Dimbole lodge

Dimbole lodge
In 1860, two adjacent houses in Terrace Lane Freshwater Bay, were purchased. Farrington House, the home of Lord Alfred Tennyson, and Dimbola Lodge home to Julia Margaret Cameron who was a portrait photographer. They were built on the edge of Farringford Estate, which was home to local fisherman and a cargo master. Julia researched the history of the sites, and later linked them together with a 'gothic'style tower and named the new building'Dimbole lodge'. The coal house was turned into her dark room, and the glazed fowl house which was given to her children, i.e. hens and chickens. Soon after, this was dedicated to the works of poets, painters, prophets anf lonely maidens, which gave this humble little farm a colourful and enchanting history.

The Tower Room Gallery
This delightful gallery contains many diagrams and photograghs depicting the history of the Dimdola Lodge. This fascinating archive evidence from when the Cameron bought these two adjacent houses in the year of 1860, right through to the present day gives us a glimpse into how people lived in those Victorian times. Today, Dimbola Lodge still dominates the skyline around Freshwater Bay, the centrepiece being Terrace Lane, which is the main road to the square. This cornstone of the importance remains unspoilt, and and gives us a glimpse of Victorian architural taste. Since the 1990, the property called Cameron House, has been saved from demolition by a Charitable Trust. Dimbola Lodge is now a private residence with holiday flats.

Julia Margaret Comeron
Julia Margaret Cameron was born in Calcutta on 11th June, 1815. She was educated in Europe, and then returned to Calcutta to marry Chales Hay Cameron,returning with him back to England. Julia became part of the artistic community in England, which was based around her sister's house in Kensington. Other guests included Pre-Raphelites,Thomas Carlyle, the poet Henry Taylor, painter G F Watts, and the Poet Laureate Alfred Lord Tennyson. Julia became a close friend of the Tennyson family, and they often visited Farringford. Julia Margaret, was aged forty-nine by this time, and with all of her children now adults, her husband was most often abroad on business. As a result of this she suffered from loneliness, and her daughters, bought her a camera. From this, a simple but new hobby emerged, and instantly turned into an obsession. The comments in her book give a delightful glimpse of this lady:

Nothing in Julia Margaret Cameron's family background, or personal circumstances serves to explain why at the age of 48, presented with a camera as a gift from her two daughters, she embraced photography with an avidity that bordered on obsession. Born in Calcutta to a well-to-do British family, she was educated in France and England. In 1838 she married the jurist Charles Hay Cameron. They settled in Sri Lanka (Ceylon), where in addition to working on the legal code of that country, Charles Cameron acquired a number of coffee plantations. In 1848 the Camerons returned to England and established themselves on the Isle of Wight. Julia Margaret Cameron died on 26th January 1869 in Ceylon. Dimbole Lodge Ghost Stories

It is, therefore, no surprise that photographer Julia MargaretCameron haunts her former home, which has been restored to its former glory and run by a charitable trust. Mrs Cameron's ghost has been seen, heard, and smelt in various parts of the building, and seems to be inquiative about the work being undertaken around her former home. The apparition of her pale spirit appears in on occasions wearing a silk taffeta dark bronze gown, which has a high neck collar with tight sleeves. Her hair is in ringlets and the dress rustles as she moves. Is this image sealing her approval over renovation work to save her former glorious residence?