Left to right: The Hon. Cecil Edward Agar-Robartes (1892-1939),The Hon. Edith Violet Kathleen Agar-Robartes (1888-1965), The Hon. Arthur Victor Agar-Robartes, later 8th Viscount Clifden (1887-1974), The Hon. Constance Margaret Agar- Robartes (1890-1936) and The Hon. Alexander George Agar-Robartes, MC (1895-1930) with their Nanny.
Category
Photographs
Date
1897
Materials
Measurements
100 x 126 mm
Order this imageCollection
Lanhydrock, Cornwall
NT 886551
Caption
In 2002 a volunteer working with the collections at Lanhydrock discovered that an old camera appeared to have a roll of undeveloped film rattling around inside it. The decision was later taken to have it carefully processed to see if any images could be recovered. Twelve frames were indeed revealed, their latent images surfacing for the first time since their creation in around 1897. Among pictures of a pet dog and children cycling, this tender, informal scene captures the younger Agar-Robertes children on a carriage outing. Standing dutifully by is Hester Coad, née Rogers (1864–1922), also known as Blanche, who was a nursemaid at Lanhydrock during the 1880s and 1890s. Hester was married to Mr Marwood Coad (1880–1940), the footman and butler. Arthur Victor Agar-Robartes, later 8th Viscount Clifden (1887–1974), is the child in the centre. It is possible that one of his elder siblings was the photographer, perhaps brother Thomas ‘Tommy’ Charles Reginald Agar-Robertes (1880–1915), then around 17 years old. Their parents Thomas Charles (1844–1930) and Mary Agar-Robertes (1853–1921) had ten children, one of whom died at just six months old. The youngest born, Alexander AgarRobertes (1895–1930), is here on the right next to Hester. She had six children herself and two further negatives from the developed roll show her with five of them. The patterning around the edges of this positive contact print shows deterioration in the original film negative. It acts as a reminder of the age and vulnerability of negatives and how fortunate it is that these photographs were brought to light at all.
Summary
A photograph of five children and a terrier in small open carriage, the nanny standing on the far right. From left to right, the Hon. Cecil Agar-Robartes, 1892-1939, sitting holding a basket; the Hon. Violet Agar-Robartes, 1888-1965, seated; the Hon. Victor Agar-Robartes, later 8th Viscount Clifden, 1887-1974, standing on the far side; the Hon. Constance Agar-Robartes, 1890-1936, seated beside the Hon. Alexander Agar-Robartes, 1895-1930. One of thirteen modern photographs developed from a previously unseen roll of film taken circa 1897, found in the attics at Lanhydrock 2007.
Provenance
A gift from the Hon. Gerald Agar-Robartes, later 7th Viscount Clifden, 1883-1966, who gave the house to the National Trust in 1953. One of thirteen modern photographs developed from a previously unseen roll of film taken circa 1897, found in the attics at Lanhydrock 2007.