Janine - "In the autumn of 1835 the Duchess of Kent and the Princess [Victoria - aged 16] went as far north as York. At York they remained a week with Archbishop Harcourt at Bishopsthorpe ("studying the Minster - second only to Westminster among English abbeys - and gracing with the presence of royalty the great York Musical Festival"), were the guests of the Earl of Harewood, at Harewood House, and visited Lord Fitzwilliam at Wentworth House [near Sheffield], whence she went over to the races at Doncaster. She was the guest of the Duke of Rutland at Belvoir House, was enthusiastically received by the people of Stamford, and was next entertained by the Marquis of Exeter at Burghley." In this linear itinerary, Newark on Trent would come after the visit to Doncaster races and before the visit to Belvoir Castle. Belvoir is (neatly!) around 15 miles to the south of Newark although Grantham is the nearer main line train station. Perhaps there had been an incident and the rail line from Newark to Grantham had been unexpectedly blocked? In an effort to complete their journey, the royal party might have sought local transportation and drivers? Queen Victoria kept a very detailed journal (111 volumes) and I believe the text is available for researchers. Perhaps you could locate the 1835 entries regarding her Yorkshire visit and see if she mentions anything about leaving the train at Newark? I don't know the source of Samuel's obituary, and I'm treading very softly here but could I suggest a handwritten 'Sch' might just be misread as 'Bel' and 'arvau' isn't too far from 'voir' although as a ex-postman, Samuel might have been expected to have been a little more accurate. We've all seen far worse 'guesses' in transcriptions of parish records. In this case you might also have to factor in the almost inevitable mispronunciation of the word 'Belvoir' (pronounced 'Beaver'). There again, I could be completely wrong on all counts! - Steve -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: 27 May 2007 16:54 To: [email protected] Subject: [ENG-CAMS] Queen Victoria's visit Geoffry, An interesting little story about my grtx3 grandfather Samuel Giddens and Queen Victoria who was Princess at the time. Samuel eventually immigrated to the U.S. and settled in Ohio. This was in his obituary. In 1835, he was in Newark on Trent. "While here and still engaged as postman in 1835, the Princess Victoria and her mother, the Duchess of Kent, stopped at the station enroute to the Doncaster races and Mr. Giddens was engaged to drive them to Scharvaumore, a distance of fifteen miles. On his return he had a few words with his landlord and left, resolving to come to America........." Would someone of royalty like this, have just stopped and hired a total stranger to drive them? Seems odd. Im assuming the Doncaster races were horse races? Is Scharvaumore a town or one of their homes or what? Thanks so much, Janine ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message