Over the Water : Sepia Saturday

This week's Sepia Saturday prompt picture is of a girl on a dingy.  Cue for me to  look  at different ways of crossing rivers, lakes, seas and oceans.

Ironbridge over the River Severn in Shropshire.

This was fhe world's first iron bridge, built 1779-1781 across the River Severn gorge - often cited as he birthplace of England's Industrial Revolution.   The Ironbridge Gorge was granted the status of a World Heritage site in the 1980's and is now a major tourist attraction. 

However in the past, many local people  objected to paying the tolls to use  the bridge   and looked for alternative ways to cross the river.

My father John Weston grew up the other side of the river at Broseley  and had very fond memories of this childhood there.  Among the family photograph collection was this picture below of Tommy Rogers, a coracle maker.

 You might be wondering, where is the boat ? Well, it is on Tommy's back, for Tommy Rogers was a coracle maker a loosely woven frame traditionally covered in animal hide, but in more recent times calico, canvas,  and coated with a substance such as bitumen.    

Tommy was a well known local character,  known as a poacher and the local newspaper regularly reported his appearance in court on poaching charges. He also helped to build the new police cells and court room in Ironbridge  - only to be one of the first people to appear there on the wrong side of the law! 

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It  is amazing what diverse directions family history can take you.  To me "snow" was the white stuff falling in winter and a "smack" was a slap to a recalcitrant child. But that all changed as I began researching the maritime history of  my husband;s ancestors. For I  learnt about the different names for ships in the 19th century - barque or bark or barc, brig, sloop. smack and snow.  No photographs unfortunately but members of the the Donaldson, White and Moffat families  were master mariners sailing out of the River Tyne in North East England.  

  The River Tyne, with the Norwegian ferry  in the background at North Shields.

 

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To Scotland 

"Discovery" was the last 3 masted ship to be built in Britain in Dundee in 1901.   it was taken on two expeditions to the Antarctic by Captain Robert Falcon Scott. The second expedition saw a party of five reaching the South Pole in 1912 only to find that Norwegian explorer had preceded them. Scott and his four comrades all perished on the return journey.  Such a sad end toan ambitious adventure. 

To more modern times:  

The Cal Mac ferry sailing between Oban and the Isle of Mull in the Western Highlands

Oban, meaning "little bay" in Gaelic, lies on the Firth of Lorne on the west coast of Scotland. and is often regarded as the unofficial capital of the West Highlands. and "Gateway to the Isles", with the  Cal Mac  (Caledonian McBrayne) ferries sailing from there  to the islands of Mull, Iona, Coll, Tiree, Colonsay, Barra and South Uist.  

 

During World War Two, Oban was an important place  in the Battle of the Atlantic, with a Royal Navy signal station, and RAF flying boat base.   In the Cold War, the first Transatlantic Telephone Cable, carrying the hot line between the USA and USSR Presidents came ashore at Oban.

 

Not the Greek Islands, not the Caribbean, but a beautiful scene on the  island of Iona off the west coast of Scotland, (often portrayed as "it always rains"),   looking across to the hills on the Isle of Mull.  

 To memories of our holidays in Bavaria and Austria. 

 An electric boat on the Konigsee in Bavaria, Germany.  Situated close to the Austrian Border,  the Konigsee is a natural lake within the Berchtesgarten National Park.  The lake, Germany's third largest,  is noted for its clear water and is advertised as the cleanest lake in the country. It is  surrounded by the steeply rising  mountains, up to 8,900 feet high. 

Swan boats on the Hallstatter See, near Salzburg  in Austria.

 

The ferry on Wolfgangsee, near Salzburg,  where we celebrated our ruby wedding anniversary.

 

 

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Sepia Saturday gives bloggers an opportunity

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On the Beach - In All Weathers - Sepia Saturday

This week's Sepia Saturday prompt photograph (see at the end of my post) features three girls playing in the sand c.1900   - but  it is not all sea, sand and sun,  as they are very warmly dressed in coats and hats.  

Judging by the clothes, this looks to be taken in winter - My husband's Great Aunt Pat with her husband Frank King, daughter Annette and small son, also Frank - c1920.   This could well be Margate beach in Kent.  

Another windy day in May 2005  on the Isle of Iona off the west coast of Scotland.  Daughter with sunglasses on, but hood up against the elements.  

Onto more sunnier climes with family photographs from the 1950s when we holidayed in Bournemouth on the south coast of England.

 

Digging holes with my brother.    You can tell this must be the 1950’s - those were the days before the anti-smoking  campaigns and  my father is happy to enjoy his cigarette, long before he ditched the habit.  Goodness knows why I  was I wearing a hated rubber swimming cap, as I could barely swim at this stage?    I suppose to keep dry my long hair which was  usually in plaits.  

 

  Here in my sun hat and gingham summer dress, made by my dressmaker mother.

A happy picture of my brother  looking very natty in his knitted bathing suit and sunhat. 

 

And if you cannot get to the beach, why not enjoy some sandy moments  at home?  Granddaughter having fun in her sand pit.     

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Sepia Saturday gives bloggers an opportunity

to share their family history through photographs.

 

 

 

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are enjoying time on the beach.  

Flowing Rivers of the Scottish Borders - Sepia Saturday

A lad fishing is the prompt image from Sepia Saturday this week.  Below the only matching image I have.

A lone fisherman on the River Clyde at Largs on  the west coast of Scotland.  In the background the ferry linking the town of Largs to the Isle of Cumbrae.

But I live near one of Scotland's prime  salmon fishing rivers - the 90 mile River Tweed and its many tributaries, so take a  journey through the Scottish Borders - a land of rolling hills and flowing rivers. 

 

The famous Leaderfoot Viaduct built in 1865 over the River TWeed was the major engineering feat of the Berwickshire Railway Line from the east coast  to the central Borders.  The statistics are impressive -  the viaduct stands 126 feet (38 m) from the floor of the river valley, and  its 19 arches, each has a 43 feet span.  

 

 

The Berwickshire Railway was badly affected by severe flooding in 1948.   The last train ran over the viaduct in 1965.  It  is  now  under the care of Historic Environment Scotland and   remains a  popular spot for  photographers today 

                         A charming tinted photograph, c.1900

 

 

 

 

Coldstream Bridge over the River Tweed was opened  in 1767 and marks the boundary between Scotland and England  - and is still the main route south today.

Coldstream Bridge Tollhouse at the north end of the bridge,  was more than just the location for collecting taxes.  For it was akin to Gretna Green towards the west as  the location for a Scottish  "Irregular Marriage".  This was in the form of a verbal declaration by the couple  giving their consent  before witnesses and did not require a clergyman, but anyone who took on the role for a fee.  No notice, such as banns,  was required, no parental consent  and no residency requirement.  Such marriages were valid in Scotland but were increasingly frowned upon and became less  and less acceptable. 

In the meantime, however, many English couples in particular,  eloped to places just across the Border,  to escape the stricter English marriage laws and obtain a quick, easy  and cheaper marriage.     

 It was on the bridge that Scottish bard  Robert Burns (1759-1796) had his first glimpse of England, as marked  by a plaque.

                          

 

 

The Rennie Bridge over the River Tweed at Kelso was built in 1803  to replace one washed away in floods of 1797. Designed by John Rennie, it was an earlier and smaller scale version of his  Waterloo Bridge in London. 

The Toll House, where the payment had to be made, was the scene of a riot in 1854, when  local people   objected to continuing to pay the tolls when the building costs had been long cleared. It still took three years for tolls to be withdrawn. 

For nearly 200 years, this narrow bridge  remained the only way across the Tweed at Kelso, causing many a bottleneck, until the building of a new one in 1998 to the east of the town. Progress here is sometimes rather slow! 

 

The Chain Bridge at Melrose beneath  the Eildon Hills crosses the famous salmon river of the Tweed.   It was opened  in 1826 as a footbridge. 

Conditions were imposed on  its use including the restraint that no more than eight people should be on it at any one time and  "no loitering, climbing or intentional swinging" permitted.  Contravention of the rules was  punishable by a £2 fine (£135 in today's money) -  or imprisonment.  (Currency Converter)

 Since payment had to be made to cross the bridge, a ford downstream for horse drawn vehicles continued to be used by pedestrians for some time, with a box of stilts at each end of the crossing.  

 

                                 The River Tweed at Melrose

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Crossing the River Tweed is Mertoun Bridge, near St. Boswells built c.1840, replacing an earlier  partly wooden construction.   It was later replaced in 1886 with the 5 arch sandstone bridge  we see today.

   

The River Tweed near Dryburgh Abbey

 

Dryburgh Abbey on the wooded banks of the River Tweed was founded in 1150 and is now the final resting place of 19th century writer Sir Walter Scott and  First World War Commander, Field Marshall Earl Haig, who lived nearby at Bemersyde.

 

 

The River Teviot at Hawick, one  of the Rover Tweed's main tributaries -  Hawick was our home for 41 years.

 

 

Leader Water  at Earlston where we now live.

 

 



Gala Water running through the town of Galashiels - helping to power its tweed mills  in the 19th century 

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Sepia Saturday gives bloggers an opportunity

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Down by the Riverside.

 

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Fun by the Pool - Sepia Saturday

This week's Sepia Saturday photograph (at the foot of my post) has the theme of Water.  It prompted me to feature my mother, her sister and friend enjoying themselves in the 1930's  in the South Shore Open Air Baths in Blackpool, Lancashire. 

My mother  Kathleen Danson, with her younger sister Peggy

  Swimming took off as a popular leisure activity in the 1920's  as part of the interest in  improving health and fitness.  The seaside resort of Blackpool, like with so many initiatives, was one of the first to jump on this bandwagon for building lidos, with the Open Air Baths at South Shore  opening to  visitors in 1923.  

At the time, it was  the largest in the world. and its statistics are staggering.  It cost £75,000 - equivalent to £2,248,000 in today's money.  Built in a classical style with pillars and colonnades, (you can just make these out in the photographs).   it could accommodate 8000 spectators/sunbathers,  and 1500 swimmers.     The dimensions met Olympic standards for competitions with a  100-metre length down one side of the pool,  and a 16 feet diving pit with boards graded to 10 metres (from where you could see the mountains and hills of the Lake District).  There were areas for little ones, fountains and slides,  bars and cafes - so  something for everyone.  By the end of the 1930s, visitors to South Shore Baths had totalled over nine million people.

 

 

  My mother Kathleen Danson

 

 

My mother's close  friend who I always knew as Auntie   Phyliss -  
 Look at those shoes - still in fashion!

In that 1950's and 60's, the Open Air Pool became  popular venue for international and national beauty contests and the location for celebrity photographs. 

I remember Mum taking my brother and I there for a swim - unfortunately there are no photographs of the day.   As it involved a bus and a tram journey to get there, I can't ever remember going again.

But, you needed to be hardy in all but the best of weathers, as the water was notoriously cold.  From the 1950's   holidaymakers were heading abroad and becoming used to the waters of warmer climes.  Use dropped and the Baths  became a big white elephant. 

The  South Shore Open Air Baths were demolished in 1983  to make way for the Sandcastle indoor water complex.  But for fifty years they remained an iconic image of their  era.  

 

 Image courtesy of  

History of Sandcastle Water Park. Blackpool.

 

 The famous Blackpool Tower - photograph taken from the North Pier, c.1990's

Sources:

• Blackpool Civic Trust
• Seaside Holidays - Lidos 
• Lost Lidos
• National Archives Currency Converter 
  
  

Based on a post first published in 2012

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Sepia Saturday gives bloggers an opportunity

to share their family history through photograph

 

 

 

 

Click HERE  to read how other Sepia Saturday bloggers 
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Joining the Crowds at The Antique Roadshow - Sepia Saturday

It is the final week of June's "Crowds" theme for the Sepia Saturday blog posts and I look back some years when, with daughter and granddaughter,   we were part of the crowd attending BBC's popular programme  Antiques Roadshow, filming at Floors  Castle, Kelso near my home ein the Scottish Borders.  

 If you are taking treasures, you need to be prepared  to have a long wait as we edged slowly towards the central point to reveal our items  and receive our tickets (free) to meet the appropriate  expert. 

Just a small part of the long, long queue.  If you were just going to view and have a browse  around, you got straight through. 

 

 

 

Showing my World War One family memorabilia to the Military expert , with granddaughter looking on.

The treasures I took:

The presentation trowel and silver baton presented  i on the occasion of laying the foundation stones for a new church,to my great great grandfather, John Matthews  (1843-1918)  in honour of his role as choirmaster.

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  The tiny inscription reads:  Presented to John Matthews by the Choir and Congregation of Wesleyan Chapel, Ladymoor:  28.11.04.
   

  To hold the baton used by my great grandfather was a delight to me, as the love of choral music  has continued down through the family.   (Of course my small granddaughter thought it was Harry Potter's wand
  

      

The inscription reads:   Ladymore Wesleyan Chapel Stonelaying Ceremony.   Presented to Mr. J. Matthews April 7th 1903.  

 

  

It was good to get a full description of my great grandfather's presentation items - Moroccan leather boxes, gold beading, brass clasps, silk lining, and velvet fitments - a quality gift which reflected the respect for my great grandfather's contribution  to church life.   

 

 

The First World War Memorabilia  from my mother's Danson family.   My grandfather William Danson (1885-1962)  and four of his brothers fought, with two not surviving the conflict.    Below are a few of the items that are part of a much a larger collection, that I have written about on my blog.

 

 

 

•    William Danson  (my grandfather) who was awarded 
  the Military Medal for gallantry. 
   
  
  Below some of the many cards that William sent home to his family. 
  
            
  

   
  
  
  
    Grandad was a taciturn country man who never spoke about the war, but these cards reflected his love for his family.
  
  
  

   

   

                             

It was gratifying to hear the kind comments on the way I had presented my WW1 cards and documents, and to hear that my grandfather's medal citation was rare, as apparently these do not often survive.

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Despite the time spent queuing, it was a great day in a beautiful setting,  - and even the sun came out!   Everyone was so good-natured, friendly and patient.  We enjoyed seeing the experts and presenter Fiona Bruce and  the cameras in action.   The organisation and logistics of the event were impressive. What stood out for me was the time and information  that the two experts I saw gave to me and the interest they showed.  

And no - I wasn't picked to be filmed and interviewed, though we were standing in the queue right by where Fiona Bruce was doing a piece to camera   -  but we never appeared on the broadcast programme!

                  

The crowds in front of the castle.

 

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Postscript :  I am pleased to say the programme is returning to film in the Scottish Borders next week at nearby Thirlestane Castle.  We will be there with fresh famiy memorabilia.  So watch this space for a further account on The Antiques Roadshow.

 

 

Copyright © 2024 Susan Donaldson.  All Rights Reserved

 

 

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Sepia Saturday gives bloggers an opportunity to share 
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                      Click  HERE to see how other bloggers have enjoyed the crowds

 

 

 

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