Sepia Saturday give bloggers an opportunity to share their family history and memories through photographs. I chose the obvious for this week's prompt with photographs of horses, carts, carters, wagonettes, lots of caps and even some stage-coaches.
We were on holiday in Warsaw when this stage-coach drove into a square - we never found out what it was all about.
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| One of the many beautiful wall paintings you see on the outside of buildings in Austria |
In these photographs from the Scottish Borders Auld Earlston Collection we not only have carts but also luggage, wheels and caps.
A
horse and cart beside the old Pump Well in Earlston's Market Square.
The Well was demolished in 1920 to make way for the War Memorial.
Cattle Sales took place here until a sales ring was set up next to the
railway station in the mid19th century. Three times a year, farm
servants gathered hoping to secure employment at the Hiring Fairs which did not die out until the 1940's.
The
distinctive large building on the left was the Corn Exchange, built in 1868. The
clock and the belfry tower were built with money donated by John
Redpath who had emigrated to Canada made his fortune. and remembered
his home town in this way.
From the collection of the Heritage Hub in Hawick - home of the Scottish Borders Archives,Local & Family History Service.
On to something bigger - Cart-Horses
On to something bigger - Cart-Horses
The
business was founded around 1890, steadily became prosperous and in
1905 moved to near North Station, Blackpool in a house with a large
yard, hay loft, tack room. and stabling for around 7 horses.
In the 1901 census Joseph was described as a self-employed carter and coal merchant with his son
John a coal wagon driver. An accident at the coal sidings in the railway
station resulted in Joseph being blinded and he died in 1921, with his
will, signed with his "mark.
Wagonettes in tow
Wagonettes in tow
Not
a very good photograph, but the man on the left in the peak cap standing at the back of
the open topped bus is my
great uncle Bob Danson, a postman in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, I don't know if I
would feel all that safe on the top of this vehicle, ready to take passengers into Blackpool.
Another crowded wagonette outside the Red Lion Hotel, Earlston. The sign above the hotel door names Robert Smart as Proprietor. He was there in the 1901 census with hs wife isabella, son John (a groom) and other members of the household a cook, housemaid and waitress.
A winter photograph of the Red Lion Hotel in the Square at Earlston. The
driver of this unusual sledge seems to be dressed very formally in a
top hat and is not particularly well wrapped up against the elements.
And who was he waiting for? There does not seem to be any path
cleared through the snow from the hotel. Or was it a promotional
photograph? From the collection of the Heritage Hub, Hawick.
Where there are horses, there are blacksmiths.
In Earlston, the Brotherstone family fulfilled this role down several generations.
Where there are horses, there are blacksmiths.
In Earlston, the Brotherstone family fulfilled this role down several generations.
From the Auld Earlston collection
And finally a little horse and cart which brings back memories of my mother - a talented stitcher who made this soft toy.
Ride on to HERE
for other bloggers' tales of coaches, horses, roof-racks, wheels luggage, and caps.
You win on sheer volume! These are such interesting photos and your knowledge of how the carts and wagons were connected to your family's lives give them importance. I really enjoyed this post. And the handcrafted horse and wagon is precious in every sense. Do you keep it out on display? Do you put anything in the wagon?
ReplyDeleteWhat a fine set of photos and so many liked to your own family! I bet you’re the only Sepian this week with a carter in the family too. That handcrafted horse and cart is a treasure indeed.
ReplyDeleteI think my great grandfather Charles Forbes would classify as having been a carter too, and I have others of the same occupation, but without photographs.
DeleteYour cousin Gloria looks rather wary sitting atop that cart horse. I think I would be too. Whoa, Nellie! I'm having a hard time imagining how those poor horses pull that strange sleigh sitting in front of the Red Lion Hotel. I mean - where are the runners? As for the wagonettes - I wonder if that's where the airlines got the idea of adequate leg room? Very nice & interesting post!
ReplyDeleteI usually think of stagecoaches in relation to the American West and cowboy movies, so it is interesting for me to see them in other countries and contexts.
ReplyDeleteGee, I wouldn't want to be on that wagonette. It is loaded!
ReplyDeleteWOW! What a wonderful collection!
ReplyDeleteMy father and grandfather were harness makers by trade so I can claim a remote horsey connection. However I can't such a fine set of photos - not one has survived. Your series is magnificent.
ReplyDeleteI live the winter scene the best but your photos show how integral to life was the horse+cart combination? Like you I'm sure I wouldn't have liked to travel 5 yards in those open passenger wagons.
ReplyDeleteThank you to everyone for all your comments - as usual they are very much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteTo Postcardy, it was interesting to read your perception of stagecoaches in the American West, because to me they are so associated with Victorian Britain - probably thanks to Charles Dickens and also their popularity as a Christmas card image. They might look romantic on the cards, but old newspapers are full of graphic descriptions of the reality of such travel and the accidents that befell them .
To Wendy - my mother's felt horse & cart only comes out on special occasions and yes - she used to fill the little wagon with sweets.
I can't get over how many people are on that wagonette. Those horses must have been very strong.
ReplyDeleteThe winter sledge as they called it, wow, it almost appears it wouldn't go anywhere, and yet it's my favorite of them all! Nice collection of stagecoaches!
ReplyDelete