Broadwater, Near Worthing, Sussex c1913

Broadwater, Near Worthing, Sussex c1913. In this photo by W. H. Applebee we can see an old horse-drawn bus. Within just a few years of this photo being taken all of the buses were replaced by more efficient motor buses. For a really good horse-drawn bus postcard you may be interested in this post - Putney Horse Bus. As always, click the postcard to enlarge.

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Brentford, Middlesex, Congregational Church c1910

Brentford, Middlesex, Congregational Church circa 1910. The church is now called Brentford Free Church and has been altered slightly. The building next door has gone. Postcard by Young & Co of Teddington.

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Englefield Green, Surrey, Alexandra Road c1914

Englefield Green, Surrey, Alexandra Road circa 1914. The buildings on the left appear to have survived relatively intact, though the prominent shop on the right hand side of the road advertising 'Colmans Starch' has gone. The children playing in the road have also gone, replaced by parked cars. You can see the sign for The Jolly Sandboy pub (probably just a beer house). The building still stands, but is now a private house. The house has a blue sign on its wall saying 'The Jolly Sandboy'. Postcard by W. H. Applebee, click to enlarge.

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Woking, Surrey c1930

Woking, Surrey c1930. The road on the left is Chertsey Road, to the right the High Street. The hotel on the left, the Albion Hotel, is long-gone. The current building on the site is at least called Albion House. You can just make out a woman in the top window of the hotel. The modern canopy you can see on the Google Street View is part of the rejuvenated Woking Railway Station. The building on the right of the picture that was a Barclays Bank is now a Budgens convenience store.
Postcard publisher not stated, but probably Charles Mitchell (1888 - 1961).
Click the postcard to enlarge.

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Chelsea, London, Dr Phene's House Of Mystery, c1916

Chelsea, London, Dr Phene's House Of Mystery, circa 1916. Dr. John Samuel Phene, a well-known resident of Chelsea, started to build this bizarre house in about 1901. Apparently it was regularly 'pulled to pieces' and rebuilt again. It never approached anything near completion. Dr Phene owned many properties in Chelsea and must have been quite wealthy. This house was apparently based on Phene's ancestoral home in France. The front was plastered in statues and painted in bright colours. The text above the front door reads 'Renaissance du chateau de Savenay' - rebirth of the house of Savenay. The house was never lived in. Dr Phene died in 1912 and the house was demolished by the early 1920s. Pictures of this little-known house are hard to come by, this is probably the best one you'll find on the Internet at the moment. More information on this fascinating building can be found here, here, here and here. Postcard by Johns. For more old photos please visit the Sepia Saturday blog.

Click the postcard to see an enlarged version. If you right-click the enlarged image you get an option to save it at the original 300dpi size, worth seeing if you want to see all of the detail.

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Sutton, Surrey, Cheam Road c1910 (2)

Sutton, Surrey, Cheam Road c1908. The road has changed, but the church is still there. Also see this post. Postcard by Young and Co of Teddington. Click the postcard to enlarge.

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Kingston, Surrey, Wyndham Road c1908

Kingston, Surrey, Wyndham Road circa 1908. Apart from the obvious cars, this pleasant road appears to have changed little in over a hundred years. The lack of street lighting must have made it difficult in the dark though. Postcard published by Young & Co of Teddington, click to enlarge.

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