Children at Play (likely including the Down children) on the Old Dunster Road
Title
Children at Play (likely including the Down children) on the Old Dunster Road
Subject
Description
A photograph of four children, with a very nice wagon, in Timberscombe. While their identities are not completely assured, their location is certain. They are on the Old Dunster Road, as it entered the village on the northeastern edge (later becoming the northeastern end of Brook Street). On the upper right edge of the photograph, a shed can be seen next to the left side of the house called Linhay in modern times, situated on the eastern end of a row of four structures, that today face Brewer's Green, the village green of Timberscombe. At the time of this writing, the other three buildings, from east to west are Rosemont House, Ivy Cottage and Berrowcote. Likely, when these youngsters were playing, the visible building was possibly called Rosemont Cottage and Rosemont ("House" was not part of its name then) to its left was an apartment house (1). Ivy Cottage would have been known as The Retreat, a private residence (2) and Berrowcote was the Village Post Office (3).
SP-202 is a copy of an Alfred Vowles postcard, c. 1921, that depicts this row, with a fuller sense of where the children are playing in this photograph. Both images were donated in September 2021 by Marion and Roger Fewlass, at a time of change, as they had just moved to Minehead from Tiki Cottage, situated to the back of this row, fronting a courtyard which was entered from Old Dunster Road, just past Berrowcote. In actuality, the children and their wagon are probably in the road near that point of entry. (The wall of Tiki Cottage's front garden is seen in the foreground of SP-202.)
Marion Fewlass was born Marion Huxtable, the daughter of Maurice and Mary (nee Palfrey) Huxtable. Tiki Cottage, also know in the past as Pump Cottage (4) and Brook Cottage (5), had been the Huxtable family home since at least 1843 (6). Mary Huxtable died in 2002 (7) and Maurice Huxtable died in July 2021. At the same time she was moving, Marion, along with her sister, Maureen and her brother, Ian, were clearing out their father's house, Ye Olde Malthouse, on the southern end of Brook Street. During that time, they found the photograph of the Alfred Vowles postcard at SP-202 and this photograph of the children. (In 2023, during renovations, the name of Ye Olde Malthouse was altered to The Old Malt House.)
Behind the children is an arrow-shaped sign, double-clipped to a utility pole. This can also be seen at SP-027, a photograph dated 1928 and SP-023, dated c. 1930, where "MINEHEAD" can be read on the sign, indeed pointed in that direction. The sign and the position of the pole and two other utility poles and what can be seen of the shed and house on SP-023, would seem to date this photograph of the children to about the same time.
Maurice Huxtable partially grew up at Tiki Cottage, when it was known as Pump Cottage. A passing resemblance (and the fact that he had saved this photograph) raised the thought that the boy pulling the wagon could be Maurice. A photograph of a very young Maurice Huxtable (surrounded by three other types of wagons) at SP-140, taken in the garden of Pump Cottage, as well as a slightly older photograph at SP-164, show wavier hair and perhaps softer features. Maurice was also born in 1932, possibly being younger than the boy pictured here. Finally, Marion Fewlass said she was not sure who any of the children were.
There is a more likely possibility that the two girls in the wagon are sisters, Doreen and Daphne Down, born respectively in 1921 and 1924, to William Harold and Gertrude Mary (nee Lyddon) Down (8). Gertrude, born in 1890 (9), had lived, since at least the age of 11 months, at Berrowcote, in the post office with her grandmother, Mary Lyddon (10)--who was the sub postmistress there from at least 1881 (11) to her death in 1913 (12). A daughter of Mary's, Elizabeth Mary, was born in 1858 (13) and would have been Gertrude's aunt (Gertrude's father was Hedley, one of Mary Lyddon's two sons). Elizabeth Mary married John Coles in 1897 (14) and they lived next door at The Retreat, assisting at the post office and after Mary Lyddon's death, actually running it until around 1935 (15).
On the 1921 Census, Gertrude Mary was still living at Berrowcote (or had returned to it) but now with her husband and their son, three-year-old Leslie Harold Down and five-month-old Doreen. Berrowcote remained the post office but by this time, likely in conjunction with the Retreat, as Elizabeth Mary is listed on the census as "Sub Postmistress" and John Coles is "Auxilary Postman". Perhaps their cottage became known as "The Retreat" because at the end of the day, they could return to it from the post office. Doreen and Daphne are seen, probably with their mother, at SP-027, in this exact location. It's likely they are the girls in the photograph at this page. Certainly another possibility is the boy pulling the wagon is Leslie , the older brother of Doreen and Daphne (16).
As stated above, at the time of this photograph the building seen in the background (with two women standing in front of it) may have been called Rosemont Cottage. The unseen building semi-detached to it's right had originally been a public house since at least 1822 or 1825, known as The Rose and Crown (17) and the end building is believed to have served as its barn and stables. For reasons which are unclear, the Rose and Crown lost its license in 1915 (18) and by late 1916 or 1917, had been refurbished as the apartment house called Rosemont, which it remained until at least the mid 1990's (19). Rosemont Cottage was owned by Charles and Beatrice Hole (also the owners of Rosemont) and by 1939 was single residence, at that time occupied by Frederick W. and Irene E. (nee Stradling) Hooper. He worked as a private chauffeur (20), and likely had his automobile kept in the shed, which had "GARAGE" neatly painted on its door by that time (21).
At some point, Rosemont Cottage became Linhay, well-named because of it's origin . The shed to the right was rebuilt in stone and semi-detached to Linhay but survived, looking much the same as in this photograph, well past 1989 when this stretch of Dunster Road vastly changed. On 18 November 1887, traffic was closed on this section of the Old Dunster Road, just before it reached the shed (22), with construction beginning on a long-awaited bypass to connect to the main road, classified as the A396 in 1922 (23). Not until the bypass opened in 1889 (24), was traffic able to continue past Timberscombe without having to meander through it. The Old Dunster Road of this photograph was narrowed, becoming an extension of Brook Street and the hedge and mound of land behind the children was cleared and transformed to Brewer's Green, named after the family that donated the land (25) and a safer place for children to play.
SP-202 is a copy of an Alfred Vowles postcard, c. 1921, that depicts this row, with a fuller sense of where the children are playing in this photograph. Both images were donated in September 2021 by Marion and Roger Fewlass, at a time of change, as they had just moved to Minehead from Tiki Cottage, situated to the back of this row, fronting a courtyard which was entered from Old Dunster Road, just past Berrowcote. In actuality, the children and their wagon are probably in the road near that point of entry. (The wall of Tiki Cottage's front garden is seen in the foreground of SP-202.)
Marion Fewlass was born Marion Huxtable, the daughter of Maurice and Mary (nee Palfrey) Huxtable. Tiki Cottage, also know in the past as Pump Cottage (4) and Brook Cottage (5), had been the Huxtable family home since at least 1843 (6). Mary Huxtable died in 2002 (7) and Maurice Huxtable died in July 2021. At the same time she was moving, Marion, along with her sister, Maureen and her brother, Ian, were clearing out their father's house, Ye Olde Malthouse, on the southern end of Brook Street. During that time, they found the photograph of the Alfred Vowles postcard at SP-202 and this photograph of the children. (In 2023, during renovations, the name of Ye Olde Malthouse was altered to The Old Malt House.)
Behind the children is an arrow-shaped sign, double-clipped to a utility pole. This can also be seen at SP-027, a photograph dated 1928 and SP-023, dated c. 1930, where "MINEHEAD" can be read on the sign, indeed pointed in that direction. The sign and the position of the pole and two other utility poles and what can be seen of the shed and house on SP-023, would seem to date this photograph of the children to about the same time.
Maurice Huxtable partially grew up at Tiki Cottage, when it was known as Pump Cottage. A passing resemblance (and the fact that he had saved this photograph) raised the thought that the boy pulling the wagon could be Maurice. A photograph of a very young Maurice Huxtable (surrounded by three other types of wagons) at SP-140, taken in the garden of Pump Cottage, as well as a slightly older photograph at SP-164, show wavier hair and perhaps softer features. Maurice was also born in 1932, possibly being younger than the boy pictured here. Finally, Marion Fewlass said she was not sure who any of the children were.
There is a more likely possibility that the two girls in the wagon are sisters, Doreen and Daphne Down, born respectively in 1921 and 1924, to William Harold and Gertrude Mary (nee Lyddon) Down (8). Gertrude, born in 1890 (9), had lived, since at least the age of 11 months, at Berrowcote, in the post office with her grandmother, Mary Lyddon (10)--who was the sub postmistress there from at least 1881 (11) to her death in 1913 (12). A daughter of Mary's, Elizabeth Mary, was born in 1858 (13) and would have been Gertrude's aunt (Gertrude's father was Hedley, one of Mary Lyddon's two sons). Elizabeth Mary married John Coles in 1897 (14) and they lived next door at The Retreat, assisting at the post office and after Mary Lyddon's death, actually running it until around 1935 (15).
On the 1921 Census, Gertrude Mary was still living at Berrowcote (or had returned to it) but now with her husband and their son, three-year-old Leslie Harold Down and five-month-old Doreen. Berrowcote remained the post office but by this time, likely in conjunction with the Retreat, as Elizabeth Mary is listed on the census as "Sub Postmistress" and John Coles is "Auxilary Postman". Perhaps their cottage became known as "The Retreat" because at the end of the day, they could return to it from the post office. Doreen and Daphne are seen, probably with their mother, at SP-027, in this exact location. It's likely they are the girls in the photograph at this page. Certainly another possibility is the boy pulling the wagon is Leslie , the older brother of Doreen and Daphne (16).
As stated above, at the time of this photograph the building seen in the background (with two women standing in front of it) may have been called Rosemont Cottage. The unseen building semi-detached to it's right had originally been a public house since at least 1822 or 1825, known as The Rose and Crown (17) and the end building is believed to have served as its barn and stables. For reasons which are unclear, the Rose and Crown lost its license in 1915 (18) and by late 1916 or 1917, had been refurbished as the apartment house called Rosemont, which it remained until at least the mid 1990's (19). Rosemont Cottage was owned by Charles and Beatrice Hole (also the owners of Rosemont) and by 1939 was single residence, at that time occupied by Frederick W. and Irene E. (nee Stradling) Hooper. He worked as a private chauffeur (20), and likely had his automobile kept in the shed, which had "GARAGE" neatly painted on its door by that time (21).
At some point, Rosemont Cottage became Linhay, well-named because of it's origin . The shed to the right was rebuilt in stone and semi-detached to Linhay but survived, looking much the same as in this photograph, well past 1989 when this stretch of Dunster Road vastly changed. On 18 November 1887, traffic was closed on this section of the Old Dunster Road, just before it reached the shed (22), with construction beginning on a long-awaited bypass to connect to the main road, classified as the A396 in 1922 (23). Not until the bypass opened in 1889 (24), was traffic able to continue past Timberscombe without having to meander through it. The Old Dunster Road of this photograph was narrowed, becoming an extension of Brook Street and the hedge and mound of land behind the children was cleared and transformed to Brewer's Green, named after the family that donated the land (25) and a safer place for children to play.
Creator
Anonymous
Source
Date
possibly mid to later 1920s or earlier 1930s
Contributor
Language
English
Identifier
children at play on the Old Dunster Road / Timberscombe / northeast edge of village
Acquisition Date
2021
Acquisition Method
Gift
Category
PEOPLE: Unnamed / Timberscombe
PLACES: Village Streets / Timberscombe
PLACES: Village Streets / Timberscombe
Condition
Good
Condition Notes
entered by Tom Sperling
Condition Date
2021
2024
2024
Dimension Type
W X L
Dimension Units
cm
Dimension Value
14 X 9.5
Institution Name
St. Petrock's History Group
Notes
(1) Rosemont existed as an apartment house until the mid 1990's, when it was occupied solely by Ernest W. and Pamela (nee Spink) Humphrey (County of Somerset, Bridgwater Constituency, Register of Electors, 16th February 1993 to 15th February 1994). Before 1998 it became known as Wellum, a private residence and sometimes Bed & Breakfast ("A VILLAGE HISTORY", a 1998 booklet by schoolchildren from the Timberscombe School, where a history of Timberscombe was explored and as recalled in 2020 by Tom Sperling who booked to stay at Wellum in 2007). By the mid 2010's, it was renamed Game House (as recalled in 2019 by Nick Webber and by Marion and Roger Fewlass, neighbours respectively at Rose Cottage and Tiki Cottage. (2) While it is not clear when this cottage became known as The Retreat (it is so listed on the 1939 England and Wales Register), it remained The Retreat in the mid 1990's (as listed in the County of Somerset, Bridgwater Constituency, Register of Electors, 16th February, 1993 to 15th February, 1994, later becoming Ivy Cottage. (3) Berrowcote became the first Village Post Office on the 12th of July 1844 (in 2019 a copy of the appointment of the village's first Postmaster at Berrowcote --as identified in the 1841 England Census-- was found at the Timberscombe School and donated to the St. Petrock's History Group). By 1935, the post office relocated to Little Farthings on the A 396 (Kelly's Directory of Somerset, 1935) and by 1977, the name of Berrowcote was altered to Burrow Cottage (as identified on the 17 October 1977 Deed of new occupants, Mr. and Mrs. G.J. Tose). (4) The Huxtable home became known as Pump Cottage in the early to mid-1920s when Eva Huxtable opened a motor spirit service station here, equipped with petrol pumps (as recalled in 2019 by Mrs. Huxtable's grandson, Maurice Huxtable). (5) When Dudley Huxtable, the son of Eva Huxtable and father of Maurice Huxtable and who grew up at the Huxtable home, was admitted to The Timberscombe School in 1916, his address was given as Brook Cottage ( Timberscombe School ADMISSION REGISTER, 1897-1944, No. 367). (6) TIMBERSCOMBE TITHE MAP 1843, Source: Somerset Record Office, Taunton, as researched and redrawn by John Burns for the Timberscombe School, February 1989 (7) UK and Ireland, Find A Grave Index, 1300's-Current (8) England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Indexes, 1916-2007 (9) 1939 England and Wales Register (10) 1891, 1901 and 1911 England Censuses (11) 1881 England Census (12) England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837-1915 (13) 1861 England Census and 1939 England and Wales Register (14) England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1937-1915 (15) TIMBERSCOMBE 1910 LIST OF RESIDENTS, minehead-online.co.uk and Kelly's Directories of Somerset, 1931 and 1935 (16) England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007 (17) Journal of the House of Lords, June 1822, books.google.com>books and Victoria County History.ac.uk (18) VCH (19) in late 1917 or early 1918, Robert Baker moved his family into Rosemont after their previous home, Heber Vale, had been sold in the 1916 Knowle Estate Public Auction, the Timberscombe School ADMISSION REGISTER, 1897-1944, No. 347 (20) 1939 England and Wales Register (21) as seen at SP-193 (22) as recorded on a reproduction of an Ordnance Survey Map, issued by the Somerset County Council, County Hall, Taunton, for License No. NOLA07683X, for the Linhay, as shared in 2021 by Maggie Chaffey, owner of the Linhay (23) Sabre-roads.org.uk (24) as recalled in 2018 by Wendy Hellewell of The Bracken, Hole's Square, Timberscombe, a member of the Parish Council at that time (25) VCH
Storage Location
St. Petrock's History Group Archive
Storage Date
2021
Storage Notes
St. Petrock's History Group PHOTOGRAPHS
Item Reference
SP-203
Technique
Copy
Citation
Anonymous, “Children at Play (likely including the Down children) on the Old Dunster Road,” St. Petrock's History Group, accessed May 7, 2024, https://stpetrockshistorygroup.omeka.net/items/show/3474.
Comments