East End Photographs and Drawings

[Observer]

A few more

Site of George Yard Buildings

Pichin Street

Christchurch again

[Celesta]

Stephen,

This is the photo I thought you were referring to in post # 925. I know it's pretty ubiquitous. I had bookmarked it, but forgotten that I had. All I have is the photo.

Is this from Jack London's People of the Abyss? The date shown is c. 1915. I thought Jack's book was a tad earlier than 1915. It would be nice to know the source.

Anyway, this reminds me of Miller's court, with the white-washed walls and those arched windows.

[Celesta]

Observer,

Those are nice pictures. Pinchin Street looks a lot less gloomy than I had imagined it. Thanks.

Cel

[Stephen Thomas]

Stephen,

This is the photo I thought you were referring to in post # 925. I know it's pretty ubiquitous. I had bookmarked it, but forgotten that I had. All I have is the photo.

Is this from Jack London's People of the Abyss? The date shown is c. 1915. I thought Jack's book was a tad earlier than 1915. It would be nice to know the source.

Anyway, this reminds me of Miller's court, with the white-washed walls and those arched windows.


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Hi Celesta

Yes, this is very much what Millers Court would have looked like with the narrow width (less than 6 feet) and the whitewashed walls, the difference being of course that here there are only houses on the right hand side. People of the Abyss was published in 1903 so if this is a 1915 picture it couldn't have been in there. An interesting point about this photo is that the lady on the right appears to be African or West Indian and there would have been quite a few such people in the East End, along with people from the Far East,though their presence is rarely mentioned apart from the Chinese in Limehouse.

Best wishes

[DVV]

An interesting point about this photo is that the lady on the right appears to be African or West Indian and there would have been quite a few such people in the East End, along with people from the Far East,though their presence is rarely mentioned apart from the Chinese in Limehouse.
Best wishes

Ah! nice one Stephen,
you remind me Shen-Yan aka Singapore Charlie, the opium den, in the first Fu Manchu!
Wish I could get a pipe right now...

Amitiés,
David

[Celesta]

Hi Stephen,

It's claustrophobic, isn't it? I found the online version of London's book but I didn't see this in there. I found this on some website, so maybe I'll stumble on it again. I thought at first that the lady on the right looked Samoan, but I think you're probably right. Mostly like she's from the Caribbean.


Hi David,

For lack of the pipe, how about a nice Zinfindel?


Take care, guys.

Cel

[DVV]

Hi Cel,
don't know miss Zinfindel, but how can I refuse anything coming from you?

Affectueusement,
David

[Stephen Thomas]

you remind me Shen-Yan aka Singapore Charlie, the opium den, in the first Fu Manchu!
Wish I could get a pipe right now...

Hi David

I think I'll stick with Scotch Whisky! Did you ever read that Sherlock Holmes story (my favourite though I forget the title) where a middle class City worker disappears after last being seen in an opium den? It has a very witty and surprising yet realistic denouement.

Hi Celesta

Yes, claustrophobic indeed. Have you seen the 'alleged' Millers Court photo which is here on the Photo Archive?

[Celesta]

Hi Stephen,

I took a fresh look at it. These places were so similar, weren't they? Miller's Ct didn't have shutters, did it? At least # 13 didn't it

Hi David, Zinfindel is a nice wine. Looks like rose' but is not as sweet.

[Stephen Thomas]

I took a fresh look at it. These places were so similar, weren't they? Miller's Ct didn't have shutters, did it? At least # 13 didn't it

Hi Celesta

The houses in Millers Court may have had shutters on the ground floor windows. I seem to remember a statement about whitewashed walls and green painted shutters but that may have been about somewhere else. Millers Court had three dwellings each side whereas this court has four (one upstairs window per house). Plus, the court's too wide.

[Paddy Goose]

Pub behind London Hospital

[m_w_r]

'Tis a marvellous place.

[Rob Clack]

Some photos I got today. They are photos of photos so there are some distortion in some.

Berner Street 1957


Commercial Street 1907


Close up of the above


Commercial Street 1920s


Commercial Road 1972, The fire at Gardiners store


Fournier Street October 1946, that's the edge of The Ten Bells on the left


A couple of Goulston Street in the 1970s




Grey Eagle Street 1955


A couple of Hanbury Street in 1944




A couple of Hanbury Street in the 1950s, these buildings still stand and by The Golden Heart




The Ten Bells 1970s


A couple of Wilkes Street in the 1940s (1944 I think)




Wilkes Street from Quaker Street


Winthrop Place, Winthrop Street 1950s (probably 1955) This use to be Nelson Court and use to go as far as the Whitechapel Road


Woods Buildings 1925


Rob

[aspallek]

Great pics, Rob. I'm just wondering about the shots of Wilkes Street from the 1940's. My first thought was that first pic post-dated the second because of the lighter-colored brick used in the second building (the one with the people standing it the doorway). It seemed like perhaps the building was destroyed in the Blitz as shown below and rebuilt with different brick. However, on closer look, I believe the remains of this building in the second shot is actually the very building shown above. The color of brick must be a trick of the lighting, i.e. what remains in the lower shot must be lighter brick even though it doesn't look like it.

To me these pics, especially the first, appear to be a bit earlier than the 1940's. Do we know if that is indeed bomb damage?

[Ade]

Great pictures Rob! I actually live on Quaker Street and it's good to see some photos of what it looked like before they extended the brewery in the 1970s.