Eastbourne W

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Professional Photographers in Eastbourne ( W ) 

J. A. Waylett - J. Weston & Son - Charles H. Wilcockson - Alfred Wilson - John Wilson - Mrs E. Wilson - William Wilson

J. A. WAYLETT

   

J. WESTON & SON (Jasper Weston and Frederick Jasper Weston)

The firm of J. Weston & Son operated photographic portrait studios in Eastbourne, St. Leonards-on-Sea and Brighton during the late Victorian and early Edwardian period. The firm of J. Weston & Son was founded by Jasper Weston (born c1810, Kent), who was joined in his photography business by his only son Frederick Jasper Weston (born 1849, River, near Dover, Kent) around 1874.

Jasper Weston was from a family of Quakers (Society of Friends), the son of Susanna and Richard Lambert Weston (died 1842, Ashford, Kent), a school teacher and proprietor of the Academy at Boley Hill, Rochester. Both Jasper Weston (c1810-1878) and his elder brother Lambert Weston (c1806-1895) followed their father's example, becoming school teachers and the proprietors of boarding schools. It was only when they reached late middle-age that the two brothers considered taking up a career in professional photography. In 1834, Lambert Weston and Jasper Weston announced their intention to open a school by publishing a circular entitled  "Prospectus on opening the Boarding School at Rochester, Kent". It appears that Jasper Weston, in addition to his pedagogical skills, had a creative and practical frame of mind. In February 1837, an inventor's patent for "Improvements in certain Wheeled Carriages" was granted to Jasper Weston, described on the patent specification as a 'Gentleman' of 'Dover, in the County of Kent'. There is evidence that Lambert Weston, Jasper's older brother, was working as a "practical chemist" in Dover in 1841.

On 8th August 1842, at St Mary the Virgin's Church in Dover, Kent, Jasper Weston married Maria Jane Sanders (born c1819). The union between Jasper and Maria Weston produced at least five children - Mary Susanna Weston (born 1843, West Ashford, Kent), Emily Maria Eliza Weston (born 1845, Dover, Kent), Edith Jane Weston (born 1847, River, near Dover, Kent), Frederick Jasper Weston (born 1849, River, near Dover, Kent) and Ellen Norah Annie Weston (born 1855, Dover, Kent - died 1869, Folkestone, Kent). By 1851, Jasper Weston and his wife were running a boarding school called Hofwy College at River, "a pretty village on the Dour River", near Dover, Kent. In a local directory published in 1858, Jasper Weston is shown as the principal of the Academy at Hofwy College, while his wife Mrs Maria Weston is shown in charge of the 'Seminary' (School) at Hofwy College. On the 1861 census return, Jasper Weston is described as a 50 year old teacher at the College, yet, when the census was taken ten years later, he is recorded as a "Photographic Artist" in Folkestone, Kent.

[ABOVE & RIGHT] The individual trade plates of the brothers Lambert Weston and Jasper Weston

During the early 1860s, both Jasper Weston and his older brother Lambert Weston had given up their teaching careers and taken up photography. Jasper Weston had set up a photographic portrait studio at No.3 Guildhall Street, Folkestone and his brother Lambert Weston, together with his son Sidney Cooper Weston (born 1842), had established two studios, one at 18 Waterloo Crescent, Dover, the other at Church Street, Folkestone. By 1867, Lambert Weston & Son had opened a new photographic studio at 23 Sandgate Road, Folkestone. Meanwhile, Jasper Weston and his son Frederick Jasper Weston had set up a studio at 20A Sandgate Road, Folkestone under the name of J. Weston & Son.

Jasper Weston's wife, Maria Jane Weston died in Folkestone in 1869 at the age of 50. The 1871 census records photographic artist Jasper Weston as a widower living in Sandgate Road, Folkestone, with his eldest daughter Mary Weston and his only son, Frederick Jasper Weston, described on the census return as a twenty-one year old photographer. By this date Jasper Weston & Son had established a successful photographic portrait business at 20A Sandgate Road, Folkestone. Publicity for the studio during this period describe Jasper Weston & Son as "Artists in Photography, Miniature and Portrait Painters, etc."

In 1878, Frederick Jasper Weston, Jasper Weston's only son, married Emma Briggs (born 1858, Dover, Kent). A few months after the wedding, Jasper Weston, the head of the firm, died  at the age of 68, leaving his son Frederick in sole charge of J. Weston & Son. The 1881 census records Frederick J. Weston and his young wife at 20A Upper Sandgate Road, Folkestone, Kent together with a nineteen year old domestic servant. Frederick J. Weston is described on the census return as a "Photographer & Artist, employing 5 Assistants".

The Weston Family appeared to dominate professional photography in Folkestone and Dover during the late Victorian period. Lambert Weston (c1806-1895), Jasper Weston's older brother and the founder of the firm Lambert Weston & Son, was the proprietor of the photographic studio at 18 Waterloo Crescent, Dover, for thirty years or more. Lambert Weston's son Sidney Cooper Weston (born 1842, Ashford, Kent ), the junior partner in the firm of Lambert Weston & Son, was in charge of the branch studio at 23 Sandgate Road, Folkestone until his death in 1893, aged 50.Sidney Cooper Weston, like other members of the Weston Family, was a member of The Society Of Friends (Quakers) and as a boy had attended Ackworth School, the well-known Quaker boarding school in Pontefract, West Yorkshire. In 1871, Sidney Cooper Weston had married his cousin Edith Jane Weston (born 1847, River, near Dover) a fellow Quaker and daughter of Jasper Weston, the Folkestone photographer. The 1881 census records Sidney C. Weston as a thirty-eight year old 'Photographer', residing at 23 Sandgate Road, Folkestone  with his wife and two young children, Sidney Lambert Weston, aged 3, and one year old Edith Ivy Weston. An obituary published to mark his death in 1893 summarised Sidney Cooper Weston's achievements as a professional photographer: '"Being a true artist, his professional career was marked by ability and success. His fame reached far and wide, and he numbered among his patrons members of the Royal Family and many of the nobility". Unsurprisingly,  Sidney Cooper Weston's wife and children continued the family business of Lambert Weston & Son after Sidney's death in 1893. When the census was taken on 31st March1901, Mrs Edith Weston, Sidney Cooper Weston's fifty-three year old widow, is recorded as a "Photographer". Sidney Lambert Weston (born 1878, Folkestone), Sidney Cooper Weston's eldest child, described as a twenty-three year old "Photographer" on the 1901 census return, eventually took control of Lambert Weston & Son's Folkestone studio. Also listed as photographers on the 1901 census return were Frederick Jasper Weston (born 1849, River, near Dover, Kent), the owner of J. Weston & Son, who was now residing at Capel- le-Ferne on the outskirts of Folkestone, Mary Weston (born 1843, Ashford, Kent), described on the census return as an "Artist Photographer", aged 57, and her daughter Florence May Weston (born 1866, Newington, London), who like her mother gives her occupation as "Artist Photographer" and place of residence as Folkestone.

Jasper Weston & Son in St Leonards and Eastbourne

[ABOVE] The trade plate of Jasper Weston & Son of  20 Grand Parade, St Leonards-on-Sea (c1895). Weston & Son opened their studio at 24 Grand Parade, St Leonards-on-Sea about 1887, but relocated to 20 Grand Parade around 1894.

Jasper Weston & Son established a branch studio at 24 Grand Parade, St Leonards-on-Sea around 1887. By 1891, Jasper Weston & Son had moved to 20 Grand Parade, St Leonards-on-Sea, the former studio premises of photographer Henry Knight.

[ABOVE] The trade plate of Jasper Weston & Son of  81 Terminus Road, Eastbourne. Weston & Son opened their branch studio in Eastbourne around 1894.

Around 1894, Jasper Weston & Son established a branch studio in Eastbourne when the firm acquired a studio at 81 Terminus Road, Eastbourne, previously occupied by Herbert Grisbrook Briggs, a photographer who originated from Dover. It appears that Herbert Grisbrook Briggs was kept on to manage the Weston & Son studio in Eastbourne.

Herbert Grisbrook Briggs was born in 1862 in Dover, Kent, but in his teens he had moved up to Nottingham, where he worked as a "Machine Builder's Apprentice". While working in Nottingham, Herbert Briggs met Gertrude Wright (born 1862, Nottingham), the daughter of Mrs Catherine Wright of College Street, Nottingham. By 1891, Herbert  Briggs had moved back to Kent, but in 1895 he travelled back to Nottingham to marry Gertrude Wright [The marriage of Herbert Grisbrook Briggs and Gertrude Wright was registered in Nottingham during the 2nd Quarter of 1895]. Herbert Grisbrook Briggs was probably introduced to photography by his younger brother Charles Knollys Briggs (born 1863, Capel-le-Ferne, Kent), who was working as a "Photographer's Assistant" at a studio in Kent at the time of the 1881 census.

Around 1900, the firm of Jasper Weston & Son sold their studio at 20 Grand Parade, St Leonards-on-Sea to a young photographer named Hermann Warschawski (born 1875, Brighton), possibly a former employee of J. Weston & Son, but retained their branch studio in Eastbourne. Jasper Weston & Son held on to their studio at 81 Terminus Road, Eastbourne until about 1925. Herbert Grisbrook Briggs is recorded as photographer in Eastbourne from 1893 to beyond 1911 and as he died in this seaside town in 1936, at the age of 74, it seems likely that he managed J. Weston & Son's Eastbourne studio throughout this period. By 1927, the Eastbourne branch studio of Jasper Weston & Son was based at 143 Terminus Road, Eastbourne.

Frederick Jasper Weston, who established the branch studios of J. Weston & Son in East Sussex between 1887 and 1911 (a Brighton branch of J. Weston & Son operated for a brief period at 43 Western Road, Brighton, between 1911 and 1913), continued to be based at his main studio at 20A Sandgate Road, Folkestone, Kent during this period.

Frederick Jasper Weston "who was formerly a well-known photographer at Folkestone", died at The Sanctuary, Little Chart, Kent, on 31st October 1931, aged 82. The Eastbourne branch studio of Jasper Weston & Son had outlived its founder. The J. Weston & Son studio at 143 Terminus Road, Eastbourne continued to be listed in the trades section of Kelly's Directory of Sussex up until 1934.

Picture Postcards by J. Weston & Son of St Leonards and Eastbourne
Two picture postcards produced by J.Weston & Son can be viewed at Rendel Williams' Sussex Picture Postcards.Info website at the link below:

 J. Weston & Son Postcards

[ABOVE] The trade plate of Jasper Weston & Son of 20A Sandgate Road, Folkestone, Kent (c1874).

[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait produced at the St Leonards studio of  Jasper Weston & Son (c1888). Weston & Son opened their studio at 24 Grand Parade, St Leonards-on-Sea around 1887.

[ABOVE] The trade plate of Jasper Weston & Son of  20 Grand Parade, St Leonards-on-Sea (c1895). Weston & Son opened their studio at 24 Grand Parade, St Leonards-on-Sea about 1887, but relocated to 20 Grand Parade around 1894.

[ABOVE] A detail from the listing of professional photographers in Sussex which appeared in Kelly's Directory of Sussex in 1895. Jasper Weston & Son had opened a studio in Grand Parade, St Leonards around 1887. Seven or so years later, the firm of Weston & Son established a branch studio in Eastbourne at 81Terminus Road. Charles Herbert Wilcockson's photographic studio at 26 Susans Road, Eastbourne, appears at the foot of this list.

[ABOVE] The trade plate of J. Weston & Son of Eastbourne (c1908)

[ABOVE] A photographic image from a large format photograph produced by J. Weston & Son of Eastbourne (c1908)

[ABOVE] A detail from the listing of professional photographers in Sussex which appeared in Kelly's Directory of Sussex in 1934. Jasper Weston & Son relocated to 81Terminus Road. Eastbourne around 1927. Weston & Son's former studio at 20 Grand Parade, St Leonards was still occupied by Hermann Warschawski, who purchased the studio around 1899.
 

Cartes-de-visite by Lambert Weston & Son of Dover and Jasper Weston & Son of Folkestone

[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait produced at the studio of  Lambert Weston & Son (1863). Lambert Weston (c1806-1895), the elder brother of Jasper Weston, set himself up as a photographic artist in the early 1860s. The portrait was produced either at Church Street, Folkestone or Waterloo Crescent, Dover. [ABOVE] The reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait produced by Lambert Weston & Son (1863). The publicity mentions two branch studios - one at Waterloo Crescent, Dover, the other at Church Street, Folkestone. The carte is inscribed "Mrs George Bull" and "Miss Chiverton". [ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait produced at the studio of  Jasper Weston & Son at 20A Sandgate Road, Folkestone (c1874). Jasper Weston (c1810-1878) set himself up as a photographic artist in Folkestone during  the early 1860s. [ABOVE] The reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait produced by Jasper Weston & Son of  20A Sandgate Road, Folkestone (c1874). The publicity mentions that Jasper Weston and his son Fredrick Jasper Weston were miniature & portrait painters as well as photographic artists.
[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a bearded man photographed at the studio of  Jasper Weston & Son at 20A Sandgate Road, Folkestone (c1876). [ABOVE] The reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait produced by Jasper Weston & Son of  20A Sandgate Road, Folkestone (c1876).

[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a young woman photographed at the studio of  Jasper Weston & Son at 20A Sandgate Road, Folkestone (c1882).

[ABOVE] The reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait produced by Jasper Weston & Son of  20A Sandgate Road, Folkestone (c1882).
 

Cabinet Portraits by Jasper Weston & Son of Eastbourne

[ABOVE] A cabinet portrait of two women photographed at the studio of  J. Weston & Son at 81 Terminus Road, Eastbourne (c1895). [ABOVE] A cabinet portrait of a young woman photographed at the studio of  J. Weston & Son at 81 Terminus Road, Eastbourne (c1900). The same woman appears in the cabinet  portrait below.

[ABOVE] A large format photograph produced by J. Weston & Son of Eastbourne (c1908) [ABOVE] A cabinet portrait of a young woman, originally  photographed at the Eastbourne studio of  J. Weston & Son (c1900)
 

A Wedding Photograph produced by J. Weston & Sons of Eastbourne

[ABOVE] A wedding photograph produced by J. Weston & Son of Eastbourne. This photograph, dating from August 1905 recorded the wedding of Ellen Kerrison (born 1876, Harwich, Essex) to Charles Darby (born 1874, Essex), the son of Rev. Edward George Darby, the Vicar of Billericay. Ellen ("Nell") Kerrison was married to Charles Darby at a ceremony in the Essex town of Billericay, officiated by her husband's father Rev. Edward George Darby (1837-1922), the Vicar of Billericay.

Charles Darby and his twenty-nine year old bride, Ellen Amanda Rachel Kerrison, stand in the centre of the photograph, flanked by the Best Man, Francis William Darby (born 1876, Billericay), the groom's younger brother. Seated either side of the central group are the bridesmaids - Mary Katherine Loetitia (Letitia) Darby (born 1877, Billericay) and Anne Gertrude Sarah Darby (born 1873, Shellow Bowells, Essex), the sisters of the bridegroom.

A few years after their marriage, Charles and Ellen Darby left England for Malaya, where Charles Darby became a rubber planter at Sungkai, in the district of Batang Padang in Perak, one of the Federated Malay States. Employed for many years as the Manager of the Narborough Estate, a rubber and palm oil plantation in the Batang Padang district of Perak, Charles Darby died suddenly from a heart attack in August 1931, at the age of 57. Mrs Ellen Darby, his widow, returned to England and settled in Heathfield, Sussex, where she died in 1960.

[PHOTO: Courtesy of Diana Mothersole]

[ABOVE] Rev. Edward George Darby (1837-1922), the Vicar of Billericay from 1877 until he retired in 1918. Initially, Reverend Darby lived with his growing family at the Old Vicarage in Chapel Street, Billericay, but in 1879, he purchased a large house called 'Foxcroft' in the High Street of Great Burstead. By 1885, 'Foxcroft' housed Reverend Darby, his wife Mary, nine children, a governess, a housemaid, and a nurse.

Rev. Edward George Darby died in Billericay in 1922, aged 85. A local newspaper of the time reported that  'He was remembered as a well liked personage who, however, was prone to preaching rather long sermons, these being none the better because, having no roof to his mouth, he was rather difficult to understand.'

[PHOTO: Courtesy of Diana Mothersole]

The Family of Rev. Edward George Darby, Vicar of Billericay

Charles Darby, the groom pictured with his bride, Ellen Amanda Rachel Kerrison, in the wedding photograph above, was the second eldest surviving son of Rev. Edward George Darby (1837-1922), Vicar of Billericay.

Edward George Darby was born in London in 1837, the son of Maria Homfray and George Darby (1796-1878), a barrister-at-law and the Member of Parliament for East Sussex between 1837 and 1846.

After receiving a B.A. degree at St John's College, Cambridge, Edward George Darby entered Holy Orders. At Yarmouth, in 1871, Edward George Darby married Mary Everard, (born 1847, Swaffham, Norfolk) the daughter of Mrs Charlotte and Rev. Salisbury Everard of Swaffham. In 1875, Edward George Darby was appointed Curate in Charge at St Mary Magdalen Church in Billericay, Essex. By this date, Mrs Mary Darby, the curate's wife, had given birth to four children - Harrie Edward Darby (born 1871, Plomesgate, Suffolk), Greville Lewis George Darby (born 1872- died 1872, Ongar, Essex), Anne Gertrude Sarah Darby (born 1873, Shellow Bowells, Essex) and Charles Darby (born 1874, Essex). In 1877, Edward George Darby became the Vicar at St Mary Magdalen Church, Billericay, and held this position until he retired in 1918. Between 1876 and 1885, Reverend Darby fathered eight more children - Francis William Darby (born 1876, Billericay, Essex), Katherine Loetitia Darby (born 1877,Billericay), Charlotte Eleanor Laura Darby (born 1878, Billericay), Jonathan George Salisbury Darby (born 1879, Billericay), Frederick John d'Esterre Darby (born 1880, Billericay), Mary Louisa Darby (born 1881 - died 1882, Billericay), Robert Walter Homfray Darby (born 1884, Billericay) and Richard John Purefoy Darby (born 1885, Billericay).

Charles Darby and at least three of his younger brothers went out to Malaya. Richard John Purefoy Darby (born 1885, Billericay) died at Selangor, in the Federated Malay States, in 1907, aged around 22. Francis William Darby (born 1876, Billericay, Essex), who previously served with the 2nd Battalion of the East Kent [The Buffs] Regiment during the Boer War, became the Manager of the Tekka Tin Mines. On 21st May 1913, Francis Darby was inspecting a water pipeline when he slipped into the dam and drowned. A third brother, Frederick John d'Esterre Darby (born 1880, Billericay) became a planter on the Sungei Gettah Estate. On 23rd July 1914, Frederick Darby married Miss Adelaide Sophia Morgan, eldest daughter of Captain Morgan and Mrs Morgan of Ramsgate. Frederick Darby died at Malacca on the Malay Peninsula in 1926. Charles Darby died at his bungalow in Sunkai, Malaya, on 31st August 1931, aged 57. Charles Darby, who showed no previous signs of ill health, died from a heart attack following a game of tennis.

[ABOVE] Charles Darby (1874-1931) was the second eldest surviving son of Mary Everard and Rev. Edward George Darby, Vicar of Billericay. Charles Darby had a military background, serving in volunteer forces from the age of 20 at different parts of the British Empire. In 1900, Charles Darby arrived in British Malaya (Malaysia), where he was stationed with the Malayan Police, later joining the Malacca Volunteer Force. In 1904, Charles Darby was in Nigeria, a British protectorate in West Africa, where he served in the Lagos Volunteers. On his return to England, Charles Darby married  Ellen Amanda Rachel Kerrison (born 1876, Harwich, Essex) - SEE LEFT & BELOW. In 1910, Charles Darby returned to Malaya with his wife Ellen. Charles Darby ran coffee and rubber plantations in Perak, one of the Federated Malay States. After serving as an officer in the 25th Middlesex Regiment based  in Singapore during the First World War, Charles Darby became a Lieutenant in the Malay States Volunteer Regiment, later rising to the rank of Captain. In 1930, Captain Charles Darby was awarded an O.B.E. for his military service in Malaya and other parts of the British Empire. Charles Darby was for a number of years the Manager of the Narborough Estate, a rubber and palm oil plantation in the Batang Padang district of Perak. Described as a "Doyen of the Planting Community", Charles Darby was a J.P. and, at one time, Chairman of the Batang Padang Planters Association. On 31st August 1931, Charles Darby, then aged 57, died at his bungalow in Sunkai, Malaya, from a heart attack following a game of tennis. Rev. H. J. Hutchinson, Chaplain of South Perak, a close friend of Charles Darby, expressed his "great admiration for his fine, straightforward character".

[ABOVE] Ellen Amanda Rachel Kerrison (1876-1960) was the daughter of Emma and Joseph Kerrison, a master mariner from Norfolk. In August 1905,  Ellen Kerrison married Charles Darby, the son of Rev. Edward George Darby, the Vicar of Billericay. In 1910, Ellen and her husband Charles left England for Malaya, where Charles Darby became a rubber planter. After the death of her husband's in Malaya in 1931, Mrs Ellen Darby returned to England and settled in Heathfield, Sussex, where she died in 1960.
[ABOVE] Francis William Darby (1876-1913), son of Rev. Edward George Darby and brother of Charles Darby. Francis Darby drowned in Malaya in 1913, while inspecting the water supply at the Tekka Tin Mines.  [PHOTOS: Courtesy of Diana Mothersole]

 

Charles Herbert WILCOCKSON (1867-1941)

[ABOVE] An early advertisement for Charles Herbert Wilcockson, Photographic Artist of 26 Susans Road, Eastbourne, which appeared in the Eastbourne Gazette on 17th January, 1894. Charles Herbert Wilcockson, the son of a window blind manufacturer, operated as a professional photographer in Eastbourne from 1894 until about 1911.

Charles Herbert Wilcockson was born in Eastbourne, Sussex, during the 1st Quarter of 1867, the eldest son of Harriet and Richard Wilcockson, a window blind manufacturer of Susans Road, Eastbourne. In 1862, Richard Wilcockson, who was born at Iden, near the Sussex town of Rye, in 1836, had married Harriet Paul (born 1837, Eastbourne), the daughter of William and Harriet Paul. The couple produced at least 7 children - Alice Elizabeth Wilcockson (born 1863), Hannah Harriet Wilcockson (born 1864), Charles Herbert Wilcockson (born 1867), Arthur Edward Wilcockson (born 1869), Ellen Janet Wilcockson (born 1871), Harry William Wilcockson (born 1876) and Grace Mary Wilcockson (born 1876).

At the beginning of their married life, Richard and Harriet Wilcockson had run a "berlin wool & fancy repository" at 2 Cornfield Road, Eastbourne, but, by 1871, Richard Wilcockson had established a business manufacturing window blinds. At the time of the 1871 census, Richard Wilcockson was living with his wife and four children at 2 Cornfield Road, Eastbourne. On the census return, Richard Wilcockson is described as a thirty-four year old "Blind Maker", employing one boy. Richard Wilcockson's window blind business was successful and by 1878 he had established a workshop at 26 Susans Road, Eastbourne and was employing half a dozen workers. The 1881 census describes Richard Wilcockson as a "Blind Maker & Builder, employing 5 men and 2 boys" at 26 Susans Road, Eastbourne. Sharing Richard Wilcockson's home at 26 Susans Road, Eastbourne in April 1881 was his wife and six children ( Richard's eldest daughter Alice, aged 17, was staying with her aunt and uncle in Kingston-upon-Hull), his widowed mother, seventy-two year old Mrs Hannah Wilcockson, and his sister, Mercy Wilcockson, a 44 year old spinster.

By 1890, Richard Wilcockson had brought his second eldest son, Arthur Edward Wilcockson (born 1869), into his window blind business. The 1890 edition of Kelly's Directory of Sussex lists Richard Wilcockson & Son as window blind makers at 26 Susans Road. Richard Wilcockson's eldest son  Charles Herbert Wilcockson (born 1867), a youngster with some artistic talent, was more interested in photography than blind making and so he trained as a photographer. Charles Herbert Wilcockson worked for the famous photographer John Thomson (born 1837, Edinburgh) at his West London studio at 70a Grosvenor Street, and was also a camera operator for Lambert Weston & Son, a firm of photographers in Folkestone, Kent. [See above under Weston & Son for more details about the photographer Lambert Weston (1806-1895) and his son Sidney Cooper Weston (1842-1893)].

In the early 1890s, Richard Wilcockson allowed his eldest son to open a small shop attached to his manufacturing premises at 26 Susans Road, Eastbourne. From 1894 until 1911, Charles Herbert Wilcockson worked as a photographic artist at 26a Susans Road, Eastbourne, a small studio above his father's window blind business.

The 1901 census records Charles Wilcockson as a thirty-four year old "Photographer/ Shopkeeper" working on his "own account" at his father's premises at 26 Susans Road, Eastbourne. By this date, only Charles, his eldest sister Hannah, a 36 year old spinster and their youngest sibling Grace Wilcockson, a twenty-three year old draper's assistant, were still living at their parents' house at 26 Susans Road. Arthur Edward Wilcockson (born 1869, Eastbourne), Charles Wilcockson's younger brother and a partner in his father's window blind business, had married Marian Wood (born 1872, Eastbourne) some 7 years earlier. [The marriage of Arthur Edward Wilcockson and Marian Wood was registered in Eastbourne during the First Quarter of 1894]. At the time of the 1901 census, Arthur Wilcockson, described as a thirty-one year old "window blind maker", was living with his wife Marian and their four year old son Jack Kingsley Wilcockson (born 1897, Eastbourne) at 34 Susans Road, Eastbourne, just a few doors away from his father's home and business premises at No. 26. (Sadly, on 4th July 1917, twenty year old Jack Kingsley Wilcockson, Arthur and Marian Wilcockson's only son, was killed in action near Ypres, while serving as a gunner in the Tank Corps). Harry William Wilcockson (born 1876, Eastbourne), Charles Wilcockson's younger brother, had also married. When the 1901 census was taken, Harry Wilcockson, a former telegraphist, was living in Eastbourne with his wife Alice Wilcockson (formerly Alice Adams) and their baby son Harry. [Harry Richard Wilcockson was born during the 2nd Quarter of 1900, a brother Frederick Wilcockson arrived in 1905, followed by a sister Phyllis Wilcockson in 1912].

In 1911, Charles Herbert Wilcockson is still recorded as a "Photographer" at 26a Susans Road, Eastbourne in Kelly's Directory of Sussex. The census carried out on 2nd April 1911 records Charles Herbert Wilcockson, a single man of 44, working as a "Stationer" at 26 Susans Road, Eastbourne. The 1915 edition of Kelly's Directory of Sussex lists Wilcockson & Son as window blind makers at 26 Susans Road and as confectioners at 26b Susans Road, but there is no mention of Charles Herbert Wilcockson as a photographer at 26a Susans Road, Eastbourne.

[LEFT] An oil painting depicting sappers at work in a network of underground tunnels, painted by Charles Herbert Wilcockson in 1930. This oil painting on canvas is signed and dated " C. H. Wilcockson , 1930".  This painting was up for sale at the Eastbourne Auction Rooms in October 2010.

There is evidence that Charles Wilcockson turned to painting in old age. An oil painting signed by C. H. Wilcockson and dated 1930 was recently sold at auction. Charles Herbert Wilcockson died in Buckinghamshire in 1941 at the age of 74. [Death registered in the Buckinghamshire district of Amersham during the 2nd Quarter of 1941].

[ABOVE] The trade plate of C. H. Wilcockson, Portrait Photographer of Eastbourne (c1900).

[ABOVE] The photographer John Thomson (1837-1921) pictured in China in 1871. Eastbourne photographer Charles Herbert Wilcockson worked in John Thomson's West London studio from around 1885. John Thomson, who was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1837, had spent 10 years travelling  in the Far East, visiting Singapore, Malaya, Sumatra, Siam, Cambodia, Vietnam and China.  Thomson worked as a professional photographer in China from 1868 until 1872, before returning to London. After documenting the life of London's poor with his camera ( Thomson's photographs illustrated Adolphe Smith's pioneering social document "Street Life in London"(1876-1878) John Thomson established a photographic portrait studio in Buckingham Palace Road. Around 1884, John Thomson opened a new studio at 70A Grosvenor Street, West London, where Charles Herbert Wilcockson trained as a portrait photographer.

[ABOVE] A midget portrait of a young woman by Charles Herbert Wilcockson of Eastbourne (c1900). This illustration shows the picture enlarged. (The original midget portrait measures 6cm x 3.3cm). The "Midget Carte" was the smallest format available for commercial portrait photography. The "Midget Carte" format was introduced in the early 1880s, but these tiny photographs did not become widely popular until the 1890s. Much smaller than the carte-de-visite, the Midget portrait was significantly cheaper than the other popular portrait formats. C. H. Wilcockson of Eastbourne charged  3s 6d for a dozen Midget portraits.

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 Midget portraits by Charles Herbert Wilcockson of Eastbourne

[ABOVE] An advertisement for Charles Herbert Wilcockson, Photographic Artist of 26 Susans Road, Eastbourne, which appeared in the Eastbourne Chronicle on 28th March 1894. This advertisement gives details of the charges made by Wilcockson for the three most popular formats for portrait photography - 10 shillings (a dozen) for cabinets, 5 shillings (a dozen)  for cartes-de-visite and 3s 6d (a dozen) for "midgets, the tiny portrait photographs illustrated on the left and right.

[ABOVE] A midget portrait of a girl by Charles Herbert Wilcockson of 26a Susans Road, Eastbourne (c1900) [ABOVE] The publicity on the reverse of a midget portrait taken by Charles Herbert Wilcockson of Eastbourne (c1900) [ABOVE] An advertisement for Charles Herbert Wilcockson, Photographic Artist of 26 Susans Road, Eastbourne, which appeared in the Eastbourne Gazette on Wednesday, 26th September, 1894. Charles Herbert Wilcockson operated as a professional photographer at  26 Susans Road, Eastbourne from 1894 until about 1911. [ABOVE] A midget portrait of a girl by Charles Herbert Wilcockson of 26a Susans Road, Eastbourne (c1900)
 

John WILSON (1840-1884), Mrs Ellen WILSON (born c1837, Underwood/Plympton, Devon) and Alfred WILSON (born 1863, Hampstead, London)

John M. Wilson

John Milligan Wilson was born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, during the 4th Quarter of 1840, the son of Mary Ann and William Wilson, a tailor of St Albans.

By 1871, John Wilson was married and living in Hampstead, London, with his wife Elenor (born c1837, Plympton Devon). The 1871 census records John Wilson as a 30 year old 'Photographic Artist' at 8 South Hill Park, Hampstead. By this date John Wilson and his wife Elenor (Ellen) had one child, a 7 year old son named Alfred Thomas Wilson (born 1863, Hampstead, London). Between 1873 and 1878, John Wilson operated his own photographic portrait studio at South End Green, Pond Street, Hampstead.

Around 1880, John Wilson arrived in Eastbourne. The 1881 census records John Wilson and his wife Ellen (Elenor) at an address in South Street, Eastbourne.

1881 Census: No. 7 South Street, Eastbourne, Sussex

Name

 

Occupation

Age

Place of Birth

John Wilson

Head

Photographer

40

St Albans, Hertfordshire
Ellen Wilson

Wife

 

43

Plympton, Devon

[ABOVE]  John Wilson recorded as a photographer in Eastbourne in the 1881 census.

At the time of the 1881 census, Alfred Thomas Wilson, John Wilson's 17 year old son, was working as a "Printer's Compositor" and boarding with a family in Hampstead, London.

John Wilson worked as a photographer in Eastbourne for a period of 4 years. Initially, John Wilson worked from 96 Sea Side, Eastbourne, but by the early 1880s he was based at 196 Pevensey Road, Eastbourne. By 1884, John Wilson's studio address had changed to No. 200 Pevensey Road, Eastbourne. During the 3rd Quarter of 1884, John Wilson died in Eastbourne, aged 44.

Mrs Ellen Wilson

After John Wilson's death in 1884, his widow Mrs Ellen Wilson took over the running of her late husband's studio with the assistance of her son, Alfred Thomas Wilson (born 1863, Hampstead, London). In the Eastbourne 'Blue Book' Directory published in 1885, Ellen Wilson is listed as a photographer at 168 Seaside Road, Eastbourne, under the studio name of Mrs Wilson & Son.

A. Wilson (Alfred Thomas Wilson)

From around 1884, the year of John Wilson's death, photographic portraits continued to be taken at Wilson's studio at 200 Pevensey Road, Eastbourne. The carte-de-visite portraits which were taken at 200 Pevensey Road, Eastbourne carry the photographer's credit "A. Wilson". Presumably 'A. Wilson' was Alfred Thomas Wilson, John Wilson's 20 year old son. The 1885 edition of the Eastbourne 'Blue Book' Directory lists Mrs Wilson & Son as a firm of photographers at 168 Seaside Road, Eastbourne.( It appears that the building at No. 200 Pevensey Road had been absorbed by Seaside Road, Eastbourne around 1885).

The studio of Mrs Wilson & Son (later listed under the name of A. Wilson) was short-lived. Alfred Thomas Wilson left Eastbourne and returned to his former occupation in the print trade. In 1894, Alfred Thomas Wilson married Frances Grace Whitnell (born 1865, Plymouth, Devon) in East London. The couple went on to produce 4 children- John Alfred (born 1895, Bow, London), Winifred Maud (born 1896, Leytonstone, Essex), Stanley Arthur (born 1899, Leytonstone, Essex) and Kenneth Thomas Wilson (born 1901, Leytonstone, Essex)

Alfred Thomas Wilson died in the district of Ilford, Essex, in 1939, aged 75.

[ABOVE] John Wilson's trade plate, rubber-stamped on the reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait. The photographer John Milligan Wilson (1840-1884) arrived in Eastbourne around 1880.
 

[ABOVE] An outdoor group portrait of a family, photographed by John Wilson of 96 Seaside, Eastbourne (c1880).

[ABOVE] The trade plate of  A.  Wilson (probably Alfred Thomas Wilson) of 200 Pevensey Road Eastbourne

 

Cartes-de-visite by John Wilson of Eastbourne

[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a young woman by John Wilson of 96 Sea Side, Eastbourne (c1880) [ABOVE] John Wilson's trade plate, rubber-stamped on the reverse of the carte-de-visite portrait shown on the left (c1880). [ABOVE] A carte-de-visite group portrait of four men and a dog by John Wilson of 96 Sea Side, Eastbourne (c1880). Wilson's trade plate is rubber-stamped on the reverse.

[ABOVE] John Wilson's trade plate as printed on the reverse of the outdoor group shown on the right. (c1880) [ABOVE] An outdoor group portrait of a family, photographed by John Wilson of Eastbourne (c1880). [ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a man wearing a trilby hat, photographed by John Wilson of 200 Pevensey Road, Eastbourne (c1883)

[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a young man photographed by John Wilson of 200 Pevensey Road, Eastbourne (c1883) [ABOVE] The reverse of a carte-de-visite by John Wilson showing his business address as 200 Pevensey Road, Eastbourne (c1883).  [ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of two female servants photographed by John Wilson of 200 Pevensey Road, Eastbourne (c1883)
 

Cartes-de-visite by A. Wilson of 200 Pevensey Road,Eastbourne

[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a family group,  photographed by A. Wilson of 200 Pevensey Road, Eastbourne (c1884). Presumably, 'A. Wilson' was John Wilson's son, Alfred Thomas Wilson (born 1863). [ABOVE] The reverse of the carte-de-visite by A. Wilson of 200 Pevensey Road, Eastbourne, pictured on the left (c1884). The premises at  200 Pevensey Road was up until 1884 occupied by the photographer John Wilson. [ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a young lad holding a bowler hat,  photographed by A. Wilson of 200 Pevensey Road, Eastbourne (c1884). 'A. Wilson' was almost certainly Alfred Wilson, John Wilson's son.

[ABOVE] The reverse of a carte-de-visite by A. Wilson of 200 Pevensey Road, Eastbourne (c1884). The premises at  200 Pevensey Road was up until 1884 occupied by the photographer John Wilson (1840-1884). [ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a woman holding a parasol,  photographed by A. Wilson of 200 Pevensey Road, Eastbourne (c1884). Presumably, 'A. Wilson' was John Wilson's son, Alfred Thomas Wilson (born 1863). [ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a bearded man photographed by A. Wilson of 200 Pevensey Road, Eastbourne (c1884). Presumably, 'A. Wilson' was John Wilson's son, Alfred Thomas Wilson (born 1863).
 

Charles Robert WILSON (1881-1952)

Charles Robert Wilson was not a full-time, professional photographer. For most of his working life, Charles Robert Wilson was employed as a carpenter, but the existence of cabinet portraits printed with the home address of his father indicates that, when he was a young man, he worked as a photographer in his spare time.

Charles Robert Wilson was born in Eastbourne during the 2nd Quarter of 1881, the son of Emma Hartfield and Robert Thomas Wilson, a carpenter and builder from Burwash who had worked in Hastings before finding work in Eastbourne. At the time of the 1881 census, Robert Thomas Wilson (born 1847, Burwash, Sussex) was living with his pregnant wife Emma (born 1841, Burwash) and their son George Thomas Wilson (born 1875, Hastings) at 9 Brightland Road, Eastbourne. Robert and Emma Wilson's second son, Charles Robert Wilson, was born in Eastbourne shortly after the census was taken. A third son, Arthur William Wilson, was born in Eastbourne during the 3rd Quarter of 1886.

When the census was taken on 5th April 1891, Charles Robert Wilson was living with his parents and brothers at a cottage in Bradford Street, Eastbourne. Charles's father, (Robert Thomas Wilson) was still working as a carpenter and his 15 year old brother, George Thomas Wilson, was serving his apprenticeship in a grocery business.

When the 1901 census was carried out, Robert Thomas Wilson and his family were living at 33 Bradford Street, Eastbourne. By this date, Robert Thomas Wilson had his own building business and his 19 year old son, Charles R. Wilson, was employed as a carpenter. It was around this time that Charles Robert Wilson was supplementing his income by taking photographic portraits. A cabinet group portrait of a man, three young women and a dog, which was probably photographed around 1900 (see illustration on the right) carries the photographer's credit "C. R. WILSON, 33 BRADFORD STREET, EASTBOURNE".

In 1904, at Eastbourne, Charles Robert Wilson married twenty-five year old Mary Ann Underwood (born 1879, Hove), who at the time of the 1901 census was working as a "Parlour Maid" in Brighton. Mary Ann Underwood's father, Philip Underwood (born c1844, Little Stambridge, near Rochford, Essex), had spent all his working life in domestic service, serving at various times as a house servant, coachman and gardener.

When the census of Eastbourne was taken on 2nd April 1911, Charles Robert Wilson, his wife Mary Ann, and their 4 year old daughter, Lucy Emma Louise Wilson (born 1906, Eastbourne), were living at 29 Bradford Street in the Old Town of Eastbourne. On the census return, twenty-nine year old Charles Robert Wilson declared that he was employed as a "Carpenter" in the building trade. No mention is made of his work as a photographer.

[ABOVE] A group portrait of a man and three young women,  photographed by Charles Robert Wilson of 33 Bradford Street, Eastbourne (c1900)

 

William WILSON (born c1846, Leamington, Warwickshire)

William Wilson is recorded as a self-employed photographer living at 5 Dennis Cottages, Lower Drove, Eastbourne, in the 1891 census. It is likely that William Wilson was working as a 'beach photographer" on Eastbourne's seafront. William Wilson's wife, Mrs Selina Wilson (born c1856, Yarmouth, Norfolk) is described on the census return as a "Dealer in Shells".

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