This splendid house was on the High St. Its site is now occupied by Osbourne close next to “The Bank” pub. The identity of the gentleman on horseback with a big white beard and top hat is unknown – but is likely the house owner. A number of these larger houses or “villas” were built on the High St. in the early Victorian period around about the time the railway came to Longstanton (1840s). The arrival of the railway transformed the status of Willingham and enabled expansion. Fortunately, all these villas on the High St. have survived with this one exception.
February 2023
