A century ago in Sherborne

This month Barry Cuff has chosen century-old postcards of Cheap Street and what was then the Ladies College in Sherborne...

Sent to Miss L Sharp in Pokesdown (Bournemouth was still in Hampshire – it was ‘moved’ to Dorset in 1974) – note the stamp placement, which is significant. This 45º angle was the stamp code for ‘A Kiss’ from disappointed Frank: ‘Dear Lil, I am awfully disappointed you have not wrote as you promised. I quite expected to hear from you. I do not wish you to write by return but as you promised, I think your letter must have got lost. I writing this in shop, by the time I get home I quite expect to hear from you kind regards love Frank

The image is of what is now Sherborne Girl’s School, which at the turn of the last century was known as Ladies College, Sherborne. The card was sent in 1913 to Miss Hatcher, at Boxmoor in Hertfordshire, by Jimmy, who appears to be a teacher at the school – from the message he would seem to be her brother: ‘My darling Pud. This postcard shows you the school. It only shows a little bit of the white lodge, but it takes in our bedroom window, which I have marked. I expect mother has broken the news to you by this time about our returning for a 2nd term. I hope you are surviving the shock. Isn’t it gorgeous to think of 5 weeks today! We may be going to bring a Seoteh (?) girl back for one night, to break her journey! Jimmy’s hands are smelling simply disgusting of onions as he had to chop some onions in the kitchen this morning! Doubtless you would enjoy the scent! I don’t.We are keeping one of the students 21st birthday today, we are going to give her an awfully nice pair of earrings. Please write soon. Heaps of love. Jimmy

Step back in time with our ‘Then and Now’ feature, where vintage postcards from the Barry Cuff Collection meet modern-day reality. Explore the past and present on the same page, and see the evolution of familiar local places. ‘Now’ images by Courtenay Hitchcock