Jeffery's on Jubilee Terrace, apparently 6 December, possibly 1949 or 1950
Title
Jeffery's on Jubilee Terrace, apparently 6 December, possibly 1949 or 1950
Subject
Description
The upper photograph, featuring the centre of Timberscombe, is one of the most well known depictions of the village. In 2019, a copy of it was framed and hanging in The Lion Inn (visible on the right side of the photograph) and it was one of the first images archived by the St. Petrock's History Group. At that time it was listed as "Jeffery's on Jubilee Terrace, Possibly Between 1951 and 1953". In 2024, those dates were changed to "apparently 6 December, possibly 1949 or 1950", through the efforts of two of the History Group's many generous donors.
The southern stretch of Timberscombe's Brook Street can be glimpsed in the right centre of the photograph. Under a shared thatched roof, the site of the former S.J. Stenner's Butcher Shop is visible to the left, with the former Stenner family home, Brook House, on its right. These buildings will later be demolished (1). Brook Street ends reaching The Lion Inn, which faces the Village Square. On its northern side are red sandstone buildings, originally fronted by a narrower pathway. Beginning around 1883, this pathway was widened and the road created here became Jubilee Terrace, completed by 1887 (2). It continues to the left, becoming Bemberry Bank. In 1950, these connections between Brook Street, Jubilee Terrace and Bemberry Bank, in the heart of the village, were the only passageway for travel between the eastern and western sides of Timberscombe.
On the left edge of this photograph is the right side of Combe (sometimes called "Coombe") House. A storefront is on the ground level, more than likely still called Delbridge when this photograph was taken. There has been a store at this location at least since 1916, with earlier names being The Shop or The Stores (3) and then becoming Delbridge from c. 1939 until 1951, when its proprietor, Elizabeth Bessie Delbridge, passed away on the 14th of August (4). Afterwards, off and on it was known as Coombe Stores (5)
Next door to Combe House, at No. 3 Jubilee Terrace is Jeffery's, a shop described as where anything could be found (6). Mr. James Jeffery, born in 1878, was living here with his wife, Emma, still working as a bricklayer at the time of the 1939 England and Wales Register (when the address was listed as 2 Jubilee House). He was also a Methodist preacher. Jeffery's store was actually founded by Emma Jeffery, before their marriage in 1918 (7). Born Emma Williams in 1877 (8), she and her parents had moved to this location by the 1891 census. Her father, Robert Williams was a Cordwainer (a shoemaker who made shoes using leather) and had his shop here (9). By the 1911 Census, Emma was sole owner, operating a "Boot, Shoe and Fancy Goods Shop". Emma Williams Jeffery died in 1940 (10).
J.B. Martin, the author of the "Uncle" book series, in his journals wrote about his time as the minister of Timberscombe's Methodist Chapel, some of which were reprinted in "J.P. Martin, Father of Uncle, A Master of the Great English Nonsense Tradition", collected by his daughter Stella Martin Currey and published by Matador in 2016. Included in the chapter, "A Dance of Joy on a Lonely Road, 1948-60", Martin mentions this shop and writes of Mr. Jeffery. He recalls his "awkward old friend Jeffery", promising to donate an organ to the chapel in memory of his late wife. In July 1949, as Mr. Martin left the village for an auction of a possible organ, Jeffery ran out of the shop, shouting "You'll be shot at dawn if you don't get it!" Mr. Jeffery died 22 May 1953. (11)
After Mr. Jeffery's death, Mrs. Grace Yeandle ran the shop on these premises. By 1966, No. 3 became Jubilee Store, owned by Mary Holcombe until 1978. In 1969 it was decided to move the Timberscombe Post Office to Jubilee Terrace, either to the shop at Combe House or to Jubilee Store. In 2019, Mrs. Holcombe remembered that she was pregnant with her son, Andrew, and was disappointed when Combe House was chosen, thinking the extra income of running the post office would have been handy (12). Later No. 3 returned to being a private residence and a sometime holiday let-- but still maintains the storefront window.
In this photograph, The Lion Inn has added a larger enclosed porch around its front door, much as it remains in modern times, replacing a plank door visible with a smaller overhead covering, as seen at SP-005.
This photograph, labeled "Timberscombe", was included in a small leather-bound booklet of twelve postcards of Timberscombe and donated in 2019 by Maurice Huxtable, a lifelong resident of Timberscombe and the long-time owner of Ye Old Malthouse, to the right of the former S.J. Stenner's Butcher Shop and Stenner home, as visible in this photograph.
Since August 2022, James Bowley of Buckinghamshire and the current owner of Yew Tree Cottage on Brook Street in Timberscombe has been an avid collector and donor to the St. Petrock's History Group. In May of 2023, he bought a copy of this postcard and zooming in on the newspaper boards could see that the date was 6 December (most evident on newspaper seen to the right on the close-up above, supplied by Mr. Bowley). He was also able to determine that the headlines of the newspapers were all about an upcoming general election, which would have been in either 1951 or 1954--thus suggesting precise dates of 6 December 1950 or 1954. As Mr. James Jeffery passed away in May 1953, the former seems more likely.
In January 2024, this entry was featured by St. Petrock's History Group and seen again by Tim Collins of Whitelackington, near Ilminster, Somerset. Mr. Collins partly grew up in Timberscombe and has been an active member of the History Group and a generous donor since 2018. He was able to magnify the right hand board in the group of three news boards between the door and window. It presented a headline of the Somerset County Gazette, reading "GENERAL ELECTION PLANS". If correct, Tim believed the photograph would be dated 6 December 1949 as the Labour Government pushed this announcement to the end of their term, officially announcing the election on 11 January 1950 and holding the actual vote on 23 February 1950. Mr. Collins presented his dates on 24 January 2024 with a copy of the Parliamentary Election Timetables (13).
No doubt some further research will likely take place but the St. Petrock's History Group is incredibly grateful of the support and sharp eyes of such members as James Bowley and Tim Collins.
The southern stretch of Timberscombe's Brook Street can be glimpsed in the right centre of the photograph. Under a shared thatched roof, the site of the former S.J. Stenner's Butcher Shop is visible to the left, with the former Stenner family home, Brook House, on its right. These buildings will later be demolished (1). Brook Street ends reaching The Lion Inn, which faces the Village Square. On its northern side are red sandstone buildings, originally fronted by a narrower pathway. Beginning around 1883, this pathway was widened and the road created here became Jubilee Terrace, completed by 1887 (2). It continues to the left, becoming Bemberry Bank. In 1950, these connections between Brook Street, Jubilee Terrace and Bemberry Bank, in the heart of the village, were the only passageway for travel between the eastern and western sides of Timberscombe.
On the left edge of this photograph is the right side of Combe (sometimes called "Coombe") House. A storefront is on the ground level, more than likely still called Delbridge when this photograph was taken. There has been a store at this location at least since 1916, with earlier names being The Shop or The Stores (3) and then becoming Delbridge from c. 1939 until 1951, when its proprietor, Elizabeth Bessie Delbridge, passed away on the 14th of August (4). Afterwards, off and on it was known as Coombe Stores (5)
Next door to Combe House, at No. 3 Jubilee Terrace is Jeffery's, a shop described as where anything could be found (6). Mr. James Jeffery, born in 1878, was living here with his wife, Emma, still working as a bricklayer at the time of the 1939 England and Wales Register (when the address was listed as 2 Jubilee House). He was also a Methodist preacher. Jeffery's store was actually founded by Emma Jeffery, before their marriage in 1918 (7). Born Emma Williams in 1877 (8), she and her parents had moved to this location by the 1891 census. Her father, Robert Williams was a Cordwainer (a shoemaker who made shoes using leather) and had his shop here (9). By the 1911 Census, Emma was sole owner, operating a "Boot, Shoe and Fancy Goods Shop". Emma Williams Jeffery died in 1940 (10).
J.B. Martin, the author of the "Uncle" book series, in his journals wrote about his time as the minister of Timberscombe's Methodist Chapel, some of which were reprinted in "J.P. Martin, Father of Uncle, A Master of the Great English Nonsense Tradition", collected by his daughter Stella Martin Currey and published by Matador in 2016. Included in the chapter, "A Dance of Joy on a Lonely Road, 1948-60", Martin mentions this shop and writes of Mr. Jeffery. He recalls his "awkward old friend Jeffery", promising to donate an organ to the chapel in memory of his late wife. In July 1949, as Mr. Martin left the village for an auction of a possible organ, Jeffery ran out of the shop, shouting "You'll be shot at dawn if you don't get it!" Mr. Jeffery died 22 May 1953. (11)
After Mr. Jeffery's death, Mrs. Grace Yeandle ran the shop on these premises. By 1966, No. 3 became Jubilee Store, owned by Mary Holcombe until 1978. In 1969 it was decided to move the Timberscombe Post Office to Jubilee Terrace, either to the shop at Combe House or to Jubilee Store. In 2019, Mrs. Holcombe remembered that she was pregnant with her son, Andrew, and was disappointed when Combe House was chosen, thinking the extra income of running the post office would have been handy (12). Later No. 3 returned to being a private residence and a sometime holiday let-- but still maintains the storefront window.
In this photograph, The Lion Inn has added a larger enclosed porch around its front door, much as it remains in modern times, replacing a plank door visible with a smaller overhead covering, as seen at SP-005.
This photograph, labeled "Timberscombe", was included in a small leather-bound booklet of twelve postcards of Timberscombe and donated in 2019 by Maurice Huxtable, a lifelong resident of Timberscombe and the long-time owner of Ye Old Malthouse, to the right of the former S.J. Stenner's Butcher Shop and Stenner home, as visible in this photograph.
Since August 2022, James Bowley of Buckinghamshire and the current owner of Yew Tree Cottage on Brook Street in Timberscombe has been an avid collector and donor to the St. Petrock's History Group. In May of 2023, he bought a copy of this postcard and zooming in on the newspaper boards could see that the date was 6 December (most evident on newspaper seen to the right on the close-up above, supplied by Mr. Bowley). He was also able to determine that the headlines of the newspapers were all about an upcoming general election, which would have been in either 1951 or 1954--thus suggesting precise dates of 6 December 1950 or 1954. As Mr. James Jeffery passed away in May 1953, the former seems more likely.
In January 2024, this entry was featured by St. Petrock's History Group and seen again by Tim Collins of Whitelackington, near Ilminster, Somerset. Mr. Collins partly grew up in Timberscombe and has been an active member of the History Group and a generous donor since 2018. He was able to magnify the right hand board in the group of three news boards between the door and window. It presented a headline of the Somerset County Gazette, reading "GENERAL ELECTION PLANS". If correct, Tim believed the photograph would be dated 6 December 1949 as the Labour Government pushed this announcement to the end of their term, officially announcing the election on 11 January 1950 and holding the actual vote on 23 February 1950. Mr. Collins presented his dates on 24 January 2024 with a copy of the Parliamentary Election Timetables (13).
No doubt some further research will likely take place but the St. Petrock's History Group is incredibly grateful of the support and sharp eyes of such members as James Bowley and Tim Collins.
Creator
Anonymous
Date
likely 6 December 1949 or 1950
Contributor
Format
Language
English
Identifier
Village Street / Timberscombe / village centre
Acquisition Date
2019,2023 and 2024
Acquisition Method
Gift
Category
PLACES: Village Streets / Timberscombe
PLACES: Shops / Timberscombe
PLACES: Shops / Timberscombe
Condition
Good
Condition Notes
Entered by Tom Sperling
Condition Date
2019,2023 and 2024
Dimension Type
W X L
Dimension Units
cm
Dimension Value
12 X 20
9.5 X 20
9.5 X 20
Institution Name
St. Petrock's History Group
Notes
(1) these buildings are photographed still standing at SP-101 , which is dated October 1961 and being demolished at SP-033 (2) Victoria County History.ac.uk and as recalled in 2018 by Wendy Hellewell of The Bracken, Hole's Square, Timberscombe (3) as detailed in Deeds of Combe House, shared in 2019 by Sarah Campbell, Post Mistress of the Timberscombe Post Office (4) England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations) 1865-1995 and as recalled by Mary, Reg and Andrew Holcombe in 2019 (Mr. Holcombe is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Delbridge who operated the shop) (5) as detailed in Deeds of Combe House and as is evident on other photographs such as SP-009 (6) told in 2019 by Joy Booth of The Knapp, Timberscombe, recalling her mother's description of Jeffery's (7) Find My Past.co.uk, forbears.io, Marriages (8) England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915 (9) 1891 England Census (10) Find My Past,co.uk, forebears.io ,. England & Wales Death Index, 1837-2006 (11) "J.P. Martin, Father of Uncle, A Master of the Great English Nonsense Tradition", by Stella Martin Currey, published by Matador, an imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd., 2016 (12) as recalled by Mary, Reg and Andrew Holcombe in 2019 (13) Parliamentary Elections Timetables (3rd ed: revised) Reaearch Paper 97/40 , 25 March 1997, Oonagh Gay, Home Affairs Section, House of Commons Library
Storage Location
St. Petrock's History Group Archive
Storage Date
2020 and 2023
Storage Notes
St. Petrock's History Group PHOTOGRAPHS
Item Reference
SP-008
Technique
Copy
Citation
Anonymous, “Jeffery's on Jubilee Terrace, apparently 6 December, possibly 1949 or 1950,” St. Petrock's History Group, accessed May 15, 2024, https://stpetrockshistorygroup.omeka.net/items/show/3167.
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