Hastings Photographers (Birchall/Blades/Blizard)

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Professional Photographers in Hastings

James Birchall - Alfred C. Blades - Walter Blizard

 

James Birchall junior (1859-1930) - Photographer in Hastings between 1886 and 1901

James Birchall was born at Faversham, Kent, in 1859, the son of Emily Sellen and James Birchall senior, a tailor by trade. [James Birchall was christened in Faversham on 27th November 1859].

In 1878, James Birchall married Emma Rosina Taylor (born 1861, Sandgate, Kent) in her home town of Sandgate. Around the same time of her marriage to James Birchall, Emma gave birth to a son named George Thomas Birchall in Sandgate, Kent. [The birth of George Thomas Birchall was registered in the Kent district of Elham (which covers Sandgate) during the 2nd Quarter of 1878].

By 1880, James Birchall, his wife Emma and their young son were living in Hastings. [James's father, James Birchall senior, had also moved to Hastings around 1880 and had set himself up as a tailor in Croft Road, Hastings]. During the 4th Quarter of 1880, James Birchall junior's second child, a daughter named Ellen Birchall, was born in the town of Hastings. When the census was taken on 3rd April 1881, James Birchall junior and his family were residing at 2 Holmesdale Gardens, Hastings, a lodging house run by Ellen and George Cutbath Kemp, a gas fitter by trade. Mrs Ellen Kemp, the lodging house keeper at 2 Holmesdale Gardens was James Birchall junior's aunt, being the elder sister of his mother.

1881 CENSUS: 2 Holmesdale Gardens, Hastings

NAME

  AGE

OCCUPATION

WHERE BORN

George C. Kemp

Head

51

Gas Fitter

Tovil, Kent
Ellen Kemp

wife

54 Lodging House Keeper Milstead, Kent
James Birchall

nephew

21

Photographer

Faversham, Kent
Emma R. Birchall wife to above 20   Sandgate, Kent
George T. Birchall

son

2

  Sandgate, Kent
Nellie (Ellen) Birchall

daughter

4m   Hastings, Sussex
Sarah A. Bedwell

servant

19

Domestic Servant

Ospringe, Kent
[ABOVE] James Birchall and his family recorded at a lodging house at 2 Holmesdale Gardens, Hastings, on the 1881 census. Mrs Ellen Kemp was the elder sister of James Birchall's mother.

On the census return, James Birchall is recorded as a twenty-one year old "Photographer". James Birchall was either employed as a photographer at one of the dozen established studios in Hastings & St Leonards or was working casually as a travelling photographer or beach photographer.

By 1887, James Birchall junior had set himself up as a portrait photographer at 32 Cambridge Road, Hastings, calling his business premises "The Cambridge Studio". Between 1887 and 1900, James Birchall junior took photographic likenesses at 32 Cambridge Road, Hastings, the majority being in the form of carte-de-visite and cabinet portraits.

When the 1891 census was taken, James Birchall was recorded as a 31 year old "Photographer" at 32 Cambridge Road, Hastings. James Birchall's wife, Emma Rosina Birchall, has the word "Apartments" against her name, written under the heading of "Occupation", which suggests that the family were supplementing their income by letting out rooms. There had been two additions to the family since the last census. Three children were listed at 32 Cambridge Road, Hastings: Ellen, aged 10, Rose Emily aged 8, and two year old Albert Birchall. [At the time of the 1891 census, James Birchall's eldest son, George Thomas Birchall, was staying with relatives in Kent]. Rose Emily Birchall had been born in Hastings during the 1st Quarter of 1883 and the youngest member of the family, Albert Birchall, arrived during the 2nd Quarter of 1889.

James Birchall was last listed as a professional photographer at 32 Cambridge Road in the trades section of the 1901 edition of Pike's Directory of Hastings. When the census was taken on 31st March 1901, James Birchall was recorded in Hastings as a "House Decorator's Manager", so presumably he had closed his photographic portrait studio in Cambridge Road. James and Emma Birchall's two youngest children were living at home when the census was taken. The census return reveals that eighteen year old Rose Birchall was working as a dressmaker.

By 1910, James Birchall and his family were living in the Sussex town of Rye. Towards the end of 1910, in the town of Rye, James Birchall's eldest son, George Thomas Birchall, married a young local woman, Minnie Grance Holdstock (born 1886, Rye, Sussex). The 1911 census records James Birchall as a house painter residing with his wife Emma and their youngest son at 6 Waterlow Place, Rye, Sussex. Twenty-one year old Albert James Birchall was working as a plumber at the time of the 1911 census, as was his married brother George Birchall. James and Emma Birchall's eldest daughter, Ellen Birchall was living in King's Lynn, Norfolk. In 1914, Ellen Birchall married grocer Philip James Monument in King's Lynn.

James Birchall died in Rye, Sussex, in 1930 at the age of 70. [The death of James Birchall was registered in the district of Rye, during the 4th Quarter of 1930]. Mrs Emma Rosina Birchall, who was married to James Birchall for 52 years, died in Rye in 1931. Earlier in the year, Mrs Birchall had lost her youngest son, Albert James Birchall, who had died at the age of 41. [The death of Albert James Birchall was registered in the district of Rye, during the 1st Quarter of 1931].

[ABOVE] The trade plate of the Hastings photographer James Birchall rubber-stamped on the reverse of a cabinet portrait produced around 1888. James Birchall opened the The Cambridge Studio at 32 Cambridge Road, Hastings, Sussex around 1887. No. 1708 is the negative number.
[ABOVE] A cabinet portrait of a young man,  photographed around 1888 by James Birchall of The Cambridge Studio, 32 Cambridge Road, Hastings, Sussex. The negative number 1708 is inscribed on the reverse.

[ABOVE] The trade plate of James Birchall, Photographer, of The Cambridge Studio, 32 Cambridge Road, Hastings, Sussex. This trade plate was rubber-stamped on the reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait produced around 1887.

Cambridge Road in Hastings

[ABOVE] Cambridge Road, Hastings, photographed in the 1870s. At centre-right, just above the blurred image of the horse and cart is the faint image of the Albert Memorial Clock Tower which had been built in 1862. James Birchall's photographic studio was further to the west and therefore does not appear in this photograph.
[LEFT] The approximate location of James Birchall's photographic portrait studio at 32 Cambridge Road, Hastings marked on an 1873 Ordnance Survey map of  Hastings. The house at No. 34 Cambridge Road is still standing, but it appears that No. 32, where James Birchall had his photographic studio, was demolished to make way for the development of the road in Cambridge Gardens which was built on the site of the medieval priory.

Photographic Portraits by James Birchall of The Cambridge Studio, Hastings

Carte-de-visite Portraits by James Birchall of 32 Cambridge Road, Hastings

[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a man with a white fringe beard, photographed around 1887 by James Birchall of The Cambridge Studio, 32 Cambridge Road, Hastings. James Birchall's trade plate is rubber-stamped in purple ink on the reverse of the carte. The negative number 914 is written in ink on the back. [ABOVE] The reverse of the carte-de-visite  portrait illustrated on the right. The carte, which dates from around 1887, carries a purple rubber-stamped trade plate which reads: "The Cambridge Studio, J. Birchall, Photographer, 32 Cambridge Road, Hastings". The negative number 314 is hand-written in black ink. [ABOVE] A vignette portrait of an unknown woman, photographed around 1887 by James Birchall of The Cambridge Studio, 32 Cambridge Road, Hastings. James Birchall's trade plate is rubber-stamped in purple ink on the reverse of the carte. (see illustration at left). The negative number 314 is written in ink on the back. [ABOVE] A portrait of a woman holding a book in a studio setting, produced around 1890 by James Birchall of 32 Cambridge Road, Hastings. The back of the carte is plain; James Birchall's trade plate being printed in black at the foot of the photograph. The photographer  is now employing a painted backdrop and studio props.

[ABOVE] A portrait of a teenage girl in an oval frame, a carte-de-visite produced around 1887 by James Birchall of The Cambridge Studio, 32 Cambridge Road, Hastings. James Birchall's trade plate is rubber-stamped in purple ink on the reverse of the carte. The negative number 110A is written in ink on the back, together with an inscription "Ros... Aged 14 Years" [ABOVE] A vignette portrait of a sailor, photographed around 1887 by James Birchall of The Cambridge Studio, 32 Cambridge Road, Hastings. The sailor's hatband carries the name "HMS Garnet", a cruiser which was launched in 1877. James Birchall's trade plate is rubber-stamped in purple ink on the reverse of the carte. The negative number 829 is written in ink on the back. [ABOVE] A portrait of a young boy holding a toy spade, a carte-de-visite produced around 1888 by James Birchall of The Cambridge Studio, 32 Cambridge Road, Hastings. James Birchall's trade plate is rubber-stamped in purple ink on the reverse of the carte. The negative number 1259 is written in ink on the back of the carte. Birchall is now using a painted backdrop and props. [ABOVE] A portrait of a girl leaning on a concrete plinth with flowers and foliage at her side; a carte-de-visite produced by James Birchall of 32 Cambridge Road, Hastings. The back of the carte is plain; James Birchall's signature and studio address is impressed at the foot of the photograph. This portrait was taken around 1898, a couple of years before he closed his studio.

Cabinet Portraits by James Birchall of 32 Cambridge Road, Hastings

[ABOVE] A cabinet portrait of an elderly couple, photographed around 1890 by James Birchall of 32 Cambridge Road, Hastings. Negative Number 2558. [ABOVE] A damaged cabinet portrait of a young man,  photographed around 1888 by James Birchall of The Cambridge Studio, 32 Cambridge Road, Hastings. Neg. No 1708.

[ABOVE] A cabinet portrait of a young man,  photographed around 1898 by James Birchall of 32 Cambridge Road, Hastings. [ABOVE] A cabinet portrait of a young woman, photographed around 1890 by James Birchall of 32 Cambridge Road, Hastings.
 

Alfred Chapman Blades (born 1887, Buxton, Derbyshire) - Photographer in Hastings between 1908 and 1909

Alfred Chapman Blades was born in Buxton, Derbyshire, in 1887, the only son and youngest child of Sarah Chapman and Theophilus Walden Blades, a hotel proprietor. Theophilus W. Blades (born c1847, Saffron Walden, Essex) had married Sarah Chapman in Liverpool in 1874. Theophilus Blades secured a position as a hotel manager in the West Derby district of Liverpool and by 1881 he was living with his family at 47 West Derby Street, West Derby, Lancashire. Two daughters were born during the family's stay in West Derby - Maud Ellen Blades (born 1875, West Derby, Liverpool) and Alice Chapman Blades (born 1877, West Derby, Liverpool). Within a year or so, the Blades family moved to Reading, Berkshire, where a third daughter, Frances Chapman Blades was born during the 4th Quarter of 1883. The nature of Theophilus Blades' employment meant frequent moves and when his son Alfred Chapman Blades was born during the 3rd Quarter of 1887, the family were living in Buxton, Derbyshire. When the 1901 census was taken, Theophilus Walden Blades, was the proprietor of the Globe Hotel in Whitehaven, Cumberland.

Alfred Chapman Blades became a professional photographer. By the end of 1908, Alfred C. Blades had acquired a photographic studio at 50 Queen's Road, Hastings. Alfred Blades' photographic career in Hastings was brief. In May 1909, Alfred Chapman Blades was declared bankrupt. On 14th June 1909, the Hastings Chronicle reported that Alfred Chapman Blades, a "photographer of 50 Queen's Road" had appeared in the Bankruptcy Court.

After his bankruptcy, Alfred Chapman Blades moved to Stratford-upon-Avon, where, during the 3rd Quarter of 1909 he married Gertrude Beatrice Taylor (born 1882, Southwark, South London), the daughter of Elizabeth and Harry Taylor, a sales manager from London. The following year, Mrs Gertrude Blades gave birth to a baby boy named Dudley Alfred Blades (born 1910, Tunbridge Wells, Kent)

When the census was taken on 2nd April 1911, Alfred Chapman Blades was visiting his sister and her husband (George and Alice McManus) in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire. On the census return, Alfred Chapman Blades is described as a "Photographer", aged 23.

Alfred Chapman Blades' Brief Photographic Career in Hastings

[ABOVE] Alfred Chapman Blades listed as a professional photographer at 52 Queen's Road, Hastings in the "Trades Section" of the 1909 edition of Kelly's Directory of Sussex. Blades is not mentioned in the 1908 and 1910 editions.
[ABOVE] Alfred Chapman Blades, described as a photographer at 52 Queen's Road, Hastings, Sussex, featured in the list of bankrupts compiled by The London Gazette and reprinted in The Edinburgh Gazette on 25th May 1909.
 

Walter Blizard (born c1886, Margate, Kent) - Active as Photographer in Hastings between 1908 and 1910

A person named "W. Blizard" is listed as a photographer at 70 Plynlimmon Road, Hastings in the editions of Pike's Directory of Hastings published between 1908 and 1910. The only adult Blizard with the initial "W" who was living in Hastings during the period 1908-1910 was Walter Ely Blizard (born c1886, Margate, Kent). At the time of the 1911 census, Walter Ely Blizard was residing with his family at 72 Plynlimmon Road, Hastings and he is described as a "Fat, Bone and Skin Dealer". Residing with twenty-five year old Walter Blizard was his wife Florence (aged 24) and their three children, Walter junior (aged 5), Joseph (aged 3), and Alfred (aged 1).

Walter Ely Blizard had married Florence Maud May Absolon (born 1887, Lowestoft, Suffolk) in Suffolk in 1887. The couple settled in Oulton Broad on the outskirts of Lowestoft. Their first child, Walter Joseph William Blizard was born at Oulton Broad, but when the birth was registered during the 4th Quarter of 1905, Walter Blizard senior and his family were already living in Hastings. Walter Blizard's second son, Joseph George Blizard was born in Hastings during the First Quarter of 1908. Alfred Robert Blizard, Walter and Florence Blizard's third son, was born in Hastings during the 2nd Quarter of 1910.

The death of Walter E. Blizard was recorded in Hastings in 1960.

 

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