Timberscombe, Photographed from the Northeast, the 18th of April 1967

Timberscombe, Photographed from the Northeast, the 18th of April 1967

A black and white aerial photograph of Timberscombe, taken from the northeast on the 18th of April 1967. This copy of the photograph was donated in 2021 by Mary and Reg Holcombe of Church View, a bungalow that they built in 1981 (1). A predecessor of Church View is visible in the photograph, on the middle right edge of the village, enclosed by fencing and hedges and to the right of a large barn--a white-roofed pig shed. In front of it, a field of sparsely spaced trees ends at the southwestern section of the churchyard of St. Petrock's Church--thus giving Church View it's name, fifteen years later when it replaces the pig shed at its site.

Another aerial photograph was also taken on 18 April 1967, showing Timberscombe, but shot from the southeast. It is visible at SP-199. Basically what is seen in the background of that photograph is in the foreground of the photograph here. Likewise, the closer structures on view here, are further away at SP-199. Together both photographs offer a well-rounded view of a village at this specific point in time. This is perhaps most evident by a circle of children playing on a northwestern edge of the Timberscombe School's play area--along the middle-right bottom of the photograph. The children are also in their circle on SP-199--only they are on the left top of the photograph.

SP-199 had been framed and was originally hung at the Timberscombe School. Rediscovered in 2021, a label remained on its reverse, identifying it as an "AIR PIC" photograph, taken on 18 April 1967. Another copy of this photograph donated by Mr. and Mrs. Holcombe, hangs in Timberscombe's Village Hall and is also dated on the reverse as 18 April 1967 (2). It too, is an "AIR PIC" photograph. At that time AIR PIC photographs were taken by Air Marketing International Ltd., headquartered at Redbourn in Hertfordshire (3).

In 1971, Air Marketing International, Ltd. was incorporated by Simmons Aerofilms Ltd., situated at Potters Bar, 16 miles from Redbourn, which had been established in 1919 as the first aerial photography company in the United Kingdom. Simmons Aerofilms Ltd. was acquired in 2005 by Blom SAS, founded in Norway, becoming Blom Aerofilms Limited and eventually relocating to Chedder, Somerset and specialising in drone photography (4) .

All of the buildings in this photograph and some of their histories are identified at SP-199, as well as the identifications of some structures--- like the pig shed mentioned above- that will not survive. Also--as in the case of the bungalow, Church View being constructed in 1981--what is yet to be built.

One building is seen on this photograph that may be unique. On the upper right centre of the photograph are three rows of homes built by the Garth Estate Company Ltd., originally to house workers at the Timberscombe Quarry. They were constructed in the 1940s on an embankment cut into the hillside that became known as Willow Bank (5). On the left end of these structures is a seemingly smaller detached house, built closer to the road that was created in front of the Willow Bank homes.

It was built by Frank Huxtable, a local carpenter, apparently for John Arthur Mease Lomas, an artist. Born in 1863, Mr. Lomas and his wife, Mary Christine Connell, a sculpture and silversmith, first came to the Timberscombe area, living at Owey View in Cowbridge. Mrs. Lomas died and perhaps after her loss, Mr. Lomas commissioned this house. Made out of wood, most of the interior was an open area, apparently where Lomas had his studio, with a smaller section designated as a living area. J.A. Mease Lomas (how he is mostly referenced) died in 1950 and was buried alongside his wife at St. Petrock's. His studio/home was leased out but by 1978, it was gone. By then a new home was being built on the property for Rosemary Nash. As its construction neared completion, another home was built to the right, both becoming known as Nos. 1 and 2 Willow Bank (6).

A section of the roof of the wooden house is visible at SP-199 and a clear view of part of the rear facade is seen at SP-XXX. While just a small detail of an aerial photograph, the version seen here may be the only (known) record of the front of the property. It has a pleasant look and if it had survived, it would have been unique addition to the village.

AIR PIC, Air Marketing International Ltd., Redbourn. Hertfordshire, England

AIR PIC, Air Marketing Ltd., Redbourn, Hertfordshire, England

18 April 1967

English

aerial view of Timberscombe, from the northeast, 18 April 1967

2021

Gift

Aerial Photographs / Timberscombe
PLACES: Village Streets / Timberscombe

Good

entered by Tom Sperling

2021

W X L

cm

15 X 29

St. Petrock's History Group

(1) as recalled in September 2021 by Mary and Andrew Holcombe of Church View, Timberscombe (2) as recalled in August 2021 by Lesley Webb, former board member of the Timberscombe Village Hall (3) as printed of the reverse of the framed photograph of SP-199, donated by the Timberscombe School in 2021 (4) linked in.com/ company/ bloom-uk and chedder.cylek-uk.co.uk (5) "J.P. Martin / Father of Uncle / A Master of the Great English Nonsense Tradition" by Stella Martin Currey, published by Matador, 2016, as recalled in the chapter, "A Dance of Joy on a Lonely Road, 1948-1960" (6) artbiogs.org.uk, the late Kenneth Grabham recalled that the studio/home was built by Frank Huxtable, as told to Jeff Cox and presented to the St. Petrock's History Group in a presentation on J.A. Mease Lomas given on 16 January 2023 and as recalled on 22 January 2023 by Wendy Hellewell of The Bracken at Hole's Square, who as a young mother used to visit the property with her children to visit a woman and her children staying there and remembered the large open area and the smaller living quarters

St. Petrock's History Group Archive

2021

St. Petrock's History Group PHOTOGRAPHS

SP-200

Copy