Monday 28 February 2011

Hounslow, Middlesex, Great West Road c1955

Hounslow, Middlesex, Great West Road circa 1955. Anyone who has travelled by car from Central London to Heathrow Airport will have passed though here and will no doubt have been frustrated by the traffic lights impeding their progress every few hundred yards. Just right of center you can see an old-style police box, familiar the world over to Dr. Who fans as the Tardis. I don't know what The Doctor was doing in Great West Road in the early 1950s, but perhaps he'd stopped by to pick up some groceries before he set off on another inter-galactic journey. This postcard was published by E. A. Wilson, who was the stepson of Charles Mitchell, who was the step-brother of W. H. Applebee.



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Sunday 27 February 2011

Brill, Buckinghamshire, The Square c1912

Brill, Buckinghamshire, The Square circa 1912. Brill is a small village in the west of Buckinghamshire. The war memorial you can see in the Google Street View obviously does not appear in the pre-WW1 postcard. The tall building just left of centre has been replaced at some point. This postcard was published by W. H. Applebee, and although it does not feature his usual WHA number on the front, WHA is printed on the back.



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Saturday 26 February 2011

Scotland, Orkney Isles, Scapa Flow, SMS Hindenburg, Scuttled 21 June 1919

Not so much a 'then and now' today, but more a 'before and after'. These old postcards show the battlecruiser SMS Hindenburg before and after her scuttling in 1919. I don't have the space here to describe the events of the scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet at Scapa Flow, but the wikipedia entry is a good place to start and has some good links at the end of the article.
The first postcard shows the ship in 1918. The message on the back of the card is remarkable - posted (probably in a letter) from Houton Bay Seaplane Base on the Orkney Isles, Saturday 21st June 1919 - "Dear Vi, this is a jolly photograph isn't it. I think I know the fellow that took it he is a schoolmaster at a little school in the Orkneys, quite close to where I stayed. Well all but one of the big ships were sunk today and only two light cruisers were saved. Luckily includes the Emden, she is beached close to a seaplane station.  A destroyer dashed alongside her and sailors boarded her with cutlasses and revolvers & forced her crew to save the ship. Well cheers, Ted". The second postcard shows what the Hindenburg looked like after the scuttling. The wreck was eventually raised and scrapped in 1930. The Street View image below doesn't show any view of the wrecks, but it does show how beautiful Scapa Flow is today. As usual, click on the pictures to enlarge. This is my entry for today's Sepia Saturday blog.



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Friday 25 February 2011

Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey, Winter On The Thames 1906

Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey, Winter On The Thames, showing Lower Ham Road. A very wintry scene from late 1906 or January 1907. This postcard was posted in January 1907 and was published by Young & Co of Teddington. As usual, click to enlarge.



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Thursday 24 February 2011

Dorchester, Dorset, Judge Jeffreys Lodgings c1910

Dorchester, Dorset, Judge Jeffreys Lodgings c1910. Judge Jeffreys (1645-1689) was known as "The Hanging Judge" because of the punishments he meted out to supporters of Monmouth's Rebellion. Nearly 200 were hanged. Apparently the building on the left was where he stayed. In the 1910's postcard we can see it was a shop, 'Groves, the County Clothing and Outfitting Stores'. It is now a restaurant fittingly called 'The John Jeffreys'. Dorchester is the county town of Dorset and is a popular destination for tourists and day-trippers.



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Detail from postcard:

Wednesday 23 February 2011

Holloway Road, North London, Nags Head c1905

Holloway Road, North London, Nags Head c1905. This magnificent pub is in a sorry state now. In the Google Street View we can see it has become an arcade for fruit machines. Despite the bright colours it doesn't look very cheerful to me. The Nag's Head was well known and gave its name to the local area. This postcard was posted in 1906 and was probably published by Stengel & Co.


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Tuesday 22 February 2011

Laleham, Middlesex, All Saints Church c1912

Laleham, Middlesex, All Saints Church circa 1912. The church looks quite different without its ivy covering. Parts of the church date back over 800 years. Postcard by W. H. Applebee of Ashford.




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Monday 21 February 2011

High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, Daws Hill Lodge c1912

High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, Daws Hill Lodge c1912. Postcard by W. H. Applebee. The lodge is still there. It is the entrance to a park that used to be called the Marquis of Lincolnshire's Park. I wonder if the tiny fir tree is the same as the one that stands there now. Click to enlarge.



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Sunday 20 February 2011

Frieth, Buckinghamshire, c1912

 Frieth, Buckinghamshire, c1912. Frieth is a very pretty village to the west of High Wycombe. On the left you can see Frieth Post Office, now a private house. The boy is holding an umbrella to protect him from the sun (no sunglasses back then!). The postcard was published by W. H. Applebee of Ashford.



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Saturday 19 February 2011

York, Micklegate, Warriner's Motor and Cycle Shop c1910 - Sepia Saturday

York, Micklegate, Warriner's Motor and Cycle Shop c1910. George William Warriner (1864-1949) had this shop at 138 Micklegate, York, close to the 14th century Micklegate Bar. In the modern Street View below, 138 Micklegate is the blue-fronted shop. It is now a knitwear shop called Bill Baber. In the old postcard view you can see a gramophone horn on display inside the shop. I think it was not unusual for early gramophones to be sold by engineers rather than music shops. Eagle-eyed viewers may also be able to spot a 'His Master's Voice' poster. I am not expert enough to tell you the make of the motorcycles in the window or outside, but if anyone can identify them it may help to date the picture more accurately. It looks like the motorcycle in the window is priced at £37. In the 1911 census Warriner described himself as a 'motor and cycle engineer', but in the 1901 census, when he was living not far away in Price Street, he was a 'bicycle maker'. In the 1891 census he was a guard on the railway. Both Warriner and his wife Annie were born in York, but curiously their daughter Dora was born in 1898 in Texas, U.S.A. Perhaps the Warriners spent some time in the U.S.A. while Warriner honed his engineering skills. This postcard was posted in 1910. Click to enlarge.
Please visit Sepia Saturday for more old photographs.



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Friday 18 February 2011

Guildford, Surrey, Joseph's Road c1912

Guildford, Surrey, Joseph's Road c1912. It is very pleasing to see that this view has hardly changed at all in the last hundred years. Postcard published by W. H. Applebee.




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Thursday 17 February 2011

Addlestone, Surrey, Woodham Lane c1912

Addlestone, Surrey, Woodham Lane c1912. Unfortunately this area is not so tranquil today. The bridge that you can see in the modern Street View carries the M25 motorway. The church is called All Saints Church. I'm not sure if the road used to be called Woodham Road, or if it is a mistake by the postcard publisher. It is definitely called Woodham Lane today. Strictly speaking it is not Addlestone, it is New Haw. This is an early postcard published by W. H. Applebee of Ashford, Middlesex.



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Wednesday 16 February 2011

Cabri, Saskatchewan, Canada, Skyscrapers

Cabri, Saskatchewan, Skyscrapers (Grain Elevators). For a change I'm showing a postcard that doesn't come from England. This shows the Grain Elevators in Cabri, Saskatchewan, Canada. I don't know the date of this postcard, but Online Highways says that after 1918 Cabri had nine elevators and this postcard shows all nine. I can only see three now. A wonderful image, when I saw this postcard I just had to have it despite it not being my usual area of postcard collecting.




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Tuesday 15 February 2011

Whitstable, Kent, The Cross c1908

Whitstable, Kent, The Cross c1908. Whitstable is a pretty seaside town in Kent, famous for its oysters. This picture shows the Duke of Cumberland Hotel, still in business. On the right you can see the sign for the wonderfully named Bear and Key Hotel, sadly defunct. There is a very good web page about the Bear and Key at this link, with some evocative photographs. This postcard was published by the excellent postcard publisher Arthur Newell Filmer of Faversham, born in 1855. He later moved to Whitstable (after this postcard was published). I have quite a few of his postcards and will be showing more of them on this blog in the future.




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Monday 14 February 2011

Hersham Green, Surrey, c1910.

Hersham Green, Surrey, c1910. The Watermans Arms is still there, but the post office is no longer a post office. This postcard was originally published by Young & Co of Teddington, but this is a later reprint by W. H. Applebee. Click to enlarge.




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The two postcards below show a view taken further back from the above card. First is the Young & Co original and below it is the later WHA reprint. Young took a few postcards of this area that feature this man. He bears a striking similarity to Mr Young himself. I think this may be a little bit of vanity by Mr Young, appearing in his own postcards. Sadly the pond no longer exists. On the right is the Fox and Goat pub (with the Cobham Brewery sign), now a travel agent. Click to enlarge.


Sunday 13 February 2011

Putney, S. W. London, Upper Richmond Road c1920

Putney, South West London, Upper Richmond Road circa 1920. The magnificent cinema has been replaced by a tree. The signs outside the cinema are advertising the films 'What Would You Do?' and 'The Auction Mart', which both came out in 1920. The Fox and Hounds pub is now just called the Fox. This postcard was published by E. R. Deacon of Roehampton.




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Saturday 12 February 2011

Hampton Hill, Middesex, Fire Brigade Procession, 12 June 1910 - Sepia Saturday

Hampton Hill, Middesex, Fire Brigade Procession, 12 June 1910. In the centre of the picture is the Jenny Lind pub, sadly closed down recently. Postcard by Young & Co of Teddington. Young published many postcards of public events like this, anywhere where there was a crowd. Festivals, fetes, marches, funerals, fairs, public proclamations, his photographers were there. Next day the participants could buy a postcard of the event hoping to see a picture of themselves in the crowd.
Please visit Sepia Saturday for more old photographs. Click to enlarge.




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Friday 11 February 2011

Iver, Buckinghamshire, High Street c1908

Iver, Buckinghamshire, High Street c1908. The Swan is still in business. Postcard by Young & Co of Teddington.



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Thursday 10 February 2011

West Byfleet, Surrey, c1912 and c1930

West Byfleet, Surrey, c1912 and c1930. The view hasn't changed much over the years, though the tree on the right has gone. The church is St. Johns, completed in 1912. The first postcard was published by W. H. Applebee in about 1912 and the second by Joseph Warren Mortimer in about 1930. Mortimer took over the WHA postcard business in about 1928, but only lasted a few years. Many of the later WHA postcards were photographed by him, but by about 1930 he changed the WHA prefix on the captions to his own initials, JWM. He lived in the same house in Ashford that Applebee's widow lived in when she was running the business. Mortimer was born in the same year as William Applebee, 1884. He died in 1955.




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Wednesday 9 February 2011

Liphook, Station Road, c1912

Liphook, Station Road, c1912. It is good to see that the Welcome Restaurant is still a cafe. You can see a sign for 1d Monsters. Penny Monsters were a pint of fizzy soft drink for a penny. They are mentioned in 'Coming Up For Air' by George Orwell. The sign on the ground is also advertising Monsters. Postcard by W. H. Applebee.






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Tuesday 8 February 2011

Hounslow Heath, Middlesex Showing the Hussar Pub c1913

Hounslow Heath, Middlesex Showing the Hussar Pub in Staines Road c1913. This is the pub shown in yesterday's post. There is still a pub called the Hussar here but it is very different. It was probably named after the 7th Queen's Own Hussars who were stationed at the nearby Hounslow Barracks. On the left is The Perseverance tea and coffee stall run by a man with the wonderful name of Henry Blizzard Henderson. This postcard was published by the newsagent George Burton of 345 Staines Road Hounslow, but the photograph was probably by Young & Co (the writing style of the caption is identical to Young's later postcards). Burton mainly published postcards of Hounslow Barracks. Click to enlarge.




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Monday 7 February 2011

Hounslow, Middlesex, The Tram Terminus c1912

Hounslow, Middlesex, The Tram Terminus in Staines Road circa 1912. On the far left of the picture is the Hussar pub. This pub will feature in tomorrow's blog post. Next to that is a newsagents, then a pub called the Light Horse. The Light Horse no longer exists. I don't know anything about trams, so I can't tell you what type it is. Perhaps an informed reader can enlighten us? I think the pillar nearest the camera is a vent for the sewer. On the far right of the picture under the X is a poster advertising Polaire at the London Opera House (see my Hounslow Broadway post for more about this poster). Postcard by W. H. Applebee. Click to enlarge.




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Detail of the tram, click to enlarge:

Sunday 6 February 2011

Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, High Street c1910

Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, High Street c1910. The building on the far right of the picture is the Black Bear pub. Postcard by Young & Co of Teddington.



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Saturday 5 February 2011

Hindhead, Surrey, Post Office Corner c1905 - Sepia Saturday

Hindhead, Surrey, Post Office Corner circa 1905. The top postcard was published by Edward Gane Inge, a pharmacist and prolific postcard publisher from nearby Haslemere. By about 1910 he had moved to Norfolk and his pharmacy was sold to Wiles and Holman. The other postcard is clearly from the same negative and was published by W. H. Applebee in about 1912. It is probable that Applebee bought some of Inge's negatives when he moved to Norfolk. Sepia Saturday's theme this week is cars, but unfortunately my main image is not sepia and there are no cars. Fortunately the WHA is sepia, and the Street View has some cars!





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Friday 4 February 2011

Weybridge, Surrey, High Street showing Zenith Motor Works c1913

Weybridge, Surrey, High Street c1913. The most striking thing about this postcard is the Zenith motorcycle company's factory right in the High Street, in a small shop, now replaced by a pub called the 'Percy Lambert'.  Zenith moved their factory in 1909 to Weybridge High Street to be close to Brooklands racing circuit. Zenith were a very innovative company and were very successful at racing. The company was run by Freddie Barnes. The sign on the right-hand column says 'Makers of "Zenith" - Bicar (patented) - "Zenette" - Tri-Car'. Check out these links for more info on Zenith:

Vintagent
Wikipedia Entry
Grace's Guide

The Street View is not showing quite the correct angle. If you move forward in the Street View you can see the rest of the street. The left part of the pub occupies Zenith Motor Works and the right side is where International Stores were. Percy Lambert was a racing car driver who raced at Brooklands. I think they should rename the pub to the 'Freddie Barnes', it would be far more appropriate. The grand looking building further on down the street is Holstein Hall, a theatre, now demolished. Holstein Hall will be featuring on this blog in the near future. This postcard was published by Holman of Surbiton, whose postcards are known for their excellent quality. Click to enlarge.




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In the close-up below you can see some workers lounging around in the upper window, possibly having a tea break. Click to enlarge.

Thursday 3 February 2011

Ashford, Middlesex, Wolsey Road c1912

Ashford, Middlesex, Wolsey Road circa 1912. Today's post commemorates the tragic death exactly 96 years ago of the publisher of this postcard, William Henry Applebee. He died on the 3rd of February 1915 at the age of 30 in Middlesex County Asylum in Tooting (also known as Springfield Asylum). His death certificate gives the cause of death as
(1) Exhaustion from mania, 17 days
(2) Heart failure. No post mortem.
Unfortunately it is not yet known how or why he suffered this terrible fate. I am still working on finding this out. It does seem extraordinary they allowed him to suffer seventeen days of mania without sedating him. His widow, Lucy Annie Applebee, lived until 1972. She never remarried and on her death certificate her occupation was given as 'widow of William Applebee, photographer'. She continued the postcard business until the late 1920s, assisted by William's step-brother, Charles Mitchell. Mitchell remained in the postcard business right up until his death in the mid 1960s.

This rather unremarkable postcard shows the road that Applebee lived in with his wife. They lived in a house called 'Woodbine'. Curiously, on his death certificate he is listed as living at the house next door, 'Wolverdene'. Another little mystery to be solved.




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Below: Middlesex County Asylum, Tooting, taken a few years after Applebee's death when it had been temporarily converted to a war hospital. Springfield University Hospital is still in use as a psychiactric hospital.

Wednesday 2 February 2011

New Malden, Surrey, Coombe Road and Royal Oak c1908

New Malden, Surrey, Coombe Road and Royal Oak c1908. Postcard by Young & Co of Teddington. Young would have been very familiar with this area, his wife Annie was living in nearby Lime Grove before they married in 1902 at the local Wesleyan Methodist church. The Royal Oak pub looks surprisingly similar, but the in the surrounding area only the distant trees show any trace of the semi-rural idyll suggested by the postcard.



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Tuesday 1 February 2011

Sunningdale, Berkshire, The Rise c1912

Sunningdale, Berkshire, The Rise c1912. Postcard published by W. H. Applebee. The building on the left was a post office. It is now the premises of an estate agent.



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