Saturday 30 April 2011

Surrey, Richmond, Hill Rise c1905 and c1913

Surrey, Richmond, Hill Rise circa 1905 and circa 1913. Here are a couple of postcards that show Hill Rise before all of the buildings on the left side of the street were demolished. It does make Hill Rise more open and airy, but it has lost some of its cluttered charm. Google Street View does not go up Hill Rise for some reason, so the 'now' pictures are ones I took a few days ago on my telephone as I was passing through. Postcards by LL  and W. H. Applebee. The LL postcard is a little earlier than the WHA and was taken a little further up the hill. Click the pictures to enlarge. For more old photographs please visit Sepia Saturday.



Thursday 28 April 2011

Upchurch, Kent, The Brown Jug pub, c1920

Upchurch, Kent, The Brown Jug pub, circa 1920. It is good to see that the Brown Jug is still in business. I'm guessing the date of this postcard to around 1920. It is very interesting to see how this building has changed, it has lost the door at the side and the moulding that separates the two storeys. However it is essentially unchanged and has no obvious modern extensions or alterations. I assume one of the ladies in the postcard is the landlady, E. Packer (see detail below). Postcard publisher unknown. Click to enlarge.



Sunday 24 April 2011

Guildford, Surrey, St Nicolas' Church c1910

Guildford, Surrey, St Nicolas' Church circa 1910. St Nicolas is at the lower end of the High Street. This church was built in 1876 on the site of an earlier building. I think the WHA postcard below called 'Lady's Chapel' may actually be 'Loseley Chapel'. Postcards by Young & Co of Teddington and WHA, click to enlarge.



View Larger Map

Thursday 21 April 2011

Feltham, Middlesex, St Dunstan's Road c1911

Feltham, Middlesex, St Dunstan's Road circa 1911. It is pleasing to see that the house on the left has survived and you can just make out the church through the trees. Postcard published by Young & Co of Teddington. Click to enlarge.




View Larger Map

Tuesday 19 April 2011

Slough, Berkshire, William Street c1913

Slough, Berkshire, William Street circa 1913. I'm not sure if the postcard photograph was taken a little further back, the area is so unrecognisable now. Postcard published by W. H. Applebee.




View Larger Map

Saturday 16 April 2011

High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, Frogmore Fountain c1912

High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, Frogmore Fountain circa 1912. This fountain was apparently scrapped to provide metal for the war effort in the 1940s. It's a shame because it was quite magnificent. The square looks very ordinary without it. This postcard was published by W. H Applebee.



View Larger Map

Here's an earlier view from a different angle on a postcard by Young & Co. For more old photographs please visit Sepia Saturday.

Wednesday 13 April 2011

South London, Battersea, Eccles Road 1906

South London, Battersea, Eccles Road 1906. Early postcard by Young & Co of Teddington.



View Larger Map

Sunday 10 April 2011

Uxbridge, Middlesex, The Chiltern View Tavern c1906

Uxbridge, Middlesex, The Chiltern View Tavern c1906. It looks like a cycling club meeting, the cyclists all wear a cap with a badge on it. The Chiltern View Tavern is in a sorry state now, boarded up and unloved. I think it closed its doors for the last time in 2006. I'm sure it won't be long before it is demolished and the site used for more luxury flats. A more detailed view is shown below. Click the pictures to enlarge.



View Larger Map

Saturday 9 April 2011

Southfields, South West London, Elliott School c1911

Southfields, South West London, Elliott School circa 1911. The Elliot School was founded in 1904 in Southfields. This is a rare view of the original school. In 1956 the school moved to Putney. The original site in Southfields is now the home of Southfields Community College. For more old pictures please visit Sepia Saturday. Click the picture to enlarge.



View Larger Map

Wednesday 6 April 2011

Sutton, Surrey, Grove Road Showing Post Office c1910

Sutton, Surrey, Grove Road Showing Post Office circa 1910. This scene has changed almost beyond recognition. Postcard by Young & Co of Teddington.


View Larger Map

Monday 4 April 2011

Chertsey, Surrey, The Vine Inn c1927

Chertsey, Surrey, The Vine Inn circa 1927. Sadly, this old pub has recently closed down and the lovely old cottage next door has been demolished. The remarkable thing about this picture is the squirrel carved from a log above the window. I wonder what happened to that? Postcard published by W. H. Applebee.



View Larger Map

Friday 1 April 2011

Twickenham, Middlesex, The Pelabon Works 1914-1918 - Sepia Saturday

Twickenham, Middlesex, The Pelabon Works 1914-1918. After Germany had invaded Belgium at the start of World War One, thousands of Belgian refugees fled to England. Most stayed with ordinary English families and they must have found it very strange. Eager to help the fight in liberating their country, armaments factories were built and some, like the Pelabon Works in Twickenham, were staffed by refugees and wounded soldiers. Converted from a roller-skating rink in 1914-15 by Collinsons of Teddington, The Pelabon Works was a hand-grenade factory. Charles Pelabon was a Belgian Industrialist. After the war the factory was converted into the famous Richmond Ice Rink. The Ice Rink was eventually demolished in 1992 to make way for the luxury flats overlooking the Thames which you can see in the modern Street View. In this first picture, taken on the 21st of July 1917,  you can see a group of workers from 'Section 16 Departement des Gaines Russes' which loosely translates as 'the glove-puppet' department. Presumably the glove-puppet was one of the components of the early hand-grenades. This is one of my favourite postcards in my collection. I've scanned this one at 300 dpi so that if you click to enlarge it you can gaze upon the faces of these workers in detail. I can't imagine how these young women felt to be so far from home, doing horrible work for long hours in the hope that their struggle would assist in the liberation of their country and their own repatriation. You can see the determination in their faces. By the way they are holding hands or linking arms you can also see they are good friends.
Click the pictures to enlarge them!

















The photograph below shows a group of male workers having a break. On the wheel of the traction engine it says 'London' and 'Vive la Belge'. The presence of rail freight carriages in the background indicate this may have been taken somewhere near Twickenham railway station.
















Finally, a postcard showing Collinsons building the factory. The Street View shows the flats that now stand on the site. For more old pictures please visit Sepia Saturday.



View Larger Map

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...