The Glen

Location History

The Glen c. 1890s

Notes

• Founded in 1856 by Samuel Golding, Cheapside Store (No.11 Wellington Street) was the first incarnation of what would subsequently become Golding of Newmarket, Clothiers & Outfitters.
  The business proved to be so successful that it outgrew its humble beginnings within seven years and had to relocate to larger premises (No.67 High Street), then owned by his son Herbert Samuel Golding.
  
  
• On the date of the 1891 census (Sunday 5th April 1891), Samuel Golding had retired and was living in 'The Glen', the building shown in the above photo (courtesy of Peter Norman). Sadly later on that year (12th July 1891) he died - details of his will are shown below:-
  
  
  
  

• Grasmere

• 'The Glen' was demolished to make way for the Avenue sometime before 1901 as in that census Samuel's daughter Elizabeth Mary Golding was living in the newly built Grasmere - No.13 the Avenue ... further along, the first person on the census list for those in the Avenue in this year was the Road Foreman.
  
  More recently Grasmere had been the house of the well known director of HEH Enterprises and the Newmarket Lawn Tennis Club - Gilbert (Gil) Francis Edge, who sadly died on 28th August 2013, aged 92.
  
  

• Grasmere - No.13 the Avenue



• The following article from the Newmarket Journal details research by NLHS historian Joan Shaw about the location of what is now the Avenue.
  http://www.newmarketjournal.co.uk/news/latest-news/looking-back-town-s-house-was-once-home-to-some-eccentric-characters-1-550917
  
  

• Park Cottage

• If you do a very careful comparison between the 1890s photo of 'The Glen' above and the large-scale 1885 map below you'll see that this building is actually the same as that named Park Cottage - the shape of the floor plan - the bay window at the end, the veranda in the centre - this is the one and the same place. There is one slight difference in the photo - you can see a new single-storey room behind the railings on the right and on the map it's just railings, the photo is about 6 years later than the map - enough time to build a new room.
  
  Shown below this map is the outline of Terrace House and Park Cottage overlaid onto a present-day satellite image - Terrace House fits almost exactly over what is now Godolphin House, the Masonic Hall and the Old Scotch Indian restaurant with very few structural changes (note that originally Godolphin House included the Masonic Hall and the Old Scotch Indian restaurant).
  It also clearly shows where 'The Glen' / Park Cottage was located over what is now the pavement and part of the roadway of the Avenue.
  
  [Comment from webmaster - was this room constructed as an easily accessible ground floor bedroom for an aging Samuel Golding?, who was 68 when he died in 1891. Also, noting that this photo was taken in the summer months (as there are flowers in the window boxes), the gentleman you can see in the black suit and top hat does look very sombre, and the blinds of the newly constructed room are mostly drawn ... maybe this photo was taken in July 1891, when Samuel died and the top-hatted gentleman is in a mourning suit? (the Victorian mourning suit consisted of a black morning coat with black trousers and waistcoat, essentially a black version of the morning suit worn to weddings and other occasions). Considering that at that time photos were generally only taken for significant events or locations ...
• ... so this is entirely possible - comments welcomed.]
  
  As detailed on the 1891 census Samuel Golding was in 'The Glen' and Hamar Bass was in 'Godolphin House' - if you look very carefully in the top-right-hand corner of the 1890s photo you can just see the corner wall of Godolphin House at the back and comparing this to the 2013 photo at the bottom of this page this position is just above the present-day wall-mounted 'Godolphin' sign on the corner of the building.
  
  

• Before the Avenue - 1885




• Outline of Terrace House and Park Cottage overlaid on satellite image

  
  

• The Avenue - 2013

  
  

• Harry Hall

• The Henry (Harry) Hall shown in the earlier census' in Park Cottage is the famous equestrian painter - details about him are shown on the following Wikipedia page.
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Hall_(painter)
  
  By 1881 Harry had moved to a house in Upper Station Road (now Old Station Road), and was living next door to his previous neighbour from Cardigan Lodge; Mary Bottom. He died soon after on 22nd April 1882.
  
  

• Painting by Harry Hall of 'Prince Charlie' at Joseph Dawson's Bedford Lodge Stables Newmarket, 1874

  
  

• Nat Flatman by Harry Hall [click on the picture for a larger view]