Leamington
12 September 1830
My Dear Mother
You need not have been afraid that your letter was not clear; on the contrary it was remarkably lucid. Dans cet embarras <1> I prefer to have the [illegible deletion] fireplace in the angle: and I give you full authority to control all Strong’s <2> proceedings till I come back. The flue will equally be carried up through the buttress –
Leamington is in a fertile country abounding in fine timber in the hedgerows – the fields are very green – on the whole it may be said to be rurally situated – It is a flourishing town, there are no poor rates, because there are no poor – You do not mention whether the Frampton’s <3> are at Lacock nor any further particulars about Harriot’s <4> marriage which I want to hear. At this Place it is the fashion to dine at the table d’hôte, but I only dined there once because their hour did not suit me & the waiters were bad – The Town is less crowded now, it is surprising what an influx of people was occasioned by Warwick Races –
Your affte Son
H. Talbot
Lady E. Feilding
Lacock Abbey
Chippenham
Wilts
Notes:
1. In this predicament.
2. Strong's identity has yet to be established. However, Awdry met Mr. Strong at Box [see Doc. No: 02006], the Wiltshire hamlet whose quarry originally provided Lacock Abbey with its stone. It is possible that Strong was there temporarily to select stone for the renovations at Lacock Abbey, but given the expansion of the area in the 19th c., perhaps Strong was resident there. The 1841 census for Box (the earliest one available) points to two possibilities. The first, James Strong (b. 1796), was a mason, but the Lacock mason, Charles Selman Banks (1805-1881) did most of the masonry at Lacock at this time. Thomas Strong (b. 1781) was a builder, and seems the more likely candidate.
3. Lady Harriet Frampton, née Fox Strangways (d. 1844) and her husband James Frampton (1769–1855), High Sheriff.
4. Harriot Georgiana Mundy, née Frampton (1806-1886), WHFT’s cousin & sister-in-law. On 28 October 1830, she married William Mundy (1801-1877), politician, WHFT’s brother-in-law.