On This Day in Wembury
30 December 1950 — Job Advert at Thorn, Wembury
The Western Morning News carried a small advert seeking a gardener–handyman and wife (part-time house help) for Thorn, Wembury, with accommodation offered in an unfurnished flatlet. Applicants were directed to write to “Stanley” at Thorn.
At this time, Thorn (formerly South Wembury House) was in private ownership, after the estate had been broken up in the 1930s. The mansion had passed through several hands: originally built by the Lockyer family in the early 19th century, later owned by the Arkwrights, and then by the Hon. Mrs Sebag-Montefiore in the 1920s–30s. By the late 1940s–50s, Dr Stanley owned Thorn. He had purchased it following the Sebag-Montefiore sales of 1938 and lived there with his family. The advert reflects how large country houses often required resident staff even into the post-war years, though on a smaller scale than in Victorian times.
