Celebrating the 1902 Coronation of King Edward VII, at the Centre of Jubilee Terrace, Timberscombe
Title
Celebrating the 1902 Coronation of King Edward VII, at the Centre of Jubilee Terrace, Timberscombe
Subject
Description
A photograph of local celebrants of the 9th August 1902 Coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of Denmark, standing in the centre of Jubilee Terrace. The people of Timberscombe look to the camera under a large wreath, the centre focal point of decorative bunting, that appears to be anchored on the left at the drain pipe between Combe House and No. 4 Jubilee Terrace (as addressed in modern times) and on the right at the back of the blacksmithing area of the Old Forge.
Past the crowd is an unusually straight-on view of Lion Inn with it's smaller door and porch, to be replaced by an enclosed porch in the coming years (1). The front part of the projecting left side of the inn is visible with an arched carriage entranceway, later replaced by stable doors and ultimately enclosed. The thatched roof, to the left of Lion Inn, is over Poole's, a Tailor, Draper and Grocer's shop on the southern end of Brook Street, operated by Robert and Emily Ann (nee Boyer) Poole (fully pictured at SP-034). A close look seems to reveal a hand-painted sign of some festive sort over their doorway, on which "POOLE'S" is possibly painted. The cottage later called The Old Malt House is glimpsed, also under the thatch, semi-detached to the left of Poole's.
This event would have been especially festive for a number of reasons. Likely this was the first coronation experienced by most in the gathering, as Queen Victoria, the mother of Edward VII, had occupied the throne since 1838. Edward had been born 9 November 1841, meaning he had been the Prince of Wales for more than 59 years (2). This was a delayed ceremony, originally scheduled for the 26th June 1902. Tremendous preparations had taken place in London, with hotels being built in anticipation of overflowing crowds, with massive preparation in the cities and parks, and enormous amounts of cooking and baking for all the planned feasts and banquets.
Two weeks prior to June 26, Edward had abdominal pains. He attended one of the planned banquets on June 23, becoming more ill afterwards and was then confined to bed. He eventually required surgery for acute appendicitis (3). An upside to this unfortunate delay was that much of the prepared food went to the poor.
On a smaller scale, plans must have been scrapped in Timberscombe. It is doubtful that any of the food made it there. But the coronation was rescheduled and held, as pictured here on 9 August. This was not the only celebration happening on that day in Timberscombe. SP-020 depicts another group in front of Timberscombe's other pub, The Rose and Crown on Brook Street. Judging by the photographs, the Rose and Crown had the larger crowd but Lion Inn had greater longevity. The Rose and Crown, which was operating by 1825, was shut down in 1915, when its renewal was refused by local authorities. It reopened for a short time as a Temperance Inn but that did not survive (4). It later offered apartments, when known as Rosemont, then became a residence and sometimes bed and breakfast called Wellum (5) and in the 2010's was renamed Game House (6). In April 2022, new owners named it again, becoming Rosemont House, a tribute to its past.
Edward VII died on May 10th 1910, with a severe case of bronchitis, after a life of excessive cigars and cigarettes. The morning after his appendicitis surgery, he was reportedly smoking cigars in his bed (7). Edward was buried at Windsor Castle (8).
Past the crowd is an unusually straight-on view of Lion Inn with it's smaller door and porch, to be replaced by an enclosed porch in the coming years (1). The front part of the projecting left side of the inn is visible with an arched carriage entranceway, later replaced by stable doors and ultimately enclosed. The thatched roof, to the left of Lion Inn, is over Poole's, a Tailor, Draper and Grocer's shop on the southern end of Brook Street, operated by Robert and Emily Ann (nee Boyer) Poole (fully pictured at SP-034). A close look seems to reveal a hand-painted sign of some festive sort over their doorway, on which "POOLE'S" is possibly painted. The cottage later called The Old Malt House is glimpsed, also under the thatch, semi-detached to the left of Poole's.
This event would have been especially festive for a number of reasons. Likely this was the first coronation experienced by most in the gathering, as Queen Victoria, the mother of Edward VII, had occupied the throne since 1838. Edward had been born 9 November 1841, meaning he had been the Prince of Wales for more than 59 years (2). This was a delayed ceremony, originally scheduled for the 26th June 1902. Tremendous preparations had taken place in London, with hotels being built in anticipation of overflowing crowds, with massive preparation in the cities and parks, and enormous amounts of cooking and baking for all the planned feasts and banquets.
Two weeks prior to June 26, Edward had abdominal pains. He attended one of the planned banquets on June 23, becoming more ill afterwards and was then confined to bed. He eventually required surgery for acute appendicitis (3). An upside to this unfortunate delay was that much of the prepared food went to the poor.
On a smaller scale, plans must have been scrapped in Timberscombe. It is doubtful that any of the food made it there. But the coronation was rescheduled and held, as pictured here on 9 August. This was not the only celebration happening on that day in Timberscombe. SP-020 depicts another group in front of Timberscombe's other pub, The Rose and Crown on Brook Street. Judging by the photographs, the Rose and Crown had the larger crowd but Lion Inn had greater longevity. The Rose and Crown, which was operating by 1825, was shut down in 1915, when its renewal was refused by local authorities. It reopened for a short time as a Temperance Inn but that did not survive (4). It later offered apartments, when known as Rosemont, then became a residence and sometimes bed and breakfast called Wellum (5) and in the 2010's was renamed Game House (6). In April 2022, new owners named it again, becoming Rosemont House, a tribute to its past.
Edward VII died on May 10th 1910, with a severe case of bronchitis, after a life of excessive cigars and cigarettes. The morning after his appendicitis surgery, he was reportedly smoking cigars in his bed (7). Edward was buried at Windsor Castle (8).
Creator
Anonymous
Source
Date
9 August 1902
Contributor
Language
English
Identifier
The Coronation of Edward VII / Timberscombe / Village Centre
Acquisition Date
2020
Acquisition Method
Gift
Category
EVENTS: Jubilees and Coronations / Timberscombe
Condition
Good
Condition Notes
entered by Tom Sperling
Condition Date
2020
Dimension Type
W X L
Dimension Units
cm
Dimension Value
14 X 19.5 (PHOTOGRAPHS)
14 X 19.5 (VILLAGE HISTORIES)
14 X 19.5 (VILLAGE HISTORIES)
Institution Name
St. Petrock's History Group
Notes
(1) the enclosed porch doorway can be seen on Lion Inn at SP-06, a photograph dated c. 1925 (2) biograph.com/ royalty/edward_vii (3) unofficialroyalty.com (4) Victoria County History.ac.uk (5) "Village History",researched, written and compiled by Richard Kelsey, Vicky Long, Megan Evans, Joseph Dare, Jade Webber, Tom Lamacraft, Joanne Fuller, Emily Catford, Joshua Smith and Christine Rich, Timberscombe School, 1998 (6) as recalled by Tom Sperling of Burrow Cottage, Timberscombe (7) ancestry.com> historicalinsights (8) biography.com
Storage Location
St. Petrock's History Group Archive
Storage Date
2020
Storage Notes
St. Petrock's History Group PHOTOGRAPHS
St. Petrock's History Group VILLAGE HISTORIES
St. Petrock's History Group VILLAGE HISTORIES
Item Reference
SP-094
Technique
Copy
Citation
Anonymous, “Celebrating the 1902 Coronation of King Edward VII, at the Centre of Jubilee Terrace, Timberscombe,” St. Petrock's History Group, accessed April 27, 2024, https://stpetrockshistorygroup.omeka.net/items/show/3407.
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