams, a boot maker (8). They were married at St. Petrock's Church in Timberscombe and both of their sons were baptised at the church (9). The photograph seen here is tonally in the style of Bert Hole and the type used for the lettering of the label is consistent with other photographs known to have been taken by Mr. Hole in Timberscombe (10).
Bert Hole died early in 1915 (11), dating this photograph before that time, if indeed this is his work. The next year, the Knowle Estate was put on sale at an auction held on Thursday, July 20th 1916, The estate was broken into 67 lots, with Lot 1 consisting of Knowle House and its two gatehouses (12). The West Lodge was described in the Sales Particulars as a "ONE-STORIED STONE- BUILT BUILDING", creeper and ivy-covered, surrounded by a laurel hedge and ornamental iron railings--still standing in modern times. There were three bedrooms, one W.C., a sitting room and well-equipped kitchen. Also according to the Particulars, the woman has just passed, on the left side of the road, a small "Pleasure and Vegetable Garden" with trees and shrubs. In 2020, this is long gone but perhaps some geographic outlines and some surviving metal railing indicates the garden's location.
On Wednesday, July 3rd 1957, Knowle House was again auctioned. This time, The West Lodge and The South Lodge are both offered as separate lots. Also sold separately is what was called the West Lodge Meadow, situated on the immediate north and partly the east of the lodge (13). The Particulars stipulate that "this Field is at present used as a Cricket Ground by the Timberscombe Cricket Club". Unlike the garden, this remains evident and active. In later years, The West Lodge has been a private residence and a holiday let.
This particular photograph was printed at an unknown date in a small leather bound booklet of twelve postcards depicting Timberscombe scenes and was shared by Maurice Huxtable in 2019. He, his father, Dudley Huxtable, and his grandfather, Frank Huxtable, have all played cricket at the West Lodge Meadow.
The woman is walking toward the hamlet of Cowbridge and will soon cross over the small hump-backed bridge called Cow Bridge, crossing over the Avill River. Afterwards the woman would come to Cowbridge Mill and the junction with a road that she would probably know as the old Dunster Road, connecting the medieval town of Dunster with the village of Timberscombe. This road will be classified as the A396 in 1922 (1). Behind the woman, Cowbridge Road soon comes to a junction, Cowbridge Cross, with Knowle Lane to the right, while continuing to the left toward the village of Wootton Courtenay. Knowle Hill rises in the background.
A break in the hedges along the right side of the road, just before The West Lodge, is the beginning of a lane that leads to Knowle Farm and Knowle House, completed c. 1878 by John Dando Sedding, the architect of the Diocese of Bath and Wells. It was built for Mr. James Hole, Esquire (2), the landowner of Knowle Estate, consisting of 2100 acres, about a third of the land in the parish of Timberscombe (3). There had been previous houses, some also called Knowle, on the site of Knowle House since the Domesday Book, including one built c. 1800 by Michael Hole, grandfather of James Hole (4). Knowle House also had a southern gatehouse, The South Lodge, situated along the old Dunster Road, which was probably built around the same time as Mr. Sedding's version of Knowle House and was likely designed by Sedding (5).
The West Lodge, as seen in this photograph, may be older. In his classic "The Buildings of England, Somerset: South and West", Nikolaus Pevners identifies the West Lodge as "Early C19C", suggesting it may have been built at or around the time Michael Hole was building the earlier version of Knowle House (6). The western gatehouse does not appear on the Tithe Map of 1843, which could be an oversight or the West Lodge was completed shortly after that time. Both West Lodge and South Lodge are depicted on the Ordnance Survey Map of 1844 to 1888.
The photograph is undated and anonymous but could well be the work of Herbert John Hole, who went by the name, Bert. Bert Hole was born in 1871, the son of Herbert Henry Hole (1836-1900), also a photographer. The Hole family was from Williton, but Bert Hole set up his studio in Watchet (7) and was certainly connected to Timberscombe through his marriage in 1902 to Alice Maud Williams, born in the village, the daughter of Robert Williams, a boot maker (8). They were married at St. Petrock's Church in Timberscombe and both of their sons were baptised at the church (9). The photograph seen here is tonally in the style of Bert Hole and the type used for the lettering of the label is consistent with other photographs known to have been taken by Mr. Hole in Timberscombe (10).
Bert Hole died early in 1915 (11), dating this photograph before that time, if indeed this is his work. The next year, the Knowle Estate was put on sale at an auction held on Thursday, July 20th 1916, The estate was broken into 67 lots, with Lot 1 consisting of Knowle House and its two gatehouses (12). The West Lodge was described in the Sales Particulars as a "ONE-STORIED STONE- BUILT BUILDING", creeper and ivy-covered, surrounded by a laurel hedge and ornamental iron railings--still standing in modern times. There were three bedrooms, one W.C., a sitting room and well-equipped kitchen. Also according to the Particulars, the woman has just passed, on the left side of the road, a small "Pleasure and Vegetable Garden" with trees and shrubs. In 2020, this is long gone but perhaps some geographic outlines and some surviving metal railing indicates the garden's location.
On Wednesday, July 3rd 1957, Knowle House was again auctioned. This time, The West Lodge and The South Lodge are both offered as separate lots. Also sold separately is what was called the West Lodge Meadow, situated on the immediate north and partly the east of the lodge (13). The Particulars stipulate that "this Field is at present used as a Cricket Ground by the Timberscombe Cricket Club". Unlike the garden, this remains evident and active. In later years, The West Lodge has been a private residence and a holiday let.
This particular photograph was printed at an unknown date in a small leather bound booklet of twelve postcards depicting Timberscombe scenes and was shared by Maurice Huxtable in 2019. He, his father, Dudley Huxtable, and his grandfather, Frank Huxtable, have all played cricket at the West Lodge Meadow.
Creator
Anonymous but possibly Herbert John (Bert) Hole
Source
Date
possibly pre 1915
Contributor
Language
English
Identifier
The West Lodge Along Cowbridge Road / Timberscombe / northeast of the village
Acquisition Date
2019
Acquisition Method
Gift
Category
PLACES: Gatehouses / Timberscombe
Condition
Good
Condition Notes
Entered by Tom Sperling
Condition Date
2020
Dimension Type
W X L
Dimension Units
cm
Dimension Value
16.5 X 10
Institution Name
St. Petrock's History Group
Notes
(1) sabre-roads.org.uk (2) Historic England.org.uk (3) "THE KNOWLE ESTATE, DUNSTER, SOMERSET", Sales Particulars booklet, by Messrs. W. R. J. Greenslade & Co., Taunton and Wellington, 1916 and Victoria County History.ac.uk (4) Historic Environmental Record, Exmoor National Park, MSO10604 and "History of the Hundred of Carhampton", by James Savage, Bristol, 1830 (5) THE BUILDINGS OF ENGLAND, SOMERSET: SOUTH AND WEST' by Julian Orbach and Nikolaus Pevsner, Yale University Press, 2015 (6) in "History of the Hundred of Carhampton", author James Savage pinpoints 1892 as the year Michael Hole built his version of Knowle House (7) "Secure the shadow: Somerset Photographers 1839-1939" by Robin Ansell, Allan Collier and Phil Nichols, The Somerset and Dorset Family History Society, 2018 (8) Somerset, England, Marriage Registrations, Bonds and Allegations, 1754-1914 (9) Somerset, England, Church of England, Baptisms, 1813-1914 (10) as seen at SP-050, a Bert Hole photograph of St. Petrock's Church, Timberscombe (11) England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837-1915 (12) "THE KNOWLE ESTATE, DUNSTER, SOMERSET", Sales Particulars, 1916 (13) "THE KNOWLE ESTATE NEAR DUNSTER", Sales Particulars, by Messrs. John D. Wood & Co., London and Messrs. C.R. Morris, Sons & Peard, Taunton, 1957
Storage Location
St. Petrock's History Group Archive
Storage Date
2020
Storage Notes
St. Petrock's History Group PHOTOGRAPHS
Item Reference
SP-126
Technique
Copy
Citation
Anonymous but possibly Herbert John (Bert) Hole, “Walking Past The West Lodge, Possibly pre 1915,” St. Petrock's History Group, accessed May 6, 2024, https://stpetrockshistorygroup.omeka.net/items/show/3159.
Comments