John Stringfellow of Chesterfield and Sheffield

John Stringfellow was born at Ecclesfield, near Sheffield, Yorkshire, in 1833, one of five children of James Stringfellow (1797-1828) and his wife Hannah. John Stringfellow's father died in July 1837 when he was only four, and he and his siblings grew up living with their mother in Attercliffe cum Darnall, near Sheffield. He married Elizabeth Wade Bartram Houlden (b. 1840 Sheffield) at St Phillip, Sheffield on 4 September 1866, and they had three children (a son and twin daughters) between then and 1872. His uncle, and namesake, John Stringfellow (1799-1883) developed a remarkable ability in designing and building light steam engines, and later - with William S. Henson and others - achieved some considerable fame as an aeronautical engineer and his work on the Aerial Steam Carriage.

In his teens he worked as an attorney's clerk, and is shown as such in the 1851 Census (30 March; PRO Ref. HO107/2342/461/1/3), when he was living with his mother and two siblings at Glass House, Attercliffe cum Darnall. It seems likely, however, that he took up photography in the early 1850s, and operated a travelling studio. Adamson (1997) states that John Stringfellow was "formerly of Lyme Regis, Somerset [in] March 1858," and "already a widely travelled itinerant [when he] came to Chesterfield in December 1858." He was briefly in partnership with George Edgar, another itinerant photographer who originally came from Sheffield, in December 1858 and early 1859 at Saltergate, but when Edgar moved on, Stringfellow remained in Chesterfield.


Advertisement from Harrison & Harrod's 1860 Trade Directory
Image © & courtesy of Christine Hibbert
Harrison & Harrod's Trade Directory for 1860, presumably compiled in late 1859, contains an advertisement (shown above) inserted by Stringfellow in which he publicized his availablity to take photographic portraits, including stereoscopic images, still at Saltergate. The 1861 Census (7 April; PRO Ref. RG9/2527/108/24/148), shows John Stringfellow lodging at the Spread Eagle Inn, Beetwell Street, Chesterfield. Both he and fellow lodger Paul Turner are described as "photographist jour.[neymen]."

Adamson (1883 & 1997) states that Stringfellow was working in Chesterfield for at least another year, and infers that between 1862 and 1867 he moved to Sheffield.


It seems likely that this was around July 1864, when Stringfellow was ordered, in the County Court at Derby, to be prosecuted for bankruptcy in the County Court at Chesterfield [Source: The Derby Mercury, dated 20 July 1864]. John's first child Henry, who died in infancy, was born at Nether Hallam in early 1867, as were two further sons, John Henry in early 1868 and Percy Edward in August 1870. Percy Edward died in mid-1871.

The first records of him working in Sheffield are for 1867 and 1868, when he operated a studio in Alma Street. By early 1871 (2 April; PRO Ref. RG10/4664/94/34/175) the family was living at 77 Prospect Street, Nether Hallam, and in that year Stringfellow was working from premises at 13a Fargate, taking over from photographer George Washington Unwin, who moved to Matlock Bath in Derbyshire. Adamson next shows Stringfellow at 5 Chapel Walk from 1877, although it is not clear where he was working in the intervening period. Since his predecessor at this address, James Thomas, had apparently moved on by the end of 1871, it is probable that Stringfellow took over the premises at that time, and that trade directory and other listings for the period 1872-1876 have merely not yet been discovered. By 1881 (Census, 3 April; PRO Ref. RG11/4626/94/38) the family had moved their residence to 79 Fulton Road.


The carte de visite portrait of a young family shown above is an example from the Chapel Walk, Fargate studio. From the woman's clothing and the square corners I estimate it was taken some time between 1873 and 1876.

On 17 Feb 1882 the Sheffield newspapers reported that John Stringfellow had died "suddenly on the Midland Railway" at the age of 48, and he was buried at Sheffield Fulwood Christ Church on 22 Feb 1882. His widow and their three children continued living in Fulton Road until at least 1891 (5 April; PRO Ref. RG12/3798/67/36/241). Elizabeth Stringfellow was "living on her own means." Anderson (1983) shows her operating the studio at Chapel Walk in 1887, although he also lists the same premises as continuing under her late husband's name until 1889. It is possible that their surviving son John Henry Stringfellow helped to run the business for a while, although by 1891 he was working as a brass finisher.

References

Adamson, Keith I.P., MSc, ARPS, (Jun 1983) Professional Photographers in Sheffield & Rotherham 1843-1900, Royal Photographic Society Historical group
Adamson, Keith I.P., MSc, FRPS, (Sep 1997) Professional Photographers in Derbyshire 1843-1914, Supplement No. 118 to The PhotoHistorian, ISSN 0957-0209
1841-1901 Census indexed images, from Ancestry
International Genealogical Index (IGI) on FamilySearch
GRO Birth, Marriage & Death Indexes from FreeBMD
The Derby Mercury newspaper, various dates

Fairground folk at the Wirksworth Tap Dressings (3)

Wirksworth Town Center - Market Place, West End & St John's Street
Click image to see on Google Maps
The remaining two photographs of Brenda Pearson's selection from Elizabeth Nowell-Usticke née Wright's album were taken in West End, at the top of Market Place in Wirksworth.


Image 3 - Wirksworth West End 1886?
Click for more detailed version
This image shows three parked carts, or gigs (l), and a group of band members taking a break (k).


Image 3 - Wirksworth Tap Dressing West End 1886?
Click for more detailed version
The subject of the last image is one of the tap dressings that formed the centre of the festivities (m) - it may be the one which won the first prize ...

With regard to the dressings, Mrs. John Cooke, of the West End, again suceeded in carrying off premier honours, being awarded the first prize of 10l. for an elaborate erection, of a much more pretentious character than any of the others.

... although the detailed description doesn't quite match with what we can see in the photograph. Part of a parked gig (l) seen in the previous photograph is in the right foreground of this photo. A small group of people, one woman and a child sheltering under an umbrella, are looking at the tap dressing. Some children (n) are playing on the pavement in the left foreground.

Hand coloured enlargements of a Yorkshire sailor and his wife

As advertised by photographers on the reverse of their card mounts, studios offered enlargements finished in oils, watercolours or crayons. Of course, they are not as common as the ordinary cdvs and cabinets, but one does come across them fairly frequently on eBay, and I suspect they are perhaps even more common in family collections. A recent posting included a framed enlargement.


The two hand coloured photographic enlargements shown above, with a cabinet card and carte de visite for size comparative purposes only, are from my own collection. They are on roughly trimmed, very thick card measuring approximately 140 x 205 mm and, from the marks at top and bottom, it is clear that have previously been mounted in some sort of frame.


Some pencilled notes, only partly decipherable, regarding the colouring of the portrait can be found on the reverse of the first enlargement, as well as what appears to be a negative number (37433). Also written on the reverse, in a different hand, and in what appears to be ball point pen (and therefore certainly not contemporary with the portrait itself) is an identification of the subject: "Robert Hardwick, Died at sea off Farne Islands, Jan 13th 1895, Aged 54."


The second portrait has a similar ball point pen inscription on the reverse, "Emma Hardwick, wife of Robert Hardwick," and a negative number (37434?)

From the style of the woman's clothing, I estimate that the portraits were taken in the early 1890s, perhaps between 1890 and 1893. Although it's more difficult to estimate ages in portraits that have been "doctored" in this manner, I would say that the couple are aged about 50, approximating to the age indicated on the reverse of the first photo.

After some research, I was able to locate Robert and Emma Hardwick on the 1871 Census, and then tracked the family through the census and other records:

1871 Census: Auckland Place, Lower East St, Middlesbrough DUR PRO Ref. RG10/4890/6/6/27:
Robert HARDWICK / Head / M / M / 31 / Sailor / Bristol
Emma HARDWICK / Wife / M / F / 29 / - / YKS Leeds
Martha Ann HARDWICK / Dau / - / F / 12 / Scholar / YKS Middlesbrough
Thomas H. HARDWICK / Son / - / M / 11 / Scholar / YKS Middlesbrough
Rose H. HARDWICK / Dau / - / F 8 / Scholar / YKS Middlesbrough
Catherine HARDWICK / Dau / - / F / 6 / Scholar / YKS Middlesbrough
Emma E. HARDWICK / Dau / - / F / 1 / - / YKS Middlesbrough
Mary WILD / Visit / - / Wid / F / 57 / - / YKS Willoby

Robert Hardwick was born in Clifton, near Bristol in 1839, son of a mariner Robert Hardwick senior and his wife Catharine. Soon after his birth, the family moved to Middlesbrough in Yorkshire - Robert's father had been born in Robin Hood's Bay, a village near Whitby, where Captain James Cook learnt his trade as a seaman. In 1867 Robert Hardwick junior married a widow, Emma Ratcliff née Wild, and the 1871 Census shows Emma's three children by her first husband (Martha Ann, Thomas Herbert and Rose Hannah) living with them. Emma had another five children with Robert: Catherine (Kate) was born in 1864, Emma Elizabeth in 1869, Robert in 1873, Arthur in 1877, and finally John Frederick in 1879.

The presence of small corsages in the buttonholes of Robert and Emma Hardwick suggests that they had these portraits taken on a special occasion. Perhaps it was the marriage of their daughter Emma Elizabeth to Ernest Edward Robinson, which took place in Middlesbrough in late 1891. The 1891 Census shows Robert away, presumably at sea.

1891 Census: 12 Baxter St, Middlesbrough YKS PRO Ref. RG12/4010/15/23/123:
Emma HARDWICK / Wife / M / F / 49 / - / YKS Leeds
Emma E. HARDWICK / Dau / S / F / 24 / Dressmaker / YKS Middlesbrough
Robert C. HARDWICK / Son / S / M / 17 / Clerk / YKS Middlesbrough
Arthur HARDWICK / Son / - / M / 14 / Office Boy / YKS Middlesbrough
J. Fred HARDWICK / Son / - / M / 12 / Scholar / YKS Middlesbrough
Rose H. RATCLIFF / StepDau / - / S / F / 29 / Domestic Servant / YKS Middlesbrough
Mary WILD / MoLaw / Wid / F / 78 / Living on her own means / YKS Selby

Bulmer's Directory of Middlesbrough for 1890 (from Genuki) and Kelly's Directory of the North & East Ridings of Yorkshire for 1893 (from Historical Directories) show the following professional photographers operating in Middlesbrough:
- Charles John, 203 Newport rd.
- Gibbs Robert William & Co. 18 Wilson st. (formerly manager of Cleveland Photographic Co., Linthorpe road)
- Phillip & Wright, 75 Albert rd.

All three of these premises were with a short distance of the centre of Middlesbrough, and any of them could therefore have been the studio visited by the Hardwicks.

Using CDVs for professional promotion: Architectural

Cartes de visite were also used by other professionals to publicise of their work. This example, also sent to me by Nigel Aspdin, appears to have been used by an architect to promote his design for a new Post Office in Wakefield, Yorkshire. Nigel's great-grandfather Richard Wilkinson Aspdin "was appointed Postmaster of Wakefield in 1863 at which time he had been Postmaster of Derby for 10 years, Wakefield being his town of origin. The building in Market Street was indeed built, in 1876, and was still there in February 2005, in use as a nightclub."


Kelly's 1881 edition of the Directory of West Riding of Yorkshire explains:

The General Post Office, in Market street, is a handsome building of red brick, with stone dressings, opened August 1st, 1876.

... and lists:

Post, Money Order & Telegraph Office, Savings Bank & Government Annuity & Insurance Office, Market street (next to the United Methodist Free Church).
Postmaster - Richard Wilkinson Aspdin (Residence: York street, Northgate)

There were several architects in Wakefield in the 1870s, including William Crutchley (King street), Hammerton Lees (Lord Rodney yard, Westgate), Frederick Robinson (131 Northgate) and William Watson (Barstow square).


The photographer Warner Gothard advertised studio premises at "King Street & Wood St." Since the architect William Crutchley also had premises on King Street, it would be tempting to assume that he was the one to commission this cdv. However, Westgate, Northgate and Barstow square were all nearby, so it is more realistic to consider all four as potential architects of the Wakefield Post Office until further information is found.

Post Script - 31 August 2008

Nigel's photo (see comment)