Scope and Content
Half bound in green leather with blue cloth sides and titled in gold on the front cover. [page numbers added by archive staff for easy of reference and do not include the missing pages].
Title page "Bromham House, Bedfordshire (July - November 1903).
Back of Title Page manuscript note 'Dedicated to the mother of my children Annie "vach", with a head and shoulders image of Anne Mary Pemberton Allen (1847-1886).
Page 1. 10 photographs of W H Allen at the ages of: 7, 22, 28, 35, 40 (x2), 48, 49, 53 and 55.
Page 2 'Family (in esse)' - formal group photograph of W H Allen and family arranged on the gravel outside the main front door of Bromham House. Includes six sons, two sons-in-law, four daughters and one daughter-in-law and six grandchildren.
Page 3 Family '(in posse' - the family are arranged differently and include the addition of two prospective daughters-in-law. They are looking at the camera rather than away from it. They are identified by Kenneth Allen as:
Back row: Francis Allen, Harold Allen, Melville Allen (b1891), Lulu [Louise] Allen, Richard Allen, George Allen, Percy Crowe, Arthur Longhurst, Rupert Allen, Glendower Allen.
Front row: Beatrice 'Bee' Allen, Hilda Allen (m Harold 20 Oct 1903), Mona Allen (Muriel b 1893), Ger [Geraldine Allen wife of Richard Allen], Eileen Allen (b 1897), William Henry Allen, Doreen Crowe, Cissie [Annie] Crowe, Hugh Crowe, Maimee [Madeline Longhurst nee Allen] with Cynthia (b 1901) on her knee, Gladys [possibly Gladys Hill who was to marry Rupert Allen in 1913, rather than W H Allen's daughter from his second marriage].
Page 4. 'Sons and Daughters' [Francis, Rupert, Bee, Richard, Glendower, Lulu, George, Harold, Annie, WHA, Maimee formerly arranged in front of windows to the side of the house].
Page 5. 'Daughters' [Annie, Lulu, WHA, Maimee, Bee in the garden].
Page 6. 'Sons (Country)' WHA and his six sons before a window of Bromham House dressed for the country.
Page 7 '(Town)' WHA and his sons dressed in long coats and top hats with canes in front of the entrance way of Bromham House.
Page 8. 'Grandchildren' [Doreen, Mona, Eileen, WHA, Cynthia, Melville and Hugh in the garden with flower beds and a summer house in the background].
[At this point there are three pages missing from the album see Z50/142/604, Z50/21/25-29]
Page 9. 'The Library' W H Allen reading in his library.
Page 10. 'The Drawing Room'
Page 11 'The Dining Room'
Page 12 'The Estate (from the park)' The house is in the distance behind trees, cattle graze in the middle ground and towards the foreground stand a man (WHA?) a dog and a woman (Lulu?)
Page 13 (from the golf-house)' The golf-house is partially shown to the right foreground with the view across the park to the house in the distance.
Page 14 'The Daughter of the House' shows one of the daughters (possibly Lulu?) standing with a dog in the garden with a rustic seat and flower beds behind her and trees beyond that.
Page 15 'The Rosary' shows three women, presumably Lulu, Bee and another daughter or daughter in law, picking roses in the rose garden.
Page 16 'Poet's Walk' shows a man, dressed in a floor-length coat and a hat, standing reading a book in a hedge lined path. In the foreground the path ends with benches and an arch and opens out to flower beds on either side.
Page 17 '(A pious thought)' same view as page 16 but the man has looked up from his book and is gazing off into the sky.
Page 18. 'The Lily Pond' a view of the pond with one of the daughters of the house standing to the left of the picture and one standing in the middle at the edge of the pond while to the right W H Allen points at the water with his walking stick.
Page 19 'The Rockery' view down the path through the rockery with the two daughters of the house on either side of the path and in the distance W H Allen pointing his stick at a fern.
Page 20 'Tennis (angle of wood)' view of two tennis courts with matches in play, on the court nearest the camera the player is about to serve.
Page 21 'Tennis (summer-house in background)'
Page 22 'Croquet' view of three men and three women and the dog on the croquet lawn.
Page 23 ' Bowls' view of four men having a bowls match watched by five women.
Page 24 'The Sanctuary (monk and poet)' View of two men standing beside a small pool in front of a doorway [the door came from Westminster Abbey see Z1656/10a for details].
Page 25 '(A Spiritual counsel)' W H Allen in conversation with the man dressed as a monk, while the poet sits reading on a bench in the background.
Page 26 and 27 'A Garden Party' view across the lawn and flowerbeds towards the house with many men and women standing about talking.
Page 28 'A theme discussed' view over the bowls green and croquet lawn towards the house. In the foreground three men and a woman are in conversation standing on the bowls green.
Page 29 'Games' view across the tennis courts towards the house.
Page 30 'The Lake (Fishing)' view across a small waterfall to the lake where W H Allen is fishing, another man stands on the edge of the lake a bit further to the left.
Page 31 '(Boating)' a man sails a small boat across the lake while W H Allen and two other men watch from the shore.
Page 32 'The Electric Carriage' W H Allen and a woman (possibly Bee or Lulu) riding in an electric vehicle, the gardens and house in the background.
Page 33. 'The Stables' view in the courtyard of three men (possibly grooms) holding the heads of three horses while in the centre W H Allen holds another horse and one of the daughters of the house (Bee or Lulu?) holds the head of another.
Page 34 'For a Drive (single)' a single pony drawing an open carriage with W H Allen driving, a daughter by his side, a man and a groom in the rear of the cart, countryside in the background.
Page 35 '(Pair)' a pair of ponies drawing a carriage driven by W H Allen with a daughter by his side and a groom in the rear, countryside in the background.
Page 36 'Calling' a pair of horses drawing a carriage (Barouche?) with the coachman and groom in the box seat and three ladies and W H Allen in the carriage, gates and trees in the background.
Page 37 'Coachman and family' - almost certainly Edward O'Hara and his wife Clara with daughter Kathleen and baby Celia.
Page 38 'Flower walk to conservatory' at the door of the conservatory W H Allen is discussing a potted plant with a gardener.
Page 39 'The apple house (inspecting fruit)' view of W H Allen looking at fruit on a tray held by a gardener in front of the apple house; to the left is a woman, possibly Lulu.
Page 40 'The peach house (sampling peaches)' W H Allen and a gardener standing outside the peach house.
Page 41 'Gardener and family' almost certainly William Davies with his wife Harriett and daughters Margaret Louisa, Cicely and baby Nellie, with the window of the Lodge and a dog kennel behind them.
Page 42 'The Apiary' view of a beekeeper at a hive with W H Allen and George Allen in the background.
Page 43 'The herd' a group of Jersey cattle with W H Allen and two stock men.
Page 44 'Haymaking in Orchard' group of various people and W H Allen raking hay in the orchard.
Page 45 'Harvesting' W H Allen and various family members with farm workers who are making stooks in the field.
Page 46 'Shepherd and Flock' With W H Allen and George Allen to either side.
Page 47 'Eventide' W H Allen and George Allen watching as a groom holds a horse and two other horses graze. Dove house in the background.
Page 48 'Dairy' dairymaid standing holding a pale outside the door of the dairy.
Page 49 'Bailiff and family' - the bailiff stands in the middle to his right is a boy on a chair and further right a woman. To the bailiff's left is another woman sitting on a chair and to her left is a girl.
Page 50 'Golf House' - three men and a caddy about to play, the golf house in the background with three women on the veranda.
Page 51 'Windmotor and Well house'
Page 52 ' Shooting (Covert), W H Allen with beaters and guns.
Page 53 '(Rabbits)' two men at the burrow while three other men and a boy watch and W H Allen stands ready with a gun.
Page 54 'Going to Meet' W H Allen, son and daughter on horses.
Page 55 'Wood Entrance Lodge' W H Allen (?) at the gate watching a nurse with a baby in a pram, another woman with a baby in the background.
Page 56 'Butler and family' probably Alfred G Wheeler, his wife Margaret and daughters Mabel and Margaret, outside The Lodge.
Page 57 'Electric Pump House' with the pump attendant standing at the door.
Page 58 'Salem Thrift (as it was) view across open field with trees in the background.
While it is It is probable that many of the women and men who appear in many of the pictures are Bee, Lulu and Harold Allen (Bee and Harold both married in 1903 and Lulu in 1913, Gladys Allen is another possibility as she didn't marry until 1922. However, Kenneth Allen says that 'Lulu Sanders, Maimee Longhurst, Bee Sanders and Gladys Hickey before marriage or whilst their husbands continued their chosen professions overseas, acted as hostess for their father. Their husbands joined them when on leave.'