ONE-hundred-and-ten-years-ago this month, Salisbury welcomed the King and Queen of England who were the guests of the Earl and Countess of Pembroke, the visit being of a private character.

After loyal addresses of welcome from the mayor and corporation at the Railway Station, the royal visitors passed through streets filled with thousands of citizens. Indeed, the route to Wilton House was lined with masses of people anxious to give them a loyal welcome and Wilton Road in particular, was magnificently decorated with flags, bunting and streamers.

Our photograph this week shows the royal carriage as it travelled down South Western Road and the Salisbury Journal reported that “The Plume of Feathers had a generous output of flags and bright were the premises of Messrs Hart and Co, at the corner of South Western Road. Here, too, the entrance at the Salisbury, Semley, and Gillingham Dairies was nicely ornamented with two red ensigns, in the centre of which was a large royal crown. The other houses in the road displayed plenty of colour and there was also a motto which read God bless them both.”

The Journal continued by describing the scene on Wilton Road. “The crowd was densest between Fisherton Railway Bridge and St. Paul’s Church. A few minutes after half past five the sound of distant cheering was a signal that the King and Queen were commencing their journey towards Wilton Road. Outside Fisherton House Asylum the space on the footpath had been reserved for school children, many equipped with small Union Jack flags. The Queen appeared to be especially pleased with the children’s greeting and smiled and bowed to them as she passed. Mr. and Mrs. Chubb gave a large garden party in the grounds of Bemerton Lodge, to which the pupils of the Godolphin School and the Choristers School were invited, and from here an excellent view of the procession was obtained.”