From Ancient Crosses to Flying Machines
We often discover quirky and interesting images during our work at the Historic England Archive. Here's a selection of our favourites.
St John’s Court, Malmesbury, Wiltshire. 1877
This image, dating from 1877, is one of the earliest known photographs held by the Historic England Archive to show building conservation in practice. Colonel C W Miles and his wife are shown cleaning and restoring the medieval arch on the south gable end of St John’s Court, also known as Court House. This building, originally the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem, was converted into almshouses in the late 16th century. Colonel Miles owned Burton Hill House in Malmesbury (later known as Ingelbourne Manor).
Eastbourne, East Sussex. August 1913
This postcard shows crowds of people on the beach at Eastbourne in the summer of 1913, watching Frederick Fowler in his water plane, prior to take-off. Frederick B Fowler established the Eastbourne School of Flying in 1911 at an airfield on Willingdon Levels near Eastbourne. The airfield was operated by the Eastbourne Aviation Company, who owned the plane shown in this photograph.
A B Burton Sculpture Foundry, Summer Road, Thames Ditton, Surrey. 1907
This photograph shows workmen posing in front of the equestrian statue of Prince George, Duke of Cambridge, by the sculptor Adrian Jones, in the A B Burton Sculpture Foundry in Thames Ditton. A B Burton was a bronze statue manufacturer. The company, originally Cox and Son, was established in 1874. The sculpture shown here is now located on Whitehall in Westminster. Another of Jones’ most well known sculptures, ‘Peace Descending on the Quadriga of War’, surmounts the Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner.
Market Cross, Cheddar, Somerset. 1795 – 1815
This painting of the Market Cross in Cheddar is one of 24 original watercolours by the artist William Alexander (1767 – 1816) recently discovered within the works of another artist. The paintings, which all depict ancient crosses, were probably collected by the artist and author C G Harper, to inform a publication on the subject, which doesn’t seem to have been completed. William Alexander travelled to China as one of the draughtsmen to the Macartney Embassy. He was later appointed Assistant Keeper of Antiquities at the British Museum.
Flying Machines above St Paul’s Cathedral, London. Early 20th Century
Another recent discovery is this quirky image which shows what appear to be pedal-powered flying machines in the skies above St Paul’s Cathedral. The photograph, which is part of the J J Samuels collection, has clearly been manipulated, with the flying machines drawn onto a print, and the whole then rephotographed. It is not known why the image was created, or what it was intended to show. The structure in front of the west end of the Cathedral, bearing an uncanny resemblance to the modern Shard building, is also a mystery.
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