|
May I suggest that you navigate the site via the
index on page 001. PRIOR PAGE / NEXT PAGE
Do you want to make a comment? A site guestbook is here.
Corrections in any of the material which follows,
however tiny,
would be most
welcome. And
additions, of course!
Copyright? Test
To search for specific text on this page, just press 'CTRL +
F' & then enter your search term. A general site search facility is here.
There have been, in recent years, many visually interesting paper items
available at auction sites. Mainly at eBay but also at Delcampe. Now, being a
'pack-rat', I have saved many of them, with the intention of featuring them on a
page such as this, in order that they continue to be available into the future for interested site
visitors. I do have quite a number of them to add in due course, likely on
another page, as time & site priorities permit.
Since those words were written, many items for this page have been received from
one particular 'friend of the site'. So the page in the
future will surely contain material from many sources. A
small index to the page.
Probably enough for this page. Since as related items are
discovered they are added into the applicable section. To save repeating the comment many times, I often do not present the entire available images - rather
such portion of them which are visually the most interesting.
1) PADDLE TUG 'MARSDEN'
The 'paddle' tug Marsden, featured in the next image was
not built at Sunderland, even though the advertising card does relate to tug
services there. Marsden was rather built at nearly South Shields,
by J. P. Rennoldson & Sons Ltd. Which Marsden is depicted? There were a number of them.
Robert Moon, of the Friends of Old Sunderland
Parish Church, The Rector Gray Society, via Mary Carey, (thank you both) advises that it is the tug of the name built
in 1906 (link, 130 tons). The one built in 1917
(link, 195 tons) was, I am advised a screw tug & not a paddle tug. The card was an eBay item & sold for GBP 22.00,
approximately U.S. $33.59 on May 8, 2009.
Mary & Robert further advise as
follows: 'The 1906 Marsden was built for Sunderland Towage Company
& was designed by John Moon who was their Commodore (John Moon, is Robert Moon's
grandfather). The postcard shows her in the colours of
Sunderland Towage Company which was alternate white & blue vertical stripes
based on the cuff band of a policeman. She was requisitioned for service in the Royal Navy in
1915, & was sent to Dardanelles for the Gallipoli campaign. She was wrecked & totally destroyed by Turkish gunfire
in the Allied landings at Suvla
Bay, Gallipoli, in 1915. This particular Marsden (despite the postcard)
was never a 'France Fenwick' tug as they were not a company until 1918 when they
bought out Sunderland Towage Company so this tug was never owned by 'France
Fenwick'.'
Mary & Robert also advise that there was a tug named Sunderland which
was not in fact built at Sunderland but rather, also, at J. P. Rennoldson & Sons Ltd.
at South Shields, as you
can read here.
A 172 ton screw-tug built in 1914 for Sunderland Towage Company &
leased in 1915 to the Imperial Russian Government for WW1 service. She was based
in Archangel harbour in Northern Russia with her Sunderland crew. An ammunition ship blew up in the harbour
& the Sunderland crew risked
life & limb during the rescue operation. Their bravery was recognised by Tsar
Nicolas II & their medals were presented at Buckingham Palace by King
George V on behalf of his cousin the Tsar.
David Wingate made
available, back in 2014, on 'Sunderland Tugs & Shipbuilding ...' on Facebook, a large image of
Marsden built in 1917. The link to it no longer works so here it is.
2) THE SUNDERLAND DOCK COMPANY - an 1846 Share Certificate
The name of
George Hudson is famous indeed in the history of Sunderland. George was Sunderland's
Member of Parliament from 1845 to 1959 & was known as the 'Railway King' because of his
involvement in the railway boom. Biographical data is here
(there are other pages available). He had a major involvement in the history of
Sunderland & of the railways in the North of England, but his story, while
interesting, is unfortunate in many ways - he was guilty of fraud & bribes in
expanding his business empire & was indeed imprisoned in 1865 for a while. But
... It is after George Hudson that Hudson Dock,
which opened in 1850, is named. By 1868, Hudson Dock was such a success & the volume of coal shipments were such
that Hudson Dock had to be extended southwards. Into what became Hendon Dock.
You can read a little more about him in a 'Len Charlton' on site article here.
Anyway, above we have two paintings by John Wilson Carmichael of the opening of South
Dock/Hudson Dock in 1850. And below we have a share
certificate of 'The Sunderland Dock Company', issued in the name of George Hudson in 1846. Re the ownership of
a single £25 share in the company. Now he founded that company, so I suspect
that he owned rather more than a single share of it.
3) STOP THE PRESSES! - SHEEP STOLEN
IN CLEADON!
Felons beware! The 'Bishopwearmouth Friendly
Association for the Prosecution of Felons' is on the job. Or at least it was on the job -
back in 1839.
4) WINGS FOR VICTORY WEEK - APRIL
3RD TO 19TH 1943
In April 1943, a fund raising effort was underway
in rural Sunderland - the objective being to raise the sum of £120,000 for the
building of three Lancaster
bombers. Events of all kinds were scheduled over the week in South Hylton & in Silksworth,
in Ryhope, East, Middle & West Herrington. The first two pages, i.e. pages 1
& 2, of the 'Wings
For Victory Week' programme can be seen below.
Was that particular week
any different than any other week? Probably not. I suspect that such efforts
were regular occurrences not only in and around Sunderland, but also in every other city
across the entire country.
Did they raise the £120,000? I cannot answer
that question but it would not surprise me that they did.
Should you wish to view them, the other
programme pages
can be viewed here - pages 3 & 4, 5 & 6,
7 & 8.
5) STEAD AND SIMPSON LIMITED - 1
HIGH STREET WEST
 | |
'Stead & Simpson Limited' sold footwear from
premises located at 1 High Street West in Sunderland. And in or about 1900, promoted a 'Great
Sale of Boots and Shoes' with the wonderful card depicted below.
The item was sold via eBay some
time ago now, but it is long expired & I did not, alas, record how much it sold
for.
Is it not a beauty to behold! |
The webmaster has been privileged to have owned two Black
Labrador retrievers in his lifetime. The first, in fact a Black Labrador/Collie
cross, guarded our children when they were young, & was the family's faithful
companion while they grew up. She lived to age 16 - a good age for such a large dog.
Our current Black Labrador, 13 years old but alas now almost entirely blind, is
sleeping in the hallway as I write these words. In his way, to the extent that
he today can, he is still, despite his loss of eyesight, our 'watch dog', is
constantly on duty & is ever our faithful friend. The above illustration well
might depict both of our dogs.
Alas our Black Labrador has, since the above
words were written, has passed away.
6) THOMAS TURNBULL - 'QUEEN' - THE
TAYLOR & SANDERSON STEAM SHIPPING COMPANY, LIMITED.
 |
 Taylor & Sanderson
uniform buttons. c1900 I have read.
'Queen' was an
1,818 ton cargo vessel in the fleet
of 'The Taylor & Sanderson Steam Shipping Company, Limited' ('Taylor'). And Thomas
Turnbull, then 41 years of age, served aboard her, as Mate, in 1905 at least. Now quite a number of the Taylor
fleet vessels were built by Short Brothers, in Sunderland, & Queen was also. It
was built in 1882, renamed Para when sold in 1911, & hit a mine &
sank on Jun. 10, 1916.
|
As you can read here, since the vessel is now listed on
site - without a lot of data, alas.
An
interesting & self explanatory, if sad, certification follows about the death of Thomas Turnbull in
Nov. 1905.
7) ARMSTRONG, ADDISON & CO. - TIMBER
& IRON MERCHANTS
 | |
Three items related to 'Armstrong, Addison & Co.',
timber merchants, timber preservers & iron merchants, with offices at 17 North Bridge Street,
in Sunderland.
At left a beautiful
decorative cast iron 'Armstrong, Addison & Co.' plaque, offered for sale via
eBay in Sep. 2013. Of approximately 12.5 cm wide & 6.5 cm tall - 0.5 cm thick.
Possibly from a ship, the vendor informs us. |
At left below, a 1913 invoice. The engraving depicts the company's timber
preserving works & saw mills, located at North Pier, Sunderland. And at
right below an order acknowledgement card, sent on Jun. 23, 1916.
The invoice was
an eBay item in Aug. 2010. We thank Stephen Murray of eBay vendor
'atlantic-fox' for kindly providing the image that appears below. The item sold for GBP 3.97 or approximately U.S. $6.13.
The card was also an eBay item by 'atlantic-fox' - sold in Jul. 2011 for GBP
1.20 or US $1.92.
While the invoice above shows, in its engraving, the 'timber preserving works', the detail is not
particularly clear. A wonderful image of those works, located at North Dock,
used to be available
here
(but no longer) & is depicted below.
The image, which dates from 'ca.1850?', was published, I read, in 1872. While I cannot,
today, tell you exactly where the works were, masts of ships, are
shown at left in the image.
8) A 1907 SUNDERLAND AUCTIONEERS' LICENCE
A 1907 auctioneers licence. That cost £10 all those years ago. A substantial sum
of money, most surely, at that time.
The licence was
an eBay item in
Mar. 2011. That sold for GBP 21.66 or approximately U.S. $35.57 after 11 bids. I
have not been in touch with the vendor of the item - 'bygonesofbridlington'. He clearly is
a most busy dealer indeed, selling mainly postage stamps. We
thank him, however. His eBay store is here.
9) THE HENDON PAPER WORKS CO. LIMITED,
of Hendon (Hendon Paper Mill)
I add this section initially just to be able to present a
fine image (next) of a paper making machine at the Hendon Paper Works plant, in Hendon. I
understand that the image dates from about 1935. We thank Ray Hutcheon for this fine image.
Hopefully, in the future, we can provide some better historical data about the
company & some links to related data sources.
 |
|
A card, dating from 1907, thanks to 'denm'
here.
It was in business, I believe, for
108 years, having commenced business in or about 1872. The company employed approximately 400
people in the early years of the 20th century. The two paper-machine mill
manufactured a wide variety of fine stationery & printing papers.
Wendy Larmour advises (complete message)
that her grandfather, John McCue (1862/1928) worked as
night foreman at
the Hendon Mill for about 23 years thru about 1908/1910. The mill then used
esparto grass, imported from NW Africa or southern Spain, as a
raw material in the production of quality papers. |
I had not spotted an
address that told me exactly where the plant was located, but Cyril Smith has
advised (thanks Cyril!) that it was on Ocean Road, Grangetown - in Sunderland South.
A paper making machine built in 1952 by James Bertram & Son, Ltd., of Leith Walk, Edinburgh, for the company. Available as a
truly giant sideways 'pdf' file here.
Cyril Smith has been in touch to advise that he worked at Hendon Paper Mills from
1961 until 1965.
When Cyril first started at the mill it was
owned by the ‘Davidson’ family and 'though the workforce was quite large,
everyone knew everyone and it had a happy family atmosphere. This was spoiled
when the ‘Dominion Tar Group’ took over. They showed comparatively little
interest in the workforce as individuals and went straight about introducing
‘Time & Motion’ practices which were completely foreign to the workforce and
therefore caused a feeling of resentment.' Cyril had an argument with a manager,
a direct result of the
‘Time & Motion’ practices, & left the company. Cyril understands the mill ended its working life
manufacturing bingo tickets.
The company was
acquired in 1962 by a subsidiary company of 'Dominion Tar and Chemical
Company', of Canada. And was then renamed 'Howard Smith, Hendon Ltd.', with
effect from Jan. 1, 1963. It would seem that the plant was closed in 1980, & at
that time also it had about 400 employees.
 The before & after ownership of Hendon Paper Works, by Domtar
of Canada. At left below, text published in
'The St. Maurice Valley Chronicle', of Three Rivers, Quebec, Canada, on Nov. 8, 1962. And at right,
text from 'The Gazette', of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on Jul. 30, 1980. Ex here
& here.
 | |
Dorothy Gomersall advises (thanks!) that the tall mill chimneys were landmarks used by the German aircraft on their WW2 bombing runs.
Dorothy's father, Robert C. (Cyril) Simpson, worked at the plant as an
engine driver from 1936 to 1940.
A site visitor recalls Hendon Paper Works primarily because of the smell that
emanated from it. He called it, in fact, a quite
disgusting stink! I think that I know what he means. Years ago, I audited paper mills here in Canada,
& they too had an overpowering smell, such that approaching them on the highway,
you surely knew the mills were ahead even when they were many miles distant. The
smell certainly was not Chanel No. 5!
The paper mill is referenced in 'The Lost Mills - A History of Papermaking in County Durham'
by Jean V. Stirk, published in 2006. |
 | |
Some 'Hendon Paper Works' book matches - ex a now long expired eBay item.
In Jul. 2020 another 'Hendon Paper Works' book of matches is eBay available -
two shades of blue in colour. I'll include the item on the page once the item is sold.
You can see it here.
If any other site visitor can tell us more about the company, your contribution would be most welcome.
|
An ex eBay item, in 2013/14 that relates.
Denis Linfoot has been in touch
(thanks Denis!) to provide extensive further information about the plant. His father,
Arthur L. Linfoot (1890/1977), worked at the plant for almost 50 years, having started
work as a clerk back in 1907 or 1908. At that time, the company was named 'The
Hendon Paper Works Co. Limited'. Apart from the years of WW1, when he was otherwise
engaged with the Royal Army Medical Corps, he stayed with the company until 1962 - he had
advanced to become Secretary
of the company (in 1931) & a director also (in 1953). He retired on Sep. 30,
1956 but remained a director until a while after Dominion Tar and
Chemical acquired the company in 1962. Denis's words about his father & Hendon Paper
Works are available as a 'pdf' here
- if you are interested in the plant's history you will find them to be most interesting.
Now Arthur Linfoot, Denis's father, kept a diary
from Jan. 1914 thru Dec. 1918 i.e. during the years of WW1. Day by day Denis is
now posting his
father's diary on a daily 'blog' which is available
here & here.
Or at least it was available. Neither link works any more. The diary was published
as a book in 2019, I see.
An interesting image, dating from about 1949, of the unloading of esparto grass at Corporation Quay - esparto grass destined for the Hendon and Ford papermills. A fine image ex 'Sunderland Tugs and Shipbuilding in pictures'
that used to be available via Facebook.
The interesting image which follows comes from an album of 60 images related to machinery
& equipment supplied
to various companies by Sturtevant Engineering Co. ('Sturtevant') of London. All
dating from the 1930s. Presumably some of the equipment shown in the image below
was provided to Hendon Paper Works by Sturtevant, who were, it would seem mechanical and electrical engineers,
noted particularly for the manufacture of ventilation equipment including fans. Click the image for a slightly
larger version. Ex a long expired eBay listing.
It is truly difficult, at times, to know what to include in (&
exclude from) these pages. Most especially so when the item only distantly
relates to the subject matter at hand. Jillian Galbraith has
kindly been in touch to advise that she is transcribing the records of the
Poorhouse at Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland. And has come across the following entry.
On 26th November 1908,
Margaret Porteous aged 40 was admitted to the Poorhouse, said to be wholly destitute. Her husband James Porteous - paperworker aged 36 born Dunbar, left
..... (script unclear) years ago, residence given as Hendon Papermill, Sunderland. The 2 children aged 13 and 11
are living with her husband’s family.
A sad story, indeed.
Jean Hill advises (thanks
Jean!) that a family member, Frederick Tough, born in Sunderland in 1896, was a papermaker prior to WW1. In a document dated 1919 when
Frederick was discharged
after the end of WW1, he gave the name & address of the papermakers
he worked for as being ‘Fachan Papermakers, Hendon, Sunderland’. Can anybody explain that reference to Fachan?
It likely relates in some way to Hendon Paper Works.
William Humble advises that David Cossar
was the manager of Hendon Paper Mills in the 1930s, 1940s & 1950s.
10) SUNDERLAND AND WEARMOUTH BANK
In
Aug. 2011, an old bank note was sold by eBay - a £1 bank note of 'Sunderland and Wearmouth Bank',
hand signed by J. Cooke
& dated Sep. 1, 1815. Of 'delicate condition' as probably is true for most
bank notes of such an age, especially for bank notes that were well circulated. I
was surprised to see that the item received no less than 23 bids from 9
individual bidders. It was acquired by a bidder, likely an antique dealer, from
Canada, which is a pleasant surprise since data about Sunderland seems
essentially not to exist in this country.
I am glad that so many bidders had an interest in such
an item. Can
you tell us about that bank?
The listing images, front & back, follow.
 |
|
An
e-Bay
listing in Oct. 2013
alerted the webmaster to the fact that a 26 page A5
booklet has been independently published about 'Sunderland & Wearmouth Bank' -
entitled 'The
History and the Banknotes of Sunderland & Wearmouth Bank'. Written by Jack
Newton, who seems to hail from New Zealand. While the year of publication is not
stated it likely was first published in 2013.
The listing advises that the bank, an independent provincial bank, lasted for
almost 14 years from about 1802 until 1816. The booklet is said to also contain data of interest to
those researching
Cooke-Yarborough family history. An image of the booklet's cover is at left. |
11) PALLION INN
Just an image today.
On Pallion Road. A 'Vaux' pub. Long gone - became a car park, I understood. But
in Dec. 2017, Alan Vincent advises me via a guestbook message (thanks Alan!)
that the Pallion Inn is now the Wear Tavern. Alan is unsure if it's open now but
it definitely is no longer a car park. So far as I can see the property was for
sale but the sale would seem to have been withdrawn by the agent. Can you tell us anything
more?
Anything, that is, that can be shared!
12) 'NUDE SLAVE MARKET' - IN SUNDERLAND!
I was intrigued
to see, via eBay, a card of a painting that was exhibited in Sunderland,
in or about 1896 (my guesstimate). The item sold, on May 20, 2012, for U.S.
$50.00. The painting, entitled 'Slave Market at Cairo' was by Maxime Dastugue (1851/1909), a
distinguished & prolific French artist indeed. The painting was most famous, but I cannot yet establish
whether it still exists today. I am sure that the black & white card is but a
modest depiction of the work, which would have been in full colour.
'mk3dub-1', the vendor, whose eBay store is here, advised us that the painting was
enormous - 16 x 13 feet in size. At that size it is double the size of 'Sunderland v. Aston
Villa, 1895', the giant Thomas Hemy soccer artwork now on display in
Sunderland's 'Stadium of Light'.
The Hemy painting is of a 'comparatively modest' 12 x 8 1/2 ft. The Dastugue work apparently took the artist 4 years to
complete. It was first exhibited in Paris in 1891, & was awarded a
gold medal.
The practice then was to take such a work on tour, & exhibit
it, for a fee, in English, European & often American cities. It would appear that the work
was viewed by the public at 60 High Street West, in Sunderland, the attendance doubtless enhanced by the apparent decision
of the city of Glasgow to not permit it to be displayed in that city. I may well
prove to be
wrong but it seems likely to me that such notoriety was 'contrived'. A clever
promotional ploy of the day, perhaps.
I do not yet know when the painting was on display in Sunderland. It would seem,
however, that the work was displayed at 393, The Strand, in London, on Jul. 07, 1896. Hence my 'guesstimate'
above of about 1896. A larger version of the following image, to permit easier reading of the text, is here.
I commented above that I was not aware if the painting still exists. I can now
tell you a little more. I learn, via a guestbook message, that the painting likely was
destroyed by fire. Hillary, of Minnesota, U.S.A., tells us that it was her GG
grandfather, William Henry Dierken, who took the painting on tour. The 'Hillary'
family tradition is that 'the painting burned and as a result, because it was not insured, Dierken went bankrupt.'
Hillary added that she has never found anything to back up this story. If you
have any additional knowledge on the matter, may I invite you to be in touch.
Works of art of an 'oriental' or 'erotic' style & content were much in vogue at the time. The work is reminiscent of the work of Jean Léon Gerôme, (1824-1904), also a
French artist, noted for his paintings of most similar 'oriental' &
Egyptian subjects. A pair of Jean Léon Gerôme's works follow, both used to be visible in
their full glory at 'cgfaonlineartmuseum.com' but that site seems today to no
longer exist. The images that I believe used to be there available can be seen here & here .
Can you tell us anything
more about the painting?
May I suggest that you navigate the site via the
index on page 001.PRIOR PAGE / NEXT PAGE
Do you want to make a comment? A site guestbook is here.
[ ] £
Do you want to make a comment? A site guestbook is here.
To the
Special Pages Index.
| A SITE SEARCH FACILITY
THE GUEST BOOK - GO
HERE
|
|
|
