This month’s trio of pictures from Eric’s archive is centred on Culver Cottage which can be found at the bottom of the village, next to East Luccombe Farm.
Culver Cottage is relatively new compared with some dwellings in the village. A previous building known as “The White House” once occupied part of its front garden, and may have encroached on to part of what is now the road. It is mentioned in some old documents. The Tithe Map shows it was owned by Francis Worth (of Wychanger) and its tenant was Robert Evered.
On to more recent times – Eric recalls his memories of the cottage:
“When I was a child, Harold Prescott and his wife, Maggie lived there. Harold ran a small haulage business using mainly ex-GPO large mail vans which he converted to small open lorries. His son Ted eventually took over before passing the business on, when it became “Mac’s Removals”. In the field on the right as you approach the Church Walks gate at the bottom of Chapel Steep (known as “Bottoms”), there used to be two ‘backs’ from these vans that my uncle used for storage. I believe that Maggie was connected with St John’s and was the first point of call for any minor injuries. Harold went with me when I took my second (successful) driving test!
“On to the photos. The first is from a small snapshot that I discovered at an antiques fair years ago. It shows a really early truck bearing the sign “HJ Prescott, Haulier, Luccombe” on the cab, with solid tyres and artillery wheels, parked outside Culver Cottage.
“The second is a postcard of Culver Cottage and the third is a from a snap taken on my mum’s Box Brownie, showing Harold’s lorry in the snow outside Wychanger Cottage some time in the 1950’s. I think that Harold is the one doing most of the shovelling.”
Another fascinating glimpse into village life – and a house that doesn’t look too much different from the outside as it did back then. You can see last month’s picture of the month here.
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