East End Photographs and Drawings

[Monty]

Apologies to all, it was my fault for bringing up the subject of Lechmere/ Cross.

Kudos John, thank you.

Monty

[yen_powell]

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Don't worry, when we widen the road at this junction we'll sweep him up. He's about where the new carriageway is going to be so we'll have to at least push him to one side.

[Stephen Thomas]

The other day I was driving down Whitechapel Road when I noticed a fellow human being lying flat on his back, in broad daylight, near the corner with Vallance Road.

He was probably trying to break a bar of chocolate in his back trouser pocket.

[Monty]

He was probably trying to break a bar of chocolate in his back trouser pocket.

You a Chick Murray fan Stephen?

Monty

[Stephen Thomas]

You a Chick Murray fan Stephen?

Very well spotted, Monty. I saw the great man tell that joke on TV in the 60s and it stuck in my mind. Are you 20 years older than you look? A more recent variant of the same joke is where Rab Nesbitt is lying in the gutter and asked if he is drunk says that he is just saving a parking space for his wife.

[Lechmere]

My Good Monty
I do hope you have not banned me from this thread for my impure contribution.
Yours
The baddie

[Monty]

Stephen,

No but my Mother is Scots so I've been kinda bought up on him.


Oh dear Edward,

You are hyper sensitive today aren't you?

Have I mentioned you or your post? Let me make it easy for you....the answer is no. Merely put in a simple request to keep this thread free from all the suspect debate which plagues other ones.

So really no need for the defensive attitude. I honestly didn't think I make you that jumpy.

Monty

[Observer]

Not the East End, but here is Bruton Place, formerly Bruton Mews. Annie Chapman and her husband once resided here.




Observer

[Archaic]

Spitalfields Weaver

I came across this old photo of a Spitalfields weaver at work. He must have been one of the last.

I saw two different dates for the photo, 1885 and 1895. Does anybody know which is correct? I wonder if it might be a bit older than that.

I thought the photo was interesting because histories of the East End always mention that the old 18th C. Spitalfields houses had large upper-story windows to provide light for the weavers, and this pic shows one of the windows in use with the sunlight streaming in.

Best regards,
Archaic

[Archaic]

Irish Weaver In Spitalfields?

I'm wondering if the weaver shown in the photo posted above might be an Irish weaver rather than one descended from French Huguenots?

I got the idea because the two small pictures on the wall above the door appear to be images of Jesus and Mary, possibly images of the Sacred Heart. This suggests the weaver depicted is a Catholic, whereas the Huguenots were Protestants.

Apparently Irish weavers started arriving in Spitalfields after the Huguenots, c. 1730 or so. The weaving industry in Spitalfields was flagging in the 19th C., and went into a dramatic decline c. 1860 when a new treaty with France allowed cheaper French woven goods to flood the market. I don't know when the last of the old-time weavers left Spitalfields, but I'm guessing that some of them must have hung on in increasing poverty.

Perhaps this photo was taken closer to the 1860's-1870's rather than c. 1885-1895? It reminds me of the work of 1870's photographers like John Thomson.

Looking forward to hearing what you think.

Thanks,
Archaic

[moonbegger]

Great Picture Archaic ,

Is the profile Sketch on the wall his ol lady in her younger days perhaps ? looks kinda similar .

Maybe even sketched by a walter Sickert

moonbegger .

[Hunter]

That is, indeed, a great photo, Bunny. Great example of the use of these distinct windows in many of the buildings in the area. Of course, No. 29 Hanbury St. had been occupied by weavers at one time.

Yes, the trade had fallen off considerably in the area by the mid 19th century for the reasons you have stated. I went through my research files on Dr. Phillips as I recalled some of his neighbors still in the millinery business. There was a Samuel England at 15 Spital Square in 1881 listed as a silk manufacturer and several children in households listed as apprentices in silk weaving. What was left by then seem to still be in the neighborhood of their origin in the Norton Folgate area and just east of there.

[Matfelon]

Hi everyone. I would like to know where and when this could have been taken.

[Matfelon]

Sorry, those i meant:

[Matfelon]

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