1 Abbey Cottages (Abbey Place)(Snows Cottages), Abbey Street, Cambridge

History of 1 Abbey Cottages

1861 (1 Abbey Place)

travelling

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1870

In 1861 Thomas Snow and Jane were living in New Street, 47, where he was a carter.

Thomas Snow died in 1870. This valuation of his estate is held by the Museum of Cambridge:

INVENTORY AND VALUATION

Dated December 10th 1870

Inventory and Valuation of Household Furniture, Stock in Trade and Effects the property of the late Mr Thomas Snow, of Abbey Street in the parish of St Andrew the Less in the Town of Cambridge.

Washhouse

Fender, Spade, Rake and Hoe, Stool, Broom, large Brown Pan, Wood Bowl, Washtrough, Copper and Furnace, Parafin Lamp, cane seat chair, Painted Cupboard, Mahogany Two-leaf Table, Mahogany Table.

Back Kitchen

Copper Kettle, Copper Saucepan, Four Iron ditto ditto, Frying Pan, Two Tin Dutch Ovens, Two Tin Bowls, Brown pan.

Sitting Room

Fender and Fireirons, Metal Tea Pot, Twelve Pictures, Two Oil Paintings, Six Brass Candlesticks, Five Trays, Spittoon, Cocoa Fibre Matting, Hearth Rug, Two mats, Metal Tea Pot and Coffee Pot, two half pint pewters, Looking Glass, Part of a Set of China Tea Service, Dinner Service, One Cane-seat Chair, Sundry Books, Four ?? Elbow Wood-seat Chairs, Mahogany Two-leaf Table, Round Table and Cover, Eight-day Clock in Wainscot Case.

Parlour

Brass-mounted Fender with Standards and Fireirons, Oil Cloth, Drugget, Hearth Rug, Chimney Ornaments, Set of China Tea Service, Sundry China, Four Cut-glass Decanters, Four Wine Glasses, Three Glass Sugar Basins, Cream Jug, Sundry Glass, Earthern Tureen, Two Green Dessert Dishes, Parafin Lamp, Bread Basket, Six Small Engravings, Six Large Pictures Framed and Glazed, Sundry Books, Eight-day Clock in Mahogany Case, Mahogany Card Table on Pillar and claws, ditto ditto ditto, Six Mahogany Chairs in leather, 2 mahogany chairs in hair seating, Mahogany-frame Easy Chair in American Cloth, Case of Birds Gilt Chimney Glass, Chandelier, Mahogany-frame Sofa in Hair Seating, Antimacassars.

Back Bed room

Painted Iron Bedstead, Feather Bed, Bolster and Three Pillows, Two Mattresses, Three Blankets, One Sheet, Three Counterpanes, 2 & 1 elbow Cane-seat Chairs, One Rush-seat Chair, Mahogany Chest of Drawers, looking Glass, Three Pictures, Two Oil Paintings, Piece of Drugget, Blind, roler and fittings.

Front Bed room

Painted Iron Bedstead, Two Feather Beds, One Bolster and Three Pillows, Mattress, Two Blankets, Counterpane, Two Pieces of Carpet, hearth  rug,  Night Commode, invalid chair, Washstand and Ware, Three Oil Paintings, Nine Pictures, Small Round Clock, Chimney Glass and Ornaments, Brass-mounted Fender, Mahogany Round Table and Cover, Two elbow Cane-seat Chairs, mahogany frame Dressing Glass, Mahogany Chest of Drawers and Toilet Cover, antimacassar, 2 white blinds, blind roler and fittings.

Linen

about 1 dozen towels, 3 table cloths, 5 sheets, 5 blankets, 6 pillow cases.

Silver

Watch and gold chain

Staircase

Picture

Stock in Trade
One Large Marquee 148 feet by 37 feet with Ropes, Tables, Forms, Trussells and Furniture complete; One shell-pole Marquee 52 feet by 22 feet with Dancing Boards; Lamps with Furniture belonging; Large Iron Horse Rolls; Hand Roller; Bell Tent; 1 Two-pole Tent Marquee; Flag Poles; Eleven Silk Flags; Square Marquee 39 feet by 18 Poles and Ropes.

Valuation
I the undersigned Octavius Parker do hereby value all the foregoing described Household Furniture, Stock in Trade and Effects at the sum of Three Hundred and Ninety Pounds, Seven Shillings and Sixpence.

£390 7s. 6d.

Octavius Parker

Auctioneer, Valuer and Estate Agent,

7 Sidney Street,

Cambridge.

December, 1870.

INVENTORY AND VALUATION OF STOCK IN TRADE
The property of the late Mr Thomas Snow of Abbey Street in the Parish of St Andrew the Less in the Town of Cambridge.

Stock in Trade
One Large Marquee 148 feet by 37 feet with Ropes, Tables, Forms, Trussells and Furniture complete; One Three-pole Marquee 52 feet by 22 feet with Dancing Boards; Pumps with Furniture belonging; Large Iron Horse Roll; Hand Roler; Bell Tent; Two-pole Tent; Marquee; Flag Poles; Eleven Silk Flags; Square Marquee 39 feet by 18 feet; Poles and Ropes.

Valuation
I the undersigned Octavius Parker do hereby value all the above described Stock in Trade at the sum of Eighty-nine Pounds, Eleven Shillings and Sixpence.

£89 11s. 6d.

Octavius Parker

Auctioneer, Valuer and Estate Agent,

7 Sidney Street,

Cambridge.

December, 1870.

Commentary: Thomas Snow of Abbey Street: A Window into Victorian Cambridge
The inventory and valuation of the estate of Thomas Snow, compiled following his death in December 1870, is much more than a list of household possessions. It offers a rare glimpse into the life of a successful Victorian businessman and reveals that Abbey Street was home not only to labourers and artisans but also to prosperous entrepreneurs whose influence extended well beyond their immediate neighbourhood.

At first glance, the inventory describes a comfortable and well-furnished home. Snow’s house contained both a sitting room and a formal parlour, furnished with mahogany tables and chairs, leather seating, china tea services, cut-glass decanters, chandeliers and decorative ornaments. Throughout the house were more than thirty pictures, several oil paintings, books, two eight-day clocks and even a case of stuffed birds, reflecting the Victorian enthusiasm for natural history. Such possessions were markers of respectability and suggest that Snow had achieved a level of prosperity considerably above that of many of his Abbey Street neighbours.

The inventory also hints at the realities of Victorian domestic life. The washhouse, with its copper, furnace and wash trough, reminds us of the labour involved in maintaining a household before modern conveniences, while the invalid chair and night commode found in the front bedroom suggest that illness or old age had become part of family life before Thomas Snow’s death.

The most remarkable part of the inventory, however, lies in the separate valuation of Snow’s business. His stock in trade consisted of enormous marquees, tents, dancing boards, tables, forms, flagpoles and eleven silk flags. The principal marquee measured an impressive 148 feet by 37 feet, capable of accommodating hundreds of people. This was not a small sideline but a substantial commercial enterprise supplying temporary buildings and equipment for agricultural shows, church feasts, political meetings, village celebrations, university events and public entertainments across Cambridge and the surrounding countryside.

The figures themselves are revealing. Snow’s total estate was valued at £390 7s. 6d., of which almost £90 represented the value of his marquee business alone. This was a significant investment in specialist equipment and demonstrates that he had built a successful enterprise requiring capital, organisation and skilled labour.

The inventory also helps explain why Thomas Snow’s name survived long after his death. The terrace known as Snow’s Cottages in Abbey Street almost certainly reflects his ownership of property in the area. This interpretation is strengthened by the 1871 census, taken only months after his death, in which his widow Jane Snow was described as “living from house property.” Rather than continuing her husband’s business, she appears to have been supported by income from rental properties, suggesting that Thomas Snow had invested in housing as well as his commercial enterprise. Like many successful Victorian tradesmen, he had diversified his wealth, providing long-term security for his family.

Taken together, the inventory, valuation and census records reveal Thomas Snow as much more than the occupant of a house in Abbey Street. He was a successful entrepreneur, a property owner and a man whose prosperity was reflected in both his business and his home. His story also reminds us that nineteenth-century Abbey Street was socially diverse. Alongside poverty and overcrowding lived men and women who built successful businesses, invested in property and left a lasting mark on the neighbourhood. Every mention of Snow’s Cottages preserves the memory of one such individual, while this remarkable inventory allows us to glimpse both the material world he created and the ambitions that shaped Victorian Cambridge.

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1871 (1 Snows Cottages)

Jane Snow, 63, widow, from house property, b Histon

Elizabeth S Abbott, niece, 23, servant, b Histon

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1873

Jane Snow died aged 64 and was buried at Holy Trinity.

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1913

Elijah Johnson