At St Chad's in Saddleworth with the remarkable Mr Banks sometime in 1880

Now I am back with Mr Banks that remarkable photographer. 

Selling a photograph circa 1880

He was one of those self made Victorians who rose from humble beginnings to become a celebrated photographer capping his career with that seal of official approval which comes from the title “By Royal Appointment.”

He has caught my interest ever since my friend Sally began posting his photographs of Manchester in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

From 1873 and into the next century he recorded the great events of the city, along with the everyday life on the streets and portraits of the good and worthy of Manchester.

But here is one of those pictures he took of Saddleworth where he had his first studio.

The studio dated from 1867 and this picture of St Chad’s from around 1880.

St Chad's today

Now I don’t often do a then and now but I couldn’t resist in this case.

So here is his picture which appeared on photographs he sold  and the church as it is now courtesy of Saddleworth Churches.*

And because the pictures deserve a bit more here is the story of the church.

"There has been a place of Christian worship on the Parish Church site since 1215 AD, when the first Saddleworth Church was established as a chapel of ease as part of the Rochdale Parish, but in time became the possession of Whalley Abbey. 

St Chad's in the 1880s

Under the suppression of the churches by Henry VIII, the Abbey had to submit Quick Chapel€™, as it was then called, to the jurisdiction of Rochdale and more recently in 1866, patronage was transferred to the Bishop of Manchester.

The current grade 2* listed re-build, which stands in it’s own conservation area, is late Georgian. 

The interior, which includes the original gallery, has a pleasant warmth to it emanating a surprising light and colour. 

The stained glass tells the tale of the wildness of the weather in this area and the church does possess a fine Capronier depiction of the Visit of the Magi.

How to find us: Saddleworth St Chad Church, Church Road, Uppermill, Oldham OL3 6LW"

So there you have it a little bit more on Mr Banks and the story of the church he snapped.

 Pictures; St Chad’s circa 1880s, Robert Banks, courtesy of Saddleworth Museum, http://www.saddleworthmuseum.co.uk/ and St Chad’s today courtesy of Saddleworth Churches, http://saddleworthteam-cofe.org.uk/contact/

*Saddleworth Churches, http://saddleworthteam-cofe.org.uk/contact/

Another side of the remarkable and popular Manchester photographer Robert Banks

Uppermill circa 1890

Robert Banks was one of those remarkable Victorian self made men, who went from being a woollen piercer in a mill in Uppermill to a celebrated and sought after Manchester photographer who eventually gained the title by Royal Appointment.

Now I have written about him on a number of occasions, but knew nothing of the man or his achievements until my friend Sally began sharing his pictures.

And it would appear few other people knew much about him either and sadly the one book published on his work is now out of print.**

So not deterred by such minor obstacles I went looking for him and as you would one of my first ports of call was Uppermill and the Museum at Saddleworth.

And Mr Peter Fox the curator was able to supply both more of the story and some wonderful earlier images including this delightful advert dating from March 30 1867

Reverse of a photograph, circa 1890s

“ADVERT : R. BANKS, PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO, UPPERMILL
R. Banks respectfully informs the Public that he has now opened a Photographic Studio at Uppermill, Saddleworth - Open daily from 9 till dusk.****

I wondered at how Robert Banks had managed to set himself up given his earlier occupation but it appears he had joined a photographic club drew on their advice and I guess either borrowed or saved for his first camera.

So I shall leave you with this early Banks photograph from  Uppermill, and promise you more.

Picture; courtesy of Saddleworth Museum, http://www.saddleworthmuseum.co.uk/





*Robert Banks, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Robert%20Banks

**Manchester From the Robert Banks Collection, James Stanhope-Brown, 2011, the History Press

***Saddleworth Museum,

****Oldham Chronicle

Mrs Sykes, the Diggle Hotel and more than a bit of complicated history

I am still looking for a photograph of Mrs Sykes of the Diggle Hotel, if only to identify a young man from a picture postcard dating to 1910.

The Diggle Hotel, 2015

But what started as a story about that picture postcard, has by degree turned into a quest to uncover the life of Lauretta Lilla Sykes, and in the process plunged me deep into the history of Diggle in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and by extension drawn me back the Diggle Hotel.*

And as they say this is one of those stories which will run and run.

Away from Diggle, 1910

The postcard is unique in that it shows a group of Volunteers from the 6th Manchester’s at a training camp in the spring of 1910 and amongst them is Gordon Radcliffe Sykes aged 21, son of Mrs Sykes and the nephew of Frederick Radcliffe.

And because it was addressed to Mrs Sykes at the Diggle Hotel that seemed a good place to start.

Mr and Mrs Sykes were there running the pub from 1891 and I rather think from a little before that.

They had been married in the November of 1887 and may have there well into the middle of the last century.

James Sykes died in 1939 and Lauretta in 1951 and with a bit more digging it should be possible to find out when they gave up running the pub.

The Diggle Hotel, date unknown

What I do know now is that her connection with the Hotel goes back to 1861 when aged just 9 months she was living there with her mother who was the sister of Frederick Radcliffe who the licensee.

And it becomes even more complicated because a decade later Lauretta was living with her parents close by in the home of James Broadbent whose sisters were working in the Hotel in 1861 and in 1881 she is listed as a householder sharing her home with her servant Amy Sykes aged 62.

With Janmes and Lauretta in 1900

At which point I shall pause and ponder on the connections between the Radcliffe, Platt, Broadbent and Sykes’ families and  just how much each of these families are embedded in the story of Diggle.

But that is for another time and while I am still no nearer knowing what Mrs Sykes looked like I am a bit closer to the business they ran because there on the walls of the pub are some posters from the 1900s.

They were sent to me by Lynn Shaw who along with her husband and family have been running the Diggle Hotel since September.**

Picture: the Diggle Hotel, 2014 and poster advertising the place in 1900 courtesy of Lynn Shaw and detail from the picture postcard, the 6th Manchester's 1910 at West South Downs Camp, from the collection of David Harrop

* Mrs Sykes, her son in the 6th Manchester's and the Diggle Hotel ....... part 1 a picture postcard,http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/mrs-sykes-of-diggle-her-son-in-6th.html

**The Diggle Hotel, Station Houses, Diggle, Oldham, Lancashire OL3 5JZ, 01457 872741
Local family takes over historic Saddleworth pub thanks to funding from RBS,  Aimee Howarth, Saddleworth Independent,  HTTP://SADDIND.CO.UK/LOCAL-FAMILY-TAKES-OVER-HISTORIC-SADDLEWORTH-PUB-THANKS-TO-FUNDING-FROM-RBS/

Back with Mrs Sykes looking for a story

Now the trail has gone cold on Mrs Sykes and the Diggle Hotel

Her connection with the Hotel goes back to 1861 when aged just 9 months she was living there with her mother who was the sister of Frederick Radcliffe the licensee.

A decade later she was living with her parents close by in the home of James Broadbent whose sisters were working in the Hotel in 1861.

And sometime during the middle of the 1880s she had married and was herself settled as landlady in the Diggle Hotel.

Hers will be a fascinating story to explore, more so because it will bring in the Radcliffe, Platt, Broadbent and Sykes’ families who she was related to and all of whom were embedded in the story of Diggle.

I had meant to go looking for the story earlier in December but got waylaid by other projects, but Peter’s painting of the Diggle Hotel has set me off again, and who knows maybe someone in Diggle will be able to help.

Painting; the Diggle Hotel © 2015 Peter Topping 

Web: www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk

Facebook: Paintings from Pictures https://www.facebook.com/paintingsfrompictures

Mrs Sykes, her son in the 6th Manchester's and the Diggle Hotel ....... part 1 a picture postcard

I am pretty sure that one of these young men staring back at us will be Gordon Radcliffe Sykes, aged 21 of the Diggle Hotel, Diggle.

I just don’t know which one.

But in the fullness of time I might just be able to identify him because I have tracked his parents back to the Diggle Hotel which they were running by the 1880s and in one of those remarkable strokes of luck the present owners have pictures of Mr Sykes on the pub wall.

All of which promises a trip up to Diggle to meet Mr and Mrs Shaw who took the place over in September.*

Already Lynn Shaw has promised to copy some of the photographs and send them down, which will be a start, and will also lead to a whole series of stories about the pub and Mr and Mrs Sykes who were married in 1887.

And that as they say will be the start of a new friendship.

In the meantime I am intrigued by the picture, partly because of the detail and the freshness of the image but also because there is a story here.

When I first saw the card I assumed that here were group of men from the 6th Manchester’s sometime during the Great War but not so for although the inscription on the front carries the title 6th Manchester’s, on the back the location is West South Downs Camp and the postmark on the back dates it to 1910.

And that makes this a photograph of one of the Volunteer Battalions of the Manchester Regiment and suggests they were on a training exercise.

Now I am fully prepared to be corrected on this by someone given that my knowledge of the Manchester’s is still quite limited but if I am right it makes this card quite unique, more so because we can track the Syke’s family and link them to the pub which is still doing the business a century and a bit after James and Lauretta nee Platt were pulling pints in the spring of 1910.

All of which leaves just one last puzzle, because the card was signed S.S.D., and refers to “G having a good time and developing an appatititite.” 

Now I am guessing that G is Gordon who in the spring of 1910 was 21 years old and worked in a machine shop but I have no idea of the identity of S.S.D.

But maybe that trip to the pub will help.

In the meantime I shall have fun reporting back to David Harrop who showed me the card which comes from his extensive collection of memorabilia from the Great War, some of which is on permanent display at the Remembrance Lodge in Southern Cemetery.

Picture: with the 6th Manchester's 1910 at West South Downs Camp, courtesy of David Harrop

*The Diggle Hotel, Station Houses, Diggle, Oldham, Lancashire OL3 5JZ, 01457 872741
Local family takes over historic Saddleworth pub thanks to funding from RBS,  Aimee Howarth, Saddleworth Independent,  HTTP://SADDIND.CO.UK/LOCAL-FAMILY-TAKES-OVER-HISTORIC-SADDLEWORTH-PUB-THANKS-TO-FUNDING-FROM-RBS/

The Ten of Us .......... sixty years in the making ... starts today

Now this is an exhibition I won’t miss.

It runs from January 20 through to February 18 and contains seventy works by ten artists who first met in the 1950s while students at Manchester High School of Art.

The exhibition is at the Saddleworth Museum and Gallery.

Location; Saddleworth

Picture; poster of the exhibition, the Ten of Us

*Saddleworth Museum and Gallery, http://www.saddleworthmuseum.co.uk/

Saddleworth Museum, High Street, Uppermill, Saddleworth, Yorkshire, OL3 6HS, 01457 874093

The Ten of Us .......... sixty years in the making ... one for 2018

Now this is an exhibition I won’t miss.

It runs from January 20 through to February 18 and contains seventy works by ten artists who first met in the 1950s while students at Manchester High School of Art.

The exhibition is at the Saddleworth Museum and Gallery.

Location; Saddleworth

Picture; poster of the exhibition, the Ten of Us

*Saddleworth Museum and Gallery, http://www.saddleworthmuseum.co.uk/
Saddleworth Museum, High Street, Uppermill, Saddleworth, Yorkshire, OL3 6HS, 01457 874093