A Merritt float

Here we have another new image given to the museum this month and this is one we particularly like. It shows a carnival float, no doubt in a trade class, entered by Merritt Brothers. We don’t have a...

Celebrating the Queen at 90

Tomorrow Market Lavington will be ‘en fête’ as we celebrate our Queen’s 90th birthday. But here we look back to fun in Coronation year – 1953 with a news cutting. We see some of the young...

1923 Hospital Week

Back in the 20s and 30s the Hospital Week was carnival time in Market Lavington and Easterton. It was the time for dressing up and having fun and generally enjoying life. And at the same time money wa...

1921 Hospital Week

This photo has recently come to the museum. It is captioned ‘First hospital week – 1921’. It shows a wonderfully decorated car in the High Street in Easterton. The Hospital Weeks were always...

Archibald Baker

We have met Archibald before – and in this rather strange Michelin Man costume. This was worn for a Hospital Week carnival in the 1920s. Archibald is clearly the man in the middle and sad to say...

Swan Lake

This is an Easterton photo. We are fairly certain of this because of its origin which was the late Tom Jefferies. But that is all we know about it so once more we seek help. It looks to be a carnival ...

A Cider Press

We have a wonderful carnival picture today. It is utterly redolent of times past. Here we see carnival floats lining up on Easterton High Street. Of course, the leading float commands interest being ...

The hospital in the carnival procession

Here we have a photo we do not know all that much about. We are confident it was taken in Easterton which was where the carnival processions for ‘Hospital Week’ always lined up. Sadly we can’t d...

Mrs Sayer at the 1927 Carnival

In Market Lavington and Easterton the carnival was always a part of Hospital Week. Before the National Health Service people needed ready money to pay for health care and those that didn’t have mone...

The Jam Factory at a carnival

Time was when carnival in Easterton and Market Lavington meant raising money for health care. If you are aged 66 or more then you entered this world before the UK had a National Health Service. If you...