Salisbury and Stonehenge » surnames

Locks Lane, Quidhampton

mattypenny — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 20:46:22 +0000

Locks Lane is in Quidhampton.

According to a document published in the year 2000 called ‘The Quidhampton Story’, Locks Lane is named after a cabinet maker called Bertram Lock and his wife Violet.

During the First World War many cabinet makers and metal workers found employment with the War Department. … When hostilities ceased lorries and cars began to appear as people became relatively more affluent. During 1920 one such cabinet maker, Bertram (Bert) Lock, who married Violet Blake, moved into the village… They were still there in 1994. It is after Bert that the lane gained its name. Bert ran a business from a large corrugated barn to the rear of the property until his death. ¹

Footnotes

the quidhampton story.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Middleton Road, Salisbury

mattypenny — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 20:52:48 +0000

Middleton Road is on the northern side of Salisbury, close to Saint Paul’s Church.

Middleton Road is by no means in the ‘middle of town’. At the time it was built, ‘by the 1890s’ (¹), it would have been on Salisbury’s outskirts.

It could be that ‘Middleton’ is the name of the one of the developers of the area – roads in the same development are seemingly random forenames (or possibly surnames) – for example Sidney Street, George Street and James Street.

I would prefer to think, though, that the naming of Middleton Road was, and is, a tribute to Dr Andrew Middleton.

Doctor Middleton and the 1849 Salisbury cholera epidemic

The epidemic – ‘the sickness pervades the whole city’

The sad story of the 1849 cholera epidemic is best told by Ruth Newman in:

the book ‘Salisbury Past‘, co-written with J Howells (²)
the article ‘Salisbury in the time of Cholera’ in Sarum Chronicle, Issue 6 (³)

Much of the material presented on this page is used by kind permission of Mrs Newman.

192 people died in the epidemic. At the time this was roughly 1 in every 45 of the population of Salisbury.

It’s perhaps worth considering the numbers. In today’s larger Salisbury schools this death rate would equate to two kids dying of cholera in every year group.

The London Times reported that:

the sickness … pervades the whole city. Deaths have occurred in nearly every street.(⁴)

Salisbury Cholera Deaths Road by Road

A subsequent Board of Health report listed the deaths in each street (⁵):

Barnards St	1
Bedwin Street	14
Blue Boar Row	2
Brown Street	7
Bugmore Hospital	2
Castle Street	31
Catherine Street	3
Chipper Lane	6
Culver Street	3
Endless Street	10
Gigant Street	6
Greencroft Street	5
High Street	5
Ivy St	4
Love Lane	2
Milford Street	11
New Street	2
Oatmeal Row	1
Paynes Hill	1
Queen Street	3
Rollestone Street	6
St Ann Street	2
St John St	1
St Martins Church St	3
St Edmunds Church St	11
Salt Lane	3
Scots Lane	17
Silver Street	4
The Workhouse	4
Trinity Street	2
Winchester Street	16

31 people died in Castle Street, Salisbury, in the Cholera Epidemic

Localized cholera epidemics occurred throughout Britain in the 19th century, but no other town of comparable size suffered as badly.

The cholera epidemic has come up now and again whilst I’ve been researching Salisbury’s road names. A couple of examples:

the economist John Maynard Keynes’ grandfather’s first wife ‘died in a cholera epidemic’(⁶)
the Godolphin School moved out of Salisbury up onto Milford Hill ‘to escape the cholera epidemic in the city’(⁷)
Mrs Louisa Caswell, wife of the Edward Caswell, who was a writer, and curate at Stratford-sub-Castle died of the cholera(⁸)

Disagreements and the Salisbury Journal’s censorship

Dr Middleton argued that the unsanitary living conditions in Salisbury were spreading the disease. He argued that the system of water channels throughout the town were a significant part of the problem. He organized a petition for a Board of Health enquiry.

The city council, with some popular support, opposed Middleton. A petition against an enquiry was organized, and gained a greater number of signatures.

The Salisbury Journal remained silent about the outbreak, ostensibly because it didn’t want to scare its readers. The Journal was forced to break its silence when letters appeared in the London Times. The Times specifically attacked the Journal for its suppression of the story.

Why were the council and many of the people opposed to an enquiry?

It’s not easy to say.

Lack of scientific knowledge was a factor – the cholera bacillus wasn’t discovered until 1854(⁹) and cholera itself had been unknown in Britain until 1829. The dominant theory at the time was that cholera, and other diseases, were spread by ‘bad air’ or miasma(¹⁰)

Perhaps the idea that the sanitary conditions were to blame ran contrary to ‘common sense’. The channels and the courts had been there for hundreds of years ‘without doing anyone any harm’. Nobody had suggested that the watercourses played a role in other epidemics, such as the Plague. In a time before the different ways in which diseases are transmitted was understood perhaps it was more ‘sensible’ to attribute the epidemic to bad luck?

Perhaps also it was easier to blame ‘bad luck’ rather than to admit that the 192 deaths could have been prevented?

On the other hand, there may have been a degree of self interest involved. The members of the council would have been some the landlords who would have to bear much of the financial brunt of sanitary reform.

The disagreement was particularly heated on the subject of the water channels. A City medical officer, John Winzar stated that:

‘Neither nature nor art could possibly have formed channels better adapted for effectually carrying away the sewage of the city’. (¹¹)

There were stories of trout being discovered in channels in the middle of the city – ‘proving’ how healthy and clean they were (¹²).

Despite the local opposition, the Board of Health sent Thomas Rammel, who reported in 1851. (¹³)

Thomas Rammel’s report

Rammel found that (¹⁴) :

the water channels were no use for removing sewage. Rammel pointed out that 114 deaths were in streets with open channels, 47 in streets with closed channels and 29 in streets with no channel.(¹⁵)
the courts, in the centres of the chequers, were ‘indescribably filthy’ (¹⁶)
the wells were contaminated by seepage from toilets and graveyards

Sanitation – a ‘New Sarum’

The town council was forced to adopt the 1848 Public Health Act, and to start filling in the water channels. Over the next few years (¹⁷):

a water works was built to the north of the city
deep sewers were built, to which households were gradually connected
land for new cemeteries was purchased on the Devizes Road and at Bishopdown

Middleton wrote:

I shall always be happy to plead guilty to the charge of having caused the destruction of the ‘English Venice’ since by that destruction a ‘New Salisbury’ has been created, and very many hundreds of human beings saved from an untimely death (¹⁸)

Middleton Road and the honouring of Andrew Middleton

Was Middleton Road named after Dr Andrew Middleton?

I don’t yet know for sure.

In retrospect the campaign waged by Middleton and others did indeed save many in Salisbury from an untimely death, but I don’t know whether this would have been recognized by the time of the building and naming of Middleton Road.

Cholera today

People still die from cholera today.

In 2005, 2272 deaths were reported to the World Health Organisation, across 52 countries.

It’s a highly preventable disease – the fact that there were no further outbreaks in Salisbury after 1849 shows this. However the WHO says:

There is clear trend that cholera is re-emerging in parallel
with the ever-increasing proportion of vulnerable
populations who live in unsanitary conditions. Cholera
remains a global threat and one of the key indicators of
social development. While the disease no longer poses a
threat to countries where minimum standards of hygiene
are met, it remains a challenge in those countries
where access to safe water and adequate sanitation cannot
be guaranteed for all. (¹⁹)

Wateraid

One charity that is working to provide access to safe water and adequate sanitation is WaterAid.

WaterAid is working in 17 countries to provide water and sanitation to people that need it.

As the Salisbury experience shows, it’s an easily preventable disease.

If you would like to continue the fight against cholera and other water-borne diseases please visit the WaterAid website, sign up to their newsletter and perhaps consider a donation.

Footnotes

Salisbury – The expansion of the city; Milford | British History Online
Newman, R. and Howells, J.: Salisbury Past (Chichester: Phillimore, 2001), pages 84-85.
Sarum Chronicle, Issue 6. Hobnob Press October 2006, 64-page illustrated paperback, price £4.50, ISBN10 0-946418-54-3; ISBN13 978-0-946418-54-1
Sarum Chronicle, Issue 6. pages 11-19. Hobnob Press October 2006, 64-page illustrated paperback, price £4.50, ISBN10 0-946418-54-3; ISBN13 978-0-946418-54-1
Newman, R. and Howells, J.: ‘Salisbury Past ‘ ,Chichester: Phillimore, 2001, pages 85.
ECONOMISTS PAPERS Series Two: John Neville Keynes
Wiltshire Council – Wiltshire Community History Get School Information
Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Edward Caswall – Wikisource
Who first discovered cholera?
1854 Broad Street cholera outbreak – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From: ‘Salisbury: City government since 1836′, A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 6 (1962), pp. 113-117. URL: Salisbury – City government since 1836 | British History Online Date accessed: 24 September 2009.
‘Salisbury in the time of Cholera’ in Sarum Chronicle, Issue 6. Hobnob Press October 2006, price £4.50, ISBN10 0-946418-54-3; ISBN13 978-0-946418-54-1
From: ‘Salisbury: City government since 1836′, A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 6 (1962), pp. 113-117. URL: Salisbury – City government since 1836 | British History Online Date accessed: 24 September 2009.
From: ‘Salisbury: City government since 1836′, A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 6 (1962), pp. 113-117. URL: Salisbury – City government since 1836 | British History Online Date accessed: 25 September 2009.
Newman, R. and Howells, J.: ‘Salisbury Past‘ ,Chichester: Phillimore, 2001, pages 85.
quote from the Victoria County History
From: ‘Salisbury: City government since 1836′, A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 6 (1962), pp. 113-117. URL: Salisbury – City government since 1836 | British History Online Date accessed: 25 September 2009.
‘Salisbury in the time of Cholera’ in Sarum Chronicle, Issue 6. Hobnob Press October 2006, 64-page illustrated paperback, price £4.50, ISBN10 0-946418-54-3; ISBN13 978-0-946418-54-1
WEEKLY EPIDEMIOLOGICAL RECORD, NO. 31, 4 AUGUST 2006, World Health Organisation

Moberly Road, Salisbury

mattypenny — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 20:27:56 +0000

Moberly Road is to the north of Salisbury, just outside the ring road, and directly off from Castle Road.

It is named after George Moberly, who was the Bishop of Salisbury from 1869 until his death in 1885.

It is close to other roads which are also named after Bishops:

Hamilton Road, which is probably named after Bishop Walter Hamilton (1854-1869) ¹
Wordsworth Road after Bishop John Wordsworth (1885-1911)
Ridgeway Road after Bishop Frederick Ridgeway (1911-1921)
Donaldson Road after Bishop St. Clair Donaldson (1921-1935)

George Moberly

Image from Amazon

George Moberly was born in Russia in 1803 ². He was educated at Winchester College and Oxford University, where he came into contact with some of the members of the ‘Oxford Movement’ of the 1830s, which wanted to move the Church of England closer to the Catholic Church.³

Moberly became headmaster of Winchester College in 1835 and he stayed there until 1865.

In 1869, Gladstone appointed him Bishop of Salisbury

The Moberly family and the May family from Charlotte Mary Yonge’s ‘The Daisy Chain’

According to the Dictionary of National Biography’s piece on Charlotte Mary Yonge, the May family in her novel ‘The Daisy Chain’ was named after the Moberlys’ youngest daughter May ⁴. Charlotte Mary Yonge was friendly with the Moberly family – the Dictionary says that she was an ‘intimate friend’ of George Moberly ⁵

Image from Amazon

I think I’ve seen something to the effect that the May family in the novel was inspired by the Moberlys, but I’ve not been able to find the reference and I’m afraid I don’t know enough about either to be able to say.

‘An adventure’ – the Moberly-Jourdain incident

Perhaps more famous than the Moberly family’s connection with Charlotte Mary Yonge is Charlotte ‘Annie’ Moberly’s involvement in what is often known as the ‘Moberly-Jourdain’ incident.

Charlotte ‘Annie’ Moberly

Charlotte Anne Moberly (known as ‘Annie’) was the Moberlys’ tenth child. When George Moberly became Bishop of Salisbury in 1869, Annie was his personal secretary, and as his health failed towards the end of his life, she became his nursemaid.

After the Bishop’s death in 1885, Annie, her mother and two other unmarried sisters moved to a ‘dull street in Salisbury and faced a future of genteel poverty’⁶

In 1886, however Elizabeth Wordsworth, the sister of the new Bishop, John Wordsworth asked Annie to run a new Oxford college for women, Saint Hugh’s Hall. Annie moved to Oxford,and remained there until her death, at the age of 90, in 1937.

Image from Amazon

She published two books – ‘Dulce Domum’, which was a family memoir, and, with Eleanor Jourdain, ‘An Adventure’.

‘An Adventure’ was her account of a supposedly supernatural event which occurred at the palace of Versailles, near Paris. It was published in 1911 and became a best-seller, being reprinted several times (the latest re-print being in 1988)⁷.

The Petit Trianon ‘timeslip’

The book ‘An adventure’ was an account of a visit to Versailles by Annie Moberly and her ‘headmistress’ at St Hugh’s College, Eleanor Jourdain.

In brief, Jourdain and Moberly visited Versailles in August 1901. It was a ‘hot and somewhat overcast’ day ⁸.

The two women got lost in the grounds of Versailles. They met people dressed in what turned out to resemble 18th Century clothing.

Most of the people they met were seen by both Moberly and Jourdain, but at least two people were seen by one of the women, but not both of them. One man urgently directed them towards a house, where Moberly saw a finely dressed woman sketching. They both found the atmosphere ‘oppressive’.

When they discussed the occurrences that evening, they agreed that they believed the gardens to be haunted.

They then discovered that some of the features of the gardens which they had seen, in particular a rustic bridge and a ravine, did not exist.

They investigated further and found that some of the features of the garden that they had seen, including the rustic bridge had existed in the past. Moberly recognized a particular portrait of Marie Antoinette as the woman that she had seen sketching. They found that many of the things they had seen which no longer existed did correspond with the time of Marie Antoinette.

An exception to this was the ravine that they had crossed. On the maps known of in 1901 there was no trace of such a ravine. However an older map was subsequently discovered in 1903 which showed it.

The two women did more research over the next few years, and in 1911 published their account of the day, and of their research as ‘An Adventure’.

Moberly and Jourdain published the book under pseudonyms – Elizabeth Morison and Frances Lamont respectively.

Subsequent editions of ‘An Adventure

1911: First edition ⁹
1913: Second edition – adds the original letters written describing the event. Refutes suggestions that they had stumbled onto a film set (‘preparations for a cinematograph film’!), or had dreamt the episode ¹⁰
1924: Third edition – some additional material ¹¹
1931: Fourth edition – edited by Edith Olivier (after whom Olivier Road is named) – authorship is revealed
1955: Fifth edition – preface and edited by Joan Evans. Author’s real names used in the text
1959: French translation published with an introduction by Jean Cocteau
1988: Most recent edition, as far as I know

Reactions to the book – the afterlife of ‘An Adventure’

There is a large amount of written discussion of ‘An Adventure’. I’ve only found snippets of this on the internet, but they do give an indication of how much attention the incident has attracted over the years.

For the time being, I’m going to list the books and articles I know of – when and if time permits I’ll fill this out with more detail.

I’d like to stress here that although I have a copy of ‘An Adventure’ I haven’t read any of the commentaries on it listed below, as yet.

Mrs Henry Sidgewick

Mrs Henry Sidgewick attacked the book in her review for the Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research in 1911 ¹², saying that it added nothing ‘of interest on the positive side of Psychical Research’ ¹³

J.W.Dunne – preface to 1931 edition of ‘An Adventure’

John William Dunne invoked Einstein, saying:

Hence, if Einstein is right, the contents of time are just as `real’ as the contents of space. Marie Antoinette– body and brain–is sitting in the Trianon garden now. ¹⁴

JR Sturge-Whiting – ‘The Mystery of Versailles: A Complete Solution’ 1938

JR Sturge-Whiting publishes the first book attempting to ‘debunk’¹⁵ Moberly and Jourdain’s account.

At the time of writing Sturge-Whiting’s book is available on Amazon here.

GNM Tyrrell – ‘Apparitions’ 1942

GNM Tyrrell mentions the case in his 1942 book ‘Apparitions‘ ¹⁶

David Landale Johnston – ‘The Trianon Case: A review of the Evidence’ 1945

‘The Trianon case;: A review of the evidence’ is mentioned in a footnote in Marie-Antoinette by Dena Goodman

It’s available from Amazon, at the time of writing, here

WHW Sabine – Second Sight in Daily Life 1950

In the 1950 book, Second Sight in Daily Life, Sabine refers to ‘the impressive nature of the historic visions experienced by… Miss Moberly and Miss Jourdain’ ¹⁷

Image from Amazon

Leon Rey – ‘Une Promenade hors du temps’ 1952

Published in the Revue de Paris, December 1952.¹⁸

WH Salter – ‘An Adventure: A Note on the Evidence’

W.H. Salter in an article in the ‘Journal of the Society for Psychical Research’ ¹⁹ argued that some of the details that were supposed to have been written down in 1901 were actually later additions. This would be fairly significant because a major aspect of the story was that the women saw things of which they had no prior knowledge – after 1901 they researched Versailles in some detail.

1952 broadcast

According to a 1957 article by Laura Ragg, the book was ‘attacked in a broadcast in 1952′. ²⁰. I’m afraid that I don’t have any further details about the broadcast, but I would assume that it was on the BBC radio.

Update:There’s a reference in Lucy Iremonger’s book to her having spoken about the case on the radio – perhaps this was the 1952 broadcast.

Lucille Iremonger writes ‘The Ghosts of Versailles’

Lucille Iremonger, the wife or the Conservative MP for Ilford, wrote a book called ‘The Ghosts of Versailles’ in which she portrayed the Moberly family ‘as riddled with superstition’²¹. She particularly focussed on the relationship between Moberly and Jourdain.

At the time of writing, ‘The Ghosts of Versailles’ is available from Amazon here:

The Ghosts of Versailles – Miss Moberly and Miss Jourdain and their Adventure – a critical study

I’ve also seen it in Salisbury Reference Library.

Laura Ragg’s article ‘An adventure: some personal recollections of Miss Moberly 1957

From the first page of the article ²², in the journal ‘English’ it appears Ragg defends Moberly and Jourdain, especially with reference to Lucille Iremonger’s criticisms.

John Cocteau – prefaces to the French edition of ‘Les Fantomes de Trianon’ 1959

Jean Cocteau wrote an introduction to ‘An Adventure’ in 1959 ²³ in which he praises the book, if my French is any good, as ‘a non-conformist scandal of the highest valour’²⁴

Image from Amazon

Terry Castle – Various writings 1991-1995

Terry Castle, who is a Professor of English at Stanford ²⁵, discussed Moberly and Jourdain in:

The Female Thermometer: Eighteenth-Century Culture and the Invention of the Uncanny (Ideologies of Desire)
The Apparitional Lesbian: Female Homosexuality and Modern Culture (Gender and Culture Series)
“Contagious Folly: An Adventure and Its Skeptics.” (Moberly and Jourdain). Critical Inquiry 16 (Summer 1991).

C.S. Lewis – The Dark Tower

In C.S. Lewis’ time travel book ‘The Dark Tower‘, he refers to ‘the ladies of Trianon’. ²⁶

Image from Amazon

J.R.R Tolkein

According to the book ‘A Question of Time: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Road to Faerie‘ by Verlyn Flieger, the ‘Adventure’ was an influence on Tolkien. The author quote Walter Hooper’s introduction to Lewis’ ‘The Dark Tower’ mentioning the ladies ‘notoriety in Oxford’ and the possibility that they were known to have issued a retraction. ²⁷

Image from Amazon

The film “Miss Morison’s Ghosts”

The story of ‘An Adventure’ was filmed as ‘Miss Morisons Ghosts’ ²⁸, with Wendy Hillier and Hannah Gordon.

The naming of Moberly Road

I would be interested to know whether the ‘Adventure’ had any effect on any discussions around the naming of Moberly Road.

In a sense it should not have done – the road is named after Bishop Moberly, not his daughter, but the timing is interesting.

The houses in Moberly Road were built, I think, in the 1930s.

As I’ve said the first edition of ‘An Adventure’ was published in 1911, but the story remained in the public eye for some time after that.

In particular, although it was supposed to have been an ‘open secret’ in some circles ²⁹ that Moberly and Jourdain had written the book, their identities were only revealed to the wider world with the publication of Edith Olivier’s 1931 edition of the book.

So, if the name was linked inextricably to the controversial ‘Adventure’, I wonder whether anyone at the time had misgivings about giving the road the name of ‘Moberly’?

I would like to investigate further at some stage.

The Bishops’ Birds of Salisbury

Finally, for the time being, a few words on another ‘event’ that bring together Annie Moberly, her tendencies towards the supernatural and her father the Bishop.

There is a superstition in Salisbury, which I remember hearing about as a child, that the death of a Bishop is augured by the appearance of large white birds.

The legend of the ‘Bishops Birds’ seems to have begun in 1414 ³⁰

Image from Amazon

The only other mentions that I’ve found of it ³¹, so far, are:

Annie Moberly, who saw the birds on the day of the death of her father in 1885
Edith Olivier, who saw the birds on the day of the death of Bishop Wordsworth

It may be relevant to mention that Moberly and Olivier knew each other well. Olivier edited one of the versions of ‘An Adventure’, wrote a biography of Moberly in ‘Four Victorian ladies of Wiltshire’³².

Footnotes

Hamilton Road could instead be a reference to Lady Hamilton, Lord Nelson’s partner – see the page on Nelson Road
There was a story within the Moberly family that the Moberlys were descended from an illegitimate son of Peter the Great. – from Oxford DNB article: Moberly, Charlotte Anne Elizabeth
George Moberly – St Peter’s Church, Nottingham, England on-line magazine
Oxford DNB article: Moberly, Charlotte Anne Elizabeth
Oxford DNB article: Moberly, George
Oxford DNB article: Moberly, Charlotte Anne Elizabeth
Oxford DNB article: Moberly, Charlotte Anne Elizabeth
Ghost Story 3: The Ghosts of the Trianon
Oxford DNB article: Moberly, Charlotte Anne Elizabeth
‘An Adventure’, C.A.E. Moberly and E.A.F. Jourdain, p25-30, Faber and Faber, 1955
The editions of the book up until 1955 are listed in a footnote in the 1955 edition – ‘An Adventure’, C.A.E. Moberly and E.A.F. Jourdain, p13, Faber and Faber, 1955
Retrocognition – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Victorian eighteenth century By B. W. Young
Preface to 1931 edition of ‘An Adventure’
Mentioned in a footnote in Marie-Antoinette by Dena Goodman
Apparitions – Google Books
Second Sight in Daily Life By W. H. W Sabine
Mentioned in a footnote in Marie-Antoinette by Dena Goodman
The Ghosts of Versailles
Oxford Journals article
Oxford Journals article
‘An Adventure’: Some Personal Recollections of Miss Moberly — Ragg 11 (65): 182 — English
Les fantômes de Trianon, C.A.E Moberly, E.F Jourdain, Jean Cocteau tous les livres à la Fnac
The female thermometer: eighteenth-century culture and the invention of the … By Terry Castle
Faculty Profile | Stanford University Department of English
A Question of Time: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Road to Faerie By Verlyn Flieger
A Question of Time: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Road to Faerie By Verlyn Flieger
Miss Morison’s Ghosts (1981)
Terry Castle says that it was a ‘secret de polichinelle’ at Oxford The female thermometer: eighteenth-century culture and the invention of the … By Terry Castle
Unexplained phenomena: a rough guide special : [mysteries and curiosities of … By John F. Michell, Bob Rickard, Robert J. M. Rickard
Unexplained phenomena: a rough guide special : [mysteries and curiosities of … By John F. Michell, Bob Rickard, Robert J. M. Rickard and ghost stories and Haunted England: A Survey of English Ghost Lore 1941
By Christina Hole
Four Victorian ladies of Wiltshire … – Google Books

Montgomery Gardens, Salisbury

mattypenny — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 20:30:58 +0000

Montgomery Gardens are in the western part of Salisbury, leading off from Christie Miller Road.

I don’t know why the road is named Montgomery Gardens, but there are two strong possibilities:

it’s a reference to the Earldom of Montgomery, a title held by the Herbert family of Wilton House
it’s a tribute to the ware hero Montgomery of el Alamein

The Earl of Montgomery

The Herberts of Wilton House are most often associated with the Earldom of Pembroke, however they the Earl of Pembroke also inherits the title of Earl of Montgomery.

This goes back to the ‘incomparable pair of brethren’ to whom Shakespeare dedicated his first folio – William and Philip.

William had inherited the title of Earl of Pembroke on the death of his father in 1601, but Philip, as the younger brother, had no title.

They were both very popular with James I – Philip particularly so because of his love of hunting. Consequently James made Philip earl of Montgomery and Baron Herbert of Shurland in 1605.

When William died in 1630, without children, Philip inherited the title of Earl of Montgomery.

Philip’s heirs have been Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery ever since.¹

The current Earl is The 18th Earl of Pembroke and 15th Earl of Montgomery ²
Is it likely that Montgomery Gardens is a reference to the Earls of Pembroke and Montgomery?

I would say that it’s possible, particularly since the road is in the western part of Salisbury, where the Pembrokes may have owned land. It is close to the Wilton Road – it might be named in reference to the heirs to Wilton House.

Field Marshall Montgomery was one of Britain’s great military heroes. He appears at number 88 in the BBC’s poll of the 100 Greatest Britons ³

Montgomery and Salisbury

I don’t know of any strong connection between Montgomery and Salisbury. There are, though, some connections:

He used Longford Castle as his headquarters used Longford Castle as his headquarters during World War II ⁴ ⁵.
There is a room in Salisbury City Hall, which I think I’m right in saying was built as a war memorial, called the El Alamein rooms.

Montgomery – a very short biography

Montgomery’s full name was Bernard Law Montgomery. He lived from 1887 to 1976.

Montgomery’s Early life

Montgomery’s father was a Church of England bishop. He was posted to Tasmania when Montgomery was two years of age and they did not return to England until 1901.

Montgomery’s relationship with his mother, who bore most of the burden of his upbringing was troubled. Montgomery wrote:

Certainly I can say that my own childhood was unhappy.

And, later that he knew:

fear early in life, much too early

Montgomery went to Sandhurst in 1906. He was nearly expelled for setting fire to another student after duelling with red-hot pokers, but ‘graduated’ successfully in 1908.

Montgomery and World War I

Montgomery served at Mons, the Somme, Arras and Ypres. At Arras, he served under Sir Douglas Haig. 120,000 men were lost. At Passchendaele he wrote that:

they forget that the whole art of war is to gain your objective with as little loss as possible

On the Marne, Montgomery was shot through the lung and was so badly injured that a grave was dug for him.

Under Sir Herbert Plumer, Montgomery fought successful battles at Polygon Wood, Menin Road, and Broodseinde.

Montgomery was promoted several times, attaining the rank of temporary Lieutenant-Colonel. He was chief-of-staff of the 47th (London) division.

Montgomery between the Wars

Montgomery spent much of the inter-war period at the Staff College at Camberly.

He was posted to Ireland during the war of independence. He wrote that:

to win a war of that sort you must be ruthless; Oliver Cromwell, or the Germans, would have settled it in a very short time

This, though, according to the Dictionary of National Biography, was to imply that the British army was not going to win the war because it would not behave in that way. The DNB says that what Montgomery was saying was that:

as a twentieth century democracy, Britain could not behave in such a militaristic way

Montgomery married Betty Carver, a war widow, in 1927. They had a son, but Betty died from septicaemia following an insect bite in 1937.

Montgomery and Dunkirk

Montgomery took the 3rd Division to Europe, as part of the British Expeditionary Force. They took up positions along the France-Belgium border, but once there Montgomery ran a series of exercises focussing on how best to conduct a retreat.

These exercises, according to the Dictionary of National Biography, were ‘in the face of vociferous local French protests’. ⁶

The retreat of the 3rd Division was, though, a comparative success – there were ‘nominal casualties’ ⁷.

Montgomery took command of the II Corps in the general evacuation of the BEF. ⁸

When Montgomery returned to Britain, he was demoted to divisional command after stridently criticizing the conduct of the BEF. ⁹

Montgomery and the North African campaign

In 1942, a new commander was needed for the 8th Army in North Africa. General Brooke recommended Montgomery but Churchill, by then Prime Minister seems to have been dubious about him.

Churchill appointed General William Gott. Gott however was killed in an air accident shortly afterwards, and Montgomery was appointed.

Montgomery revitalized the 8th Army. General Brooke later wrote:

I knew my Monty pretty well by then, but I must confess I was dumbfounded by the situation facing him, the rapidity with which he had grasped the essentials, the clarity of his plans, and above all, his unbounded self-confidence – a self-confidence with which he inspired all those that he came into contact with ¹⁰

The Battle of El Alamein began on the 23rd October. By the second of November, Rommel was requesting permission to retreat.

El Alamein was the first great Allied victory of the war.

There are two famous quotes from Churchill on the battle:

Before Alamein we never had a victory, after Alamein we never had a defeat.

and

This is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning ¹¹

Following El Alamein, Montgomery’s troops pushed on through North Africa, Montgomery’s involvement finishing with the battle of Wadi Akarat.¹²

Montgomery in Italy

Montgomery was sent to Italy.

Their was some personal conflict between Montgomery and the American General Patton. Patton thought Montgomery was moving too slowly, whereas Montgomery thought Patton was politically opportunistic¹³.

In December of 1943, Montgomery was recalled to the UK, to prepare for the D-Day invasions. He professed himself glad to be leaving the ‘dogs breakfast’ of the Italian campaign ¹⁴.

Montgomery and D-Day

Montgomery had, in May 1942, led an exercise which involved 100000 men practising skills needed for beach landings – in particular the co-ordination of infantry, artillery and air attack.

This enabled him to meticulously plan the D-Day operations. He presented his plans in April and May of 1944.

Famously, D-Day was the first successful opposed invasion across the Channel since 1066.

Eisenhower and Lieutenant-General Walter Bedell Smith said that:

No one else could have got us across the Channel and into Normandy…Whatever they say about him, he got us there ¹⁵

Montgomery and Arnhem – ‘a bridge too far’

Montgomery’s only real military failure during World War II was Arnhem, although he himself rated it as ’80% successful’.

This was an attempt to reach the Ruhr industrial region, concentrating on air power.

The battle, known as ‘Operation Market Garden’ has been seen as ‘strategically bold, but poorly planned…As a result, the operation ended in an unmitigated disaster’ ¹⁶

Montgomery and the Battle of the Bulge

In December 1944, Hitler counter attacked at the Ardennes. The Germans were initially successful, until Montgomery was given control of four of the five Allied armies.

Montgomery, in the words of the Dictionary of [British] National Biography ‘ended the American rout’.

According to German commander von Manteuffel

The operations of the American 1st Army had developed into a series of individual holding actions. Montgomery’s contribution to restoring the situation was that he turned a series of isolated actions into a coherent battle fought according to a clear and definite plan. It was his refusal to engage in premature and piecemeal counter-attacks which enabled the Americans to gather their reserves and frustrate the German attempts to extend their breakthrough.

Eisenhower wanted Montgomery to counter attack, but Montgomery resisted, on the grounds that the troops were under-prepared and that it made no strategic sense.

If Montgomery had effectively got the Americans out of a hole, he wasn’t slow to point it out. Privately he didn’t have a high opinion of the American military leaders. Of Eisenhower he had said ‘His ignorance as to how to run a war is absolute and complete; he has all the popular cries, but nothing else’.

This attitude surfaced in an interview on Christmas Day, just after the Battle of the Bulge, and then in a press conference in early January, when he ‘he congratulated himself on saving the Americans’. ¹⁷

Churchill later described Montgomery as:

In defeat, unbeatable; in victory, unbearable.

and

Indomitable in retreat; invincible in advance; insufferable in victory.¹⁸

General Alan Brooke said:

He is probably the finest tactical general we have had since Wellington. But on some of his strategy, and especially on his relations with the Americans, he is almost a disaster

Montgomery at the end of the war

Montgomery was forced to relinquish control of the American forces he had led at Ardennes.

He led the English and Canadian troops at the northern end of the front.

On May the 4th all the German forces in Holland, north-west Germany and Denmark surrendered to Montgomery at Luneburg Heath.

Montgomery’s service after the war

Montgomery was made Chief of the Imperial General Staff in 1946, and then Lord Montgomery of Alamein.

Montgomery served under Eisenhower in the establishment of NATO from 1951 onwards. He was Deputy Supreme Commander of NATO until he retired in 1958.

Montgomery in retirement

Lord Montgomery was not an active politician. Some of his contributions to debates in the House of Lords and elsewhere would today be seen as perhaps eccentric:

he proposed raising setting the age of consent for homosexuals to 80 in the 1967 legalization debate. ¹⁹
he supported both the Chinese communist Mao Tse Tung and South African apartheid ²⁰

Montgomery lived in Alton in Hampshire until his death in 1976.

Some thoughts on Montgomery

I’ve done a fairly small amount of reading about Montgomery – just enough to outline his biography. However, there are three of four things that struck me about him. I’m going to relate my thoughts about Montgomery here – but please bear in mind I only have a cursory knowledge of the subject.

Montgomery – a democratic general ?

The word ‘democratic’ means different things to different people – I’m using ‘democratic’ here in a very specific sense.

I certainly don’t mean that Montgomery was interested in making decisions by taking votes. Neither was he interested in looking for a consensus – either of his peers or of his immediate subordinates.

I mean that he was democratic in that he felt that nothing could be achieved without ‘his people’, the troops, being convinced of what they were doing ²¹

This contrasts with the caricature version of the First World War general, aloof and remote, seemingly seeing the foot soldiers as expendable cannon-fodder. This caricature may never have been true, but as noted above Montgomery’s view of Passchendaele was that the leaders:

they forget that the whole art of war is to gain your objective with as little loss as possible

It was important both that the troops mattered, and that they knew they mattered. Montgomery wrote that

[the important people in the army were] the Nursing Sisters and the Padres – the Sisters because they tell the men they matter to us, and the Padres because they tell the men they matter to God. And it is the men who matter. ²²