The history portal for Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex, England
Roger Bateman articles, blog posts and pages
An absolute cracker of a 1920’s photo of Ernie Butcher and Maude Paige, later to marry and become Portslade residents – but where in Shoreham is the location? (photo from Sharon Willard).
The building is Adur House located on the Brighton Road. (photo from Lofty)
This was demolished to make way for the new (now old) Civic Centre.
Top – two men digging aither side of a barge (1920’s Harbour Trustees photo). The aerial shot of similar period shows three barges together near the back of the Victory suggesting perhaps a permanent mooring and therefore a permanent function – e.g., the regular scouring of the mud flats by hand near that point.
The old dredgers were perhaps unable to operate away from the main channel even at high tide until they got through the locks. The photo shows the barge outside the round marker bouys of the main channel.
Even dredging by hand gradually between hightides (common in Victorian times) over a period of time may well have been effective “for shovelling away by navvies called muckshifters…..” until relatively recent times when dredgers had more efficient mechanisms and shallower draughts as the whole area there inside and outside of the old main channel seems now to be maintained at 1.9 metres.
Is that what is happening here …. or have they just grounded?
In 1904 Stow & Sons completed the building of two sister yachts, the Rosalind and the Sylvia and the details for these are included in the list of Stow built yachts on this website http://www.shorehambysea.com/stow-suter-yachts/
Recently we acquired an old postcard of a yacht moored outside Stow’s yard and on the reverse is written the date 26th August 1906. The vessel is without much doubt virtually identical to the Rosalind and Sylvia but there is no trace of Stow’s launching a yacht that year added to which Lloyds Registers Foundation have been kind enough to thoroughly check their records on our behalf and are able to categorically state that the completion/launch dates of the two yachts is definitely 1904.
Both yachts are still sailing and, even allowing for possible alterations in the years since, a comparison of the 1906 photo with the modern images reveals a number of similarities, most obvious of which are 1) the close proximity of the mizzenmast to the stern; 2) the mainmast is made up of two sections; 3) the spacing of the 1906 mainmast rigging where it meets the hull is equally spaced – all of which closely match the Rosalind more than the Sylvia (later renamed Mohawk II)
If it is the Rosalind why record a 1906 date on the back? Was it a mistake? Was it another, unrecorded vessel (highly unlikely)? Was there a regatta or other event that year that the Rosalind attended?
This image is quite a find – maybe a never seen photo detail of the long lost Election Stone, shown on maps and illustrations as being set into the pavement but it disappeared when the road was realigned.
More detail: http://www.shorehambysea.com/old-market-house-election-stone/
After a pint at the Red Lion take a walk westwards across the Toll Bridge, turn left across the stream, past the old guardhouse then turn right and look towards the Sussex Pad. Go back in time 130 years and this is the view you’ll see.(‘Lancing Brook Leading to the old Sussex Pad’ by Arthur Willett 1857 – 1918)
A ‘ghost’ picture we put together for someone else but thought it could be shared here. Dyer & Son were using this shipyard during the 1870’s building ships of this size, the ‘Osman Pasha’ being the last, before it was taken over by Henry Stow and Sons then the Sussex Yacht Club
Just love the questions that old photos ask. The lower one is noted as circa 1903 – the top one is undated but despite it showing the building in a more dilapidated state it, and the lady’s style of dress, seems to indicate an older image perhaps and therefore a refurbished rendering in the lower image?
The cyclists advert suggests a landlord then (circa 1903) of Harry Jas (James) Burt (rather than what looks like Harry Jasbury) but with a small poster just above it appearing to include perhaps the words ‘New Management.’ The changing management theme is further indicated by the name ‘F.Smart’ appearing to have been recently added to the pub sign.
There is also a signpost pointing south indicating I guess the carriage works but why also Brigden at 187 Western Road when there were obviously others in that road? Someone with access to a Lancing directory of the period will have the answers
These wonderful shoreham fishing photos come courtesy of Mary Gibbs. A newspaper cutting (written in a comical vein) from our own collection suggests that the fishermen were from the Maple family who appear elsewhere in articles on our website as oyster merchants at the western end of the High Street and sportsmen, mainly racing oarsmen and footballers.
One of the photos shows one fisherman wearing a jersey with the name ‘Imatra’ on it. This was one of the yachts built at Shoreham by Stow & Sons, launched in 1899 and over 100 years later is still sailing in water around New Zealand (see http://www.shorehambysea.com/stow-suter-yachts/ ) Like many other Shoreham fishermen this Maple man probably ‘double-jobbed’ as part of the crew for local yachts as and when required.
This from Roy Wood of photos from William Wood’s funeral in 1934. William lived at 5 Middle Road (later renumbered 36), Shoreham. He had joined the Royal West Kent regiment in 1892 and was finally discharged in 1917. The Army honours their own – the funeral procession was provided by the Sussex Regt. He is buried in St Julian’s graveyard.
This well known photo of the veterans 1907 race at the Oxen Field (now Windlesham Gardens) was of particular interest to me as it provided a glimpse of the Mill Lane windmill that was owned at the time by a predecessor. More interestingly though was the fair there that included what looks like gypsy caravans and swing boats including one mad individual that propelled his swing boat so high it was nearly vertical!