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?
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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.

Fairground folk at the Wirksworth Tap Dressings (2)

Wirksworth Town Center - Market Place, West End & St John's Street
Click image to see on Google Maps
The third photograph in the series of the Wirksworth Tap Dressing festivities appears to have been taken from somewhere in front of Coldwell House, on Coldwell Street, looking roughly eastwards across St John's Street onto the Market Place, with Dale End disappearing off to the right. This facade, although it has been somewhat modified over the intervening years is still recognisable from the elevation drawing of numbers 6 to 11 Market Place on John Palmer's Wirkworth site, in particular the semi-circular window on the top storey of the tallest building.


Image 3 - Wirksworth Market Place
Click for more detailed version
In the right foreground, the iron railings appear to be in front of Coldwell House, immediately adjoining the corner of The Red Lion (e), which is the tall brick building on the right. Most iron railings in Derbyshire were removed during the War for the manufacture of munitions (at least this is what my father told me some years ago). None are shown on the elevation drawing of The Red Lion and Coldwell House, or are apparent on the satellite images, so presumably they have indeed gone.

The two young women walking towards the photographer are dressed fairly typically for the mid-1880s. One of them appears to have noticed the camera, and is unsure whether she should be posing or not; the other is still deep in animated conversation, or perhaps she is fascinated with whatever is on offer at the stall on the other side of Coldwell Street, in the left foreground of the photo.


Detail of two young women from Image 3
(f) Up against the buildings on the far side of Market place are the frames of the swings. At first I thought they might be "swing boats," which were popular fairground attractions at the time. However, the poles of the frames don't seem to be substantial enough to hold swing boats and, besides, if one looks carefully at an enlargement of the photograph, it is possible to just make out a boy, presumably standing on some type of platform, and about to set off on the swing.


Detail of boy on swing from Image 3
Immediately in front of the swings, and directly behind the head of the dappled white horse, is the end of one of the show people's caravans, and what looks to be some kind of water tank, although the platform on which it sits is hidden, partly behind a tent, and partly by the horse. To the right of the horse is a parked cart or wagon, perhaps used for transporting the fairground stalls or rides.

The tent situated behind the horse and cart (g) is a shooting gallery, as shown by an enlargement of the sign in the entrance, but I've not been able to make out the name of the proprietor - perhaps it is something like "..OLE SHOOTING ..."? The 1891 Census list of showpeople on the Morledge, given in a previous post includes several shooting galleries, including one owned by Charles Warwick's mother-in-law, Emma Sketchley (and Arthur Ashmore, William Howell & Frederick Pemberton), and a "travelling rifle saloon" operated by Albert Hall.


Detail of sign above shooting gallery from Image 3
(h) The teenage boy driving the horse and cart are great fun. He is using the weight of his body to pull back hard on the reins, trying to keep the horse going in the right direction, or to prevent it from going too fast; you can almost hear him crying out, "Whooooaa boy!!!" Also of interest is the cart itself. From the presence of rivets along all the edges, most easily visible immediately below the driver's seat, my interpretation is that it is made entirely of metal. A rectangular metal box of this size suggests to me a water cart, and indeed one can see what appears to be water spraying out of the back of the cart onto the road, presumably to keep down the dust.


Detail of boy driving cart from Image 3
(i) There is another stall to the left of the shooting gallery, complete with awning, but I've only been able to make out what appear to be two large oval mirrors, and little else.

(h) The stall in the left foreground of the photograph, at which two men are browsing, is also difficult to make out in much detail, apart from the three drums at the front.

The remaining two photographs will be discussed in post number three of this series.

Fairground folk at the Wirksworth Tap Dressings

The previous posts about fairground photographers made me think more about fairgrounds and fairground folk in general. I recalled seeing some marvelous images of old photographs of fairground stalls on John Palmer's Wirksworth web site, and contacted both John and the original submitter of the images, Brenda Pearson. They have kindly given their permission for me to reproduce the images here. Brenda's photographs actually come from an album which belonged to Elizabeth Nowell-Usticke née Wright, daughter of a Wirksworth wine and spirit merchant, who was married there in 1889. They are a series of albumen prints, possibly taken by an amateur photographer, and labelled with the date 1886.

The festivities in Wirksworth were described in an article which appeared in The Derby Mercury on 23rd June 1886. They appear to have been centred around the Wirksworth Tap Dressing festival, which is featured in two of the photographs, and appears to be similar to the well dressings which still take place elsewhere in Derbyshire.

WIRKSWORTH TAP DRESSINGS.This ancient festival, a popular gathering with Derby people as affording an opportunity for an agreeable holiday, took place as usual on Whitsun-Wednesday. The custom is one that springs from the Romans, who dressed their springs in adoration of the God of water, and its celebration appears to be peculiar to Derbyshire, as in no other county that we are aware of is the ceremony kept up. As far as more modern days are concerned the Wirksworth Tap Dressings is one of the oldest festivals on record. The celebrations were discontinued for some years, but about 18 years ago the custom was revived, and now forms one of the "red letter" days in the calendar of many Derbyshire people. Of course a great deal depends on the weather, and a cloudy and threatening sky after the many variable days we have lately experienced, prevented numbers of people from taking advantage of the reduced fares offered by the Midland Railway Company as an inducement to enjoy an outing, but in spite of that three or four long trains, heavily laden, landed their living freight at Wirksworth, all from Derby. This was exclusive of excursions from Nottingham, Sheffield, and Burton, besides visitors from the neighbouring villages. On the whole, however, the number of visitors was put down as rather less than usual - wholly on account of the atmospheric conditions. A casual visitor, however, would be unable to draw these invidious comparisons. Crowds of visitors thronged the old-fashioned little town, and made it wear an animated appearance, such as is only observed once a year. The inhabitants themselves appear to view the festival more as a matter of business, and everybody seems prepared to turn an honest penny in some form or other. Providing tea for visitors was the favourite mode, but this business was sadly overstocked, judging by the flaming red and yellow bills in the window of almost every other house setting forth that "accommodation for tea and hot water" was to be had within. The band of the E (Wirksworth) Company D.R.V., and the Wirksworth Brass Band, furnished music during the day, and conducted visitors round the town. The grounds at the Lees were kindly placed at the disposal of the committee by Mr. W. Sealy Fisher, and there a gala was held, the amusements consisting of selections of music by the Wirksworth United Band, performances by a troupe of minstrels, known as the Black Diamond troupe, and dancing on the tennis court, to the music of Mr. Hollins's (Derby) string band. This proved a great source of attraction at the gates. In the Market-place were assembled the usual contingent of shooting galleries, shows, &c. 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. In the foreground was a small covered fountain, standing on a square base, having four pillars at the angles, each dressed in moss, with moulds of blue pansy petals, supporting four arches in daisy chaff. On the top of the arches lay a tablet in dark moss, on which was a vase with a square base in moss, with stem in scarlet geranium petals and circular bowl in white daisy chaff. At the back was a large Gothic drinking fountain, consisting of right and left bays, with centre piece on which was worked an Oriental design, with a large stork in white daisy chaff, standing amongst herbage and foliage worked on a ground of sarlet geraniums. Over the centre might be seen the words - "Bless ye the Lord," in letter of red berries on a wite ground, and in each bay a large vase in yellow everlastings, containing lilies and sunflowers worked on a green ground of parsley. Mr. A. Hawley, Dale-street, obtained second prize, 8l., for a well-executed representation of an Oriental fountain; Mr. L. Hardy, Tissington, was third with his North-street decoration, for which he received 6l.; and Mr. John Clough fourth, 4l., for a design in oldwell-street. Prizes were also offered this year for the best street garland, and after a strong competition, the first and second prizes fell to J. Yates, West End, and W. Macdonald, Market-place.

All five of the photographs displayed here were taken in or near Market place, shown in this recent satellite image from Google Maps.


Wirksworth Town Center - Market Place, West End & St John's Street
The first two photographs in the series are of Market Place, taken in a roughly northern direction, and having numbers 4 to 6 (Market Place) forming the backdrop. John Palmer has a more modern diagram showing an elevation of these buildings here.


Image 1 - Wirksworth, Market Place, 1886 ?
(a) The coconut shy, or "cocoa nut bowling street" as it was referred to in the 1891 Census, is in the foreground, with the coconuts resting in rings affixed horizontally to the ends of sticks. There appear to be two alleys, arranged in an east-west direction, at right angles to St John's Street.

(b) The stalls in the middle ground have presumably been set up to sell something, and have awnings to provide a modicum of shade. It is possible that there are trays on the trestle table, containing something like confectionery. One man and four women, including two with children standing or seated on their laps, are tending to the stalls, with their backs to the photographer, but there don't appear to be many customers. At the right hand end of this line of stalls, a seated man and a standing girl, both wearing hats, appear to be tending the coconut shy. He has his right foot on the rail which marks the throwing position for the further of the two alleys. To the right of this, on the eastern boundary of the coconut shy, is another covered stall, with numerous boxes on a table, tended by a man standing with one hand behind his back. In the right hand background, on the east side of St John's Street, are more covered stalls, and a large crowd of men, women and children who are walking, browsing the stalls, or talking in small groups. The buildings on the east side of St John's Street are those shown as numbers 1 to 13 in this elevation drawing.

(e) In the background, behind the large lamp post, is the charateristic facade of the Red Lion Commercial Hotel, which still forms a backdrop to modern day Wirksworth, as shown in another elevation drawing on John Palmer's site. The building immediately to the left of The Red Lion appears, from the satellite image, to have since been demolished.

(d) To the left of the lamp post, and largely hidden by the presumed confectionery stall, is what we would nowadays term a merry-go-round, but in the 1891 Census was called a "roundabout [with] horses." The conical roof with a circular plan and a ball at the peak can be seen sticking up above and behind the awning of the confectionery stall, and through the stall part of one of the horses can even be seen. The building to the left of the merry-go-round is number 6 Market Place.


Image 2 - Wirksworth, West End, 1886 ?
The fore and middle ground of this photograph shows the top end of the two coconut bowling streets (a). Canvas sheets have been erected to catch errant projectiles, held up by long poles and guy ropes extending back towards the confectionery stall, just visible on the right hand side of the photo (b). A group of five children are sitting, lying, and in the case of the youngest, standing, in the space between the two bowling streets. Presumably they were there to put back coconuts knocked from their perches, but at the time the photographer clicked the shutter, they were far more interested in the brass band playing and marching up Market Place westwards towards West End. The band members (c), partly obscured by five adult onlookers standing immediately to the left of the confectionery stall, are marching from right to left across the photo, with some keen children running alongside. In the background are numbers 4 to 6 Market Place.

More in the next post ...

Charles Warwick, Fairground photographer (2)

Fair Day in Morledge, 1882, by C.T. Moore
I was in the process of examining the 1882 painting of the Easter Fair at the Morledge in Derby, by C.T. Moore (see my previous posting here), when I spotted the words "CARTE DE VISITES" written on a sign hanging from one of the tents, situated directly in front of the colour works.


Detail from Fair Day in Morledge showing photographer's tent
The tent is a fairly large one, big enough to accomodate the basic accoutrements of the travelling photographer - he is unlikely to have owned many studio props, at least in the way of furniture, and would have made the most of backdrops, perhaps painted, and carpets - and has several windows to let in sufficient light for the potraits to be taken. It is possible that there were skylight-type windows in the tent, although they are not visible in the painting. If the day was fine, and the artist suggests that it is, perhaps he would have taken advantage of the extra light, and had some of his subjects sit for their portraits in an open space outside the back of the tent. He may have developed the pictures in a shrouded, dark area of the tent, or in a purpose-built and kitted out section of his caravan. There is a small caravan parked to the left of the tent, which may belong to the photographer.

Interested in what photographers' tents and booths looked like in that and later eras, I did a little searching on the net and found several examples. None, however, were clearly identifiable as fairground artists. The photographers Case & Draper of Skagway, Alaska had an elaborate setup, with a large studio tent, as well as a separate darkroom building.


Case & Draper photography studio tent, Skagway, Alaska
taken in the late 1890s or early 1900s
Photo © & courtesy of Alaska's Digital Archives
This one in Steele, Missouri, dated August 1938, might be a little more familiar to those of us who have seen, or even visited, such establishments in our youth.


"Photos That Looks [sic] Like You"
Itinerant photographer's tent, Steele, Missouri, Aug 1938
Photo © & courtesy of USDA Historical Photographic Collection
Naturally, this discovery also set me off on a mission to see if I could find out who the photographer was, peddling his wares in the Morledge on that particular 1882 Easter Weekend.

On census night in 1881, which was Sunday 3rd April, two weeks before Easter, Charles Warwick senior had his travelling van parked on a plot of unoccupied land at 50 Normanton Street, Derby. His son Charles, then working as a confectioner, was with a large group of other showmen and women, including the Sketchley family - and more specifically his future wife Harriet Sketchley - at a fair in Market Place and Guildhall Street, Grantham, Lincolnshire. It seems likely that many of the fairground people would have travelled the forty or fifty miles from Grantham to Derby shortly after, in order to be set up and ready in the Morledge for the Easter Fair.

The following article, which appeared in a local newspaper, The Derby Mercury, on Wednesday 14 December 1881, probably referes to Charles Warwick junior (as later newspaper excerpts also report to such unruly behaviour):

ALLEGED OBSCENITY. - Charles Warwick, travelling photographer, was summoned for using obscene language in the Morledge, on the 4th inst., to the annoyance of Elizabeth Doyle, fried fish dealer. - Mr. Briggs appeared for the defence, and as it appeared that nothing was said in the public street the case was dismissed.

In the following year 1882, Easter weekend was from Friday 7 April to Sunday 9 April. I found another report in The Derby Mercury, dated Wednesday 19 April:

SUICIDE IN THE FAIR. - A shocking suicide took place in the Morledge on Saturday afternoon. A travelling photographer named George Frederick Whitaker, and his wife attended the Easter Fair, which was held there last week. Mrs. Whitaker, who was a woman of intemperate habits, had been drinkinh heavily during the past week. Her husband, in order that bhis business should not be interfered with, suggested that she should keep out of sight of the public. An altercation ensued between them, and whilst it was going on the husband stopped outside his aravan to hang up a picture. On his return his wofe told him that she had taken some cyanide of potassium - a most active poison, extensively used by photographers. Mr. Borough, of Full-street, was sent for, and administered the usual atidotes, and then ordered the removal of the woman to the Infirmary, but before that institution was reached death took place. An inquest was held on Monday by Mr. Coroner Close, and a verdict was returned of "Suicide whilst in an unsound state of mind."

From this article, it is obvious that Whitaker - and his unfortunate wife - had attended the fair, but they may not have been the only photographers there, of course. I know, from later reports in The Derby Mercury, that both Charles Warwick senior and junior, remained in Derby. The father died there in late 1889, at the age of 65, and his son was at the Morledge in 1891. I'd be interested to hear of any other sightings of the Warwicks.