Hurdle Leaping at Tottenham House |
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| The above picture was sent to me by Rob Dickens of Marlborough who
wondered if I could help him identify the occasion. I could not but we are both
grateful to the Earl of Cardigan who solved the mystery by forwarding a copy of
the following clipping from the London Illustrated News:
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Festivities at Savernake Savernake Forest House, near
Marlborough,in Wiltshire, the seat of the Marquis of Ailesbury, was the scene
of a popular festival on Monday Week, followed by a grand muster of the local
benefit societies next day, and the opening of the Savernake Cottage Hospital,
with a religious service by the Bishop of Salisbury, on the Wednesday, the
whole concluding with a ball given by the Marquis and Marchioness at their
noble mansion. The object of these festivities was to raise funds for the new
Cottage Hospital, which has been built, at a cost of several thousand pounds,
from Gothic architectural designs by Mr. Gilbert Scott. Many of the nobility
and gentry connected with that part of the country were present. The lawn and
gardens, on the Monday were thronged with holiday people of different ranks and
classes, who all seemed to enjoy themselves. Unluckily, it rained in the
afternoon. The band of the 1st Life Guards, and two concerts performed by the
amateur company of Wandering Minstrels in the orangery, furnished an important
part of the entertainments. The athletic sports, in which some of the young
gentlemen from Marlborough College took part, afford the subject of an
Illustration."
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| I believe the hospital opened in 1872 and the above event is
taking place on the lawns to the south west of the house with the Orangery in
the background.
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| The following, from a contemporary report on Cottage Hospitals,
illustrates the impact the hospital had on the surrounding area.
"The experiment made by the Marchioness of Ailesbury in
establishing a cottage hospital at Savernake near Marlborough, appears to have
succeeded admirably. At the annual meeting held under the presidency of the
Marquis of Ailesbury, the report was read by the Rev. J.O.Stephens, hon. sec.
to the institution, and the document showed that during the past year an
addition of £144 had been made to the endowment fund. It was also
reported that 79 cases had been received into the hospital, of 9 beds only, 40
of which were discharged cured, 28 relieved, 2 pronounced incurable and 2
fatalities."
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| For many years the main aim of the Pewsey Carnival was to raise
funds for the hospital. |
