The Timberscombe Village Square with Coombe Stores, 1955

The Timberscombe Village Square with Coombe Stores, 1955

A Francis Frith photograph, used as a postcard in the Frith Series. It is dated 1955, showing much the same area of the Village Square of Timberscombe as SP-005, possibly taken c. 1910 (or a bit later). On the left foreground are Combe House and No. 3 Jubilee Terrace. Combe House-as called in 2019 (1)- was often called "Coombe", as seen here. Both establishments have shops at their street level, with Combe House hosting the "Coombe Stores". Combe House had been part of the Knowle Estate that was auctioned in 1916 and had been purchased at that time by Georgina Stitch of Bristol. In 1934, she sold the property to Emily Coles (2). Mrs. Coles and her husband, Ernest (Ernie) B. Coles, had lived around the corner on Brook Street where he ran a Saddlery, seen at SP-035 (3). Interestingly Combe House, it's shop, then known as The Stores, and the gardens were purchased solely in the name of Mrs. Coles. She died in 1947, leaving the property to her husband (4). Since c. 1939, The Stores had been known as Delbridge, operated by Albert and Elizabeth Bessie Delbridge until her death in 1951 (5). Ernie Coles died in 1954, shortly before this photograph. By August 1956 the property was conveyed to Mrs. Lilian May Coles, Ernie Cole's second wife that he married in 1948 (6) and the shop area, now Coombe Stores, was operated by James Woodruff and Kathleen Elsie Hughes. In 1969 Coombe Stores became the Village Post Office (7).

SP-008 shows No. 3 Jubilee Terrace as Jeffery's, a provisions store, actually founded by 1911 as a shop operated by Emma Williams who married James Jeffery in 1918 (8). She died in 1940, Mr. Jeffery died in May of 1953 (9) and at the time of this photograph, the shop's proprietor would be Mrs. Grace Yeandle. The shop is remembered during in this period as "Mrs. Yeandle's Shop" (10). From 1966 to 1978, this shop was renamed Jubilee Store and operated by Mary Holcombe. Her husband, Reg, was the grandson of the Mr. and Mrs. Delbridge, who had operated Delbridge, when it was located next door (11).

On the right foreground is The Lion Inn, with part of it's angled left side wall visible. Interestingly, a stabled door appears here under the ladder. At SP-005, the c. 1910 photograph, a large entrance with an arched stone top is visible in this area. At SP-O35, the photograph of Mr. Cole's Saddlery on Brook Street, probably taken around 1909 (or earlier), this arched entry is walled up. After 1955, the stabled entrance is enclosed again. The lettering, "THE LION INN", while looking newly painted here over the stable door, is removed. Only the upper window remains in modern times. At the front of the inn, a faint "THE' is visible over the main doorway, no doubt followed by "LION INN". It seems very likely that a new front sign is in the process of being painted, with the end result visible at SP-101.

There have probably been inns on this site since at least the 1600's. The Spurrier family held licenses in Timberscombe for alehouses since before 1690, including the Red Lion, in operation by 1724 and described as being near the site where the The Lion Inn is later situated. In 1820, another alehouse called The Boot was at this site. At some point during the next two decades,The Red Lion closed and around 1841, it's owners probably took over The Boot and, after some alterations, reopened as Lion Inn (12).

Between The Lion Inn and Jubilee Terrace, portions of three cottages, part of an early 18th century row on Brook Street, are visible (13). To the right, a sliver of Butterflies is glimpsed, which had been a shop, R. Poole's, a Grocer, Tailor and Draper, earlier in the century (14). A gabled porch is seen over the door of the cottage called Brooklyn. The bay window to it's left is part of Brooklyn. A larger bay window and doorway, further on the left, belong to The Old Malt House, possibly a butcher's shop, Bond's, at this time (15). This photograph was donated by Maurice Huxtable, a longtime resident of The Old Malt House (when it was known as Ye Olde Malthouse) and a member of a family living many generations at Timberscombe.

Francis Frith's

1955

English

Village Street / Timberscombe / village centre

2019

Gift

PLACES: Village Streets / Timberscombe
PLACES: Shops / Timberscombe

Good

Entered by Tom Sperling

2020

W X L

cm

10 X 15

St. Petrock's History Group

The Frith reference number for this photograph is T335012. (1) in 2019, Sarah Campbell, co-owner with Carl Farmer of Combe House, and the Timberscombe Post Mistress deemed the spelling as "Combe" and which is supported by most Deeds to the property (2) as detailed in Deeds from this period, shared in 2019 by Sarah Campbell, Post Mistress of Timberscombe Post Office (3) seen at SP-035 (4) as detailed in Deeds from this period, shared by Sarah Campbell (5) as recalled by Reg, Mary and Andrew Holcombe in 2019 (6) England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005 (7) as detailed in Deeds from this period, shared by Sarah Campbell (8) 1911 England Census and England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005 (9) Find My Past.co.uk, forebears.io, England and Wales Death Index, 1837-2006 (10) as recalled by Mary Holcombe in 2019 and other residents of Timberscombe (11) as recalled by Reg, Mary and Andrew Holcombe in 2019 (12) Victoria County History.ac.uk (13) VCH and the Brook Street row is depicted as established on the 1843 Timberscombe Tithe Map, as well as the 1844-1888 Ordnance Survey Map (14) R. Poole's is photographed at SP-034 dated c. 1909 (15) as recalled in 2019 by Mary Holcombe and John Gratton, longtime residents of Timberscombe

St. Petrock's History Group Archive

2020

St. Petrocks History Group PHOTOGRAPHS

SP-009

Copy