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Topic ID 4752

12/10/2009 by KingsNeedMead

Francis Frith - Photos of Hertford

This may be of interest to all if you have not spotted it before (hopefully not mentioned on the forum before eihter) [url="http://www.francisfrith.com/hertford/photos/"]38 photos of around Hertford from 1920 to 1960[/url] Here are a few crackers.. Fore Street 1922 [img]http://images.francisfrith.com/c10/450/19/hertford_71852.jpg[/img] Hartham Common 1929 [img]http://images.francisfrith.com/c10/450/19/hertford_81782.jpg[/img] Maidenhead Street 1950 [img]http://images.francisfrith.com/c10/450/19/hertford_h77003.jpg[/img] "The Frith archive was founded by Francis Frith, the pioneer Victorian photographer, in 1860 and today contains over 330,000 photographs of some 7,000 towns and villages throughout Britain. Taken between 1860 and 1970 these form a unique and unequalled topographical record of Britain. " Enjoy!.


Replies

Reply ID 68058

12/10/2009 by KingsNeedMead

Admin to the rescue!, can you move this post to the History section please!. It's Monday, brain not fully attached to hands..


Reply ID 68061

12/10/2009 by Ewoowar

Isn't that Witchypoo Cottage and the houses on Port Hill in the middle photograph? And isn't that Shunt in the foreground?


Reply ID 68063

12/10/2009 by CSP

No, Shunt is just the other side of the river.


Reply ID 68071

12/10/2009 by Woody

What a fascinating record of yesteryear. I wonder whether Francis Frith was considered the Google-Street equivalent of his day and had his detractors?


Reply ID 68073

12/10/2009 by Golden

Have you all looked at the photos on this site http://www.hertford.net/galleries/past/ my personal favourite being the school that was knocked down to make way for the hideous Ware Road police station!


Reply ID 68075

12/10/2009 by Kitty Kat

quote:
Originally posted by Golden
Have you all looked at the photos on this site http://www.hertford.net/galleries/past/ my personal favourite being the school that was knocked down to make way for the hideous Ware Road police station!
Oooo now that would have made a lovely luxury apartment building!!


Reply ID 68077

12/10/2009 by Firedupinside

Not sure how to add images to the forum but having looked at the Frith collection Port Hill hasn't changed in appearance in 80 years. WOW!


Reply ID 68078

12/10/2009 by Marilyn

I had a calender made up by them for my Dad 2 years ago it was great. He was born on Port Hill! The school that Golden refers to was Kingsmead School, it had previously been the workhouse.


Reply ID 68086

12/10/2009 by homeless

Thanks for the images - they're lovely. Just a small point - Can someone correct the spelling in the thread title? It would be really nice if this excellent photographers name was spelled correctly. edit - Thanks for the link, Golden - those pics really jogged some memories!


Reply ID 68094

12/10/2009 by KingsNeedMead

Mr Frith now corrected, ta.


Reply ID 68332

17/10/2009 by theadmans

Can someone explain what we are seeing in the photo of Hartham Common 1929. What is the House facing us - is it the Lodge House (today shrouded in trees). Are the cottages going up Port Hill the rears of the existing properties on the park side of the road or the fronts of the cottages on the other side of the road?


Reply ID 68336

17/10/2009 by James007

The kiddies are fishing close to where the bowling green and probably where the nursery is now.


Reply ID 68337

17/10/2009 by dennismoore

quote:
Originally posted by theadmans
Can someone explain what we are seeing in the photo of Hartham Common 1929. What is the House facing us - is it the Lodge House (today shrouded in trees). Are the cottages going up Port Hill the rears of the existing properties on the park side of the road or the fronts of the cottages on the other side of the road?
It looks to me that the house is the Lodge and the white cottages are the ones on the other side of Port Hill. The river here now has serious concrete embankments. It's such a beautiful photograph, perfectly capturing an idyll of times gone by. Blue Remembered Hills and all that. (Though let's not forget that the slums of Butcherly Green were very near here until around the time it was taken.)


Reply ID 68339

18/10/2009 by Marilyn

You are correct the house on the right is the lodge beside the Warren gates, the houses opposite are on Port Hill and the one above is the one that had had so much work done and a new "modern" house built alongside. You can see the gap between the cottages that used to be the garage and access path for the house above. Mr Rushton lived there in the 1960's not sure if he was there when the photo was taken but he may have been must checek wiith Dad! I think it must have been taken before the Warren Gates were put in, there used to be a 5 bar gate there! And the wall between them and the fist cottage was either not there or lower and not the bushes etc that are there now. When Dad lived on Port Hill they used to run and play down that slope to the river. I think the houses you can see opposite are 61, 63, 65 etc where my family were living at the time, they may still have had front gardens at that point!


Reply ID 68341

18/10/2009 by day_2k

This is Great!!! I plan to build a virtual walkthough of hertford as it looked in the past as part of my Masters Project this year, this will help tremendously Thank you!


Reply ID 68342

18/10/2009 by Marilyn

quote:
Originally posted by day_2k
This is Great!!! I plan to build a virtual walkthough of hertford as it looked in the past as part of my Masters Project this year, this will help tremendously Thank you!
There are also some good books with more pictures of old Hertford if you need any help just ask! I think the man living in the house above Port Hill was "Gurney" Gratton


Reply ID 68347

18/10/2009 by day_2k

Thanks a lot Marilyn, I will do :)


Reply ID 68365

19/10/2009 by Golden

The photo of the river is fantastic and does seem to capture more relaxed times. I also really like the Roses corner photo with the action in the background. The little girl running to her violin lesson and the man captured 'clocking' the woman outside the Flower Pot.


Reply ID 68384

19/10/2009 by theadmans

Hi Marilyn, Thanks for your interesting comments about the Hartham / Port Hill photo. One of the white Port Hill cottages was my first house in Hertford no.59 Port Hill (to the right of the driveway for the House on the Hill). This photo is fascinating never would have guessed it used to look like this with all the tall trees we now have.


Reply ID 68393

19/10/2009 by Marilyn

quote:
Originally posted by theadmans
Hi Marilyn, Thanks for your interesting comments about the Hartham / Port Hill photo. One of the white Port Hill cottages was my first house in Hertford no.59 Port Hill (to the right of the driveway for the House on the Hill). This photo is fascinating never would have guessed it used to look like this with all the tall trees we now have.
59 is where my Grandfather's brother lived until January 1967 He was quite a character Frederick "Elmo" Taylor spent his evenings in the Reindeer !


Reply ID 68396

19/10/2009 by theadmans

Small World ! ...although as Ben Elton once said - if people say that - why don't we also go up to people and say "Big World - I've never met you before" !


Reply ID 68583

23/10/2009 by Cunning Alph

For anyone interested, you can get aero photo of Hertford's past here: http://www1.getmapping.com


22 replies