F is for Fascines, Fans, and Feathers

Art Deco buildings often show off elaborate embellishments, or motifs, and there are plenty of these to be found on Loughborough’s Art Deco buildings! Let’s look at some fascines (bundles of wood), fans, and feathers, and where we might find these …

Fascines

Probably the best example of fascines can be seen on the old No.1 Branch Co-op building on Derby Road, a building which has featured numerous times on this blog! [1] It’s a beautiful building which has a lovely balustrade, almost forming a faux balcony in front of the gabled roof, and bunches of foliage dropping down along columns of the second floor. The fascines are in the middle of the three bays, leading up either side to the metal lettering, indicating that this is a Co-op building. I’m calling these fascines, but it’s probably open to individual interpretation, and you might see long-handled torches, or tied bamboo stems! Here’s a couple of photographs of the building and the detail.

Fans

Again, my interpretation of a fan motif might be slightly different from yours, but after a long time spent looking up at the detail on some of Loughborough’s buildings, it gets a bit tricky to tell exactly what the motifs are! The detail on the first floor of the building that used to be PoundStretcher on High Street, both on the middle gable and on the surrounding two bays, could loosely be described as fans. Alternatively, you might see wall lights, or candelabras, or maybe feathers or shells!! But, I’m sure we can all agree that the detailing is beautifully on what was opened as one of Russell Smith’s drapery stores. We might, however, consider the building is in a domestic revival style, not Art Deco!!

Feathers

And finally, we take a look at feathers!! Art Deco feather features often depict peacock feathers. Again, in my opinion it’s a bit of a subjective thing, so some feathers might be shells, and vice versa! The motif on what is now Caffe Nero, just above the first floor window, with its faux balcony, looks like peacock feathers in the centre, with decoration leading out to some proud miniature columns, with possibly a round flower motif to complete the design.

 

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[1] See the following examples:

https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2022/12/no1-co-op.html

https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2024/01/changes-in-loughborough-2023.html 

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I'm taking part in the A-Z April Blogging Challenge!!

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Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

Copyright:

The copyright © of all content on this blog rests with me, however, you are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follows:

Dyer, Lynne (2025). F is for Fascines, Fans, and Feathers. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2025/04/f-is-for-fascines-fans-and-feathers.html [Accessed 7 April 2025]

Take down policy:

I post no pictures that are not my own, unless I have express permission so to do. All text is my own, and not copied from any other information sources, printed or electronic, unless identified and credited as such. If you find I have posted something in contravention of these statements, or if there are photographs of you which you would prefer not to be here, please contact me at the address listed on the About Me page, and I will remove these.

External Links:

By including links to external sources I am not endorsing the websites, the authors, nor the information contained therein, and will not check back to update out-of-date links. Using these links to access external information is entirely the responsibility of the reader of the blog.

Blog archive and tags:

If you are viewing this blog in mobile format, you will not be able to easily access the blog archive, or the clickable links to various topics. These can be accessed if you scroll to the bottom of the page, and click 'View Web Version'. Alternatively, there is also a complete list of posts, which when clicked will take you to the page you are interested in.

Searching the blog:

You can search the blog using the dedicated search box that appears near the top of the blog when viewed in the web version. Alternatively, you can search using your usual search engine (e.g. Bing, Google, DuckDuckGo etc.) by following this example:

site: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/ “Radmoor House”

NOTE – the words you’re actually looking for must be in “” and the first of these must be preceded by a space

Thank you for reading this blog.

Lynne

Christie Connections – Paul Pry

Introduction – Christie Connections with Loughborough

As you know from last a recent post, I recently finished the challenge of reading all the Agatha Christie novels, and had been surprised at how many references there were within her books to Loughborough-related things, or, at least, things that connected in some way with Loughborough.      

“Hickory Dickory Dock”

Today’s post is prompted by something I read in Hickory Dickory Dock, on p300.

Written in 1955, unlike Sleeping Murder which featured Miss Marple, HDD is a Poirot affair, a synopsis of which can be found elsewhere. In short, a number of items go missing from a student hostel, then come the murders …

One of the characters in the novel, Mrs Christina Nicoletis, is the eccentric and volatile owner of the student accommodation, and in the reference we’re interested in, she is in conversation with Mrs Hubbard, who is the warden of the accommodation, and incidentally just happens to be the sister of Poirot’s secretary, Miss Lemon. Here’s what’s said, when Mrs Nicoletis flew into one of her tempers:

“Ah, you do not think I have cause for anxiety? You know best as usual! You know everything! You are so wonderful: you cater, you manage, you spend money like water on food so that the students are fond of you, and now you want to manage my affairs! But that, no! I keep my affairs to myself and nobody shall pry into them, do you hear? No, Mrs What-do-you-call-it Paul Pry.”

The Loughborough Connection

Back in March 2022 I posted an article entitled ‘So Who Was Paul Pry?’

This post gave a detailed description of the character of ‘Paul Pry’ – a do-gooding, nosey busybody – as he appeared in a play written in 1825 by the writer John Poole (1786-1872). And it is this character that is referenced in Hickory Dickory Dock, in which, essentially, Mrs Nicoletis is telling Mrs Hubbard to mind her own business!

Apparently, according to a report in the Leicestershire Mercury of October 1839, we had a Paul Pry in Church Gate, one John Hollingsworth, who knocked over William Smith, who he accused of catching him “playing the part of Paul Pry, by listening under [someone's] window, a practice of which he was frequently guilty.”  

However, in my earlier post about Paul Pry, I focussed on the name as the name of a local beer-off premises, that according to a newspaper report (Leicester Evening Mail of 5th March 1930), was on Leicester Road, and was once the home of the Clemerson family, when it was known as the White House, and later was Maher’s Off-Licence. Since then, research has revealed that the George Moore referred to in that article, who was of the Paul Pry and who had been in court in 1832 for not looking after his apprentice, was listed in a trade directory of 1835 as a beer retailer on Wood Gate. Later, in 1841, a report of a gun being shot up the chimney of the Paul Pry gives no indication of who was running the business, nor where it was situated, although we are told that the perpetrator lives close to the Roman Catholic Chapel – presumably on Ashby Road.

A similar situation arises in 1846 when two shoemakers – Mr Rozzell and Mr Barker – have a bit of an argument. They were drinking in the Paul Pry – but where, is not stated!

Could the Paul Pry have been in Ward’s End?

By 1851 we find that there is a publican listed in Ward’s End, called Matthew Ward. On the 1841 census return he was in Ward’s End but listed as either a farrier or a farmer. I suspect the latter, as he also appears in a polling book as owning property in Ward’s End. In 1858, Matthew Ward of the Paul Pry beerhouse (no address given) was convicted of keeping his house open on Sunday 17 th January, for the sale of beer, and was fined £1 and costs. Matthew Ward died in 1859, aged 75, and is buried in Emmanuel churchyard.

In October 1923, a letter which appeared in the Leicester Daily Mercury mentioned that a farmer stopped off at “the tavern known as the Paul Pry, in Bedford Square”, I don’t know about you, but I can never quite work out where Bedford Square ends, and Ward’s End begins, but this could well be the same premises as mention in 1851.

In 1952, the Loughborough Echo published a piece quoting extracts from an account book that was about 100 years old. This account book belonged to Mr John Cooper, a maltster from Hathern and in it is recorded the sales he made, many of which were to Loughborough folk. The first entry in the book is for 1843, but the one of more interest here is an entry for 1852, which named the Paul Pry on Ward’s End as one of the customers.

So, was there a Paul Pry on Leicester Road, and on Ward’s End / Bedford Square? I can honestly say I really have no idea!!

But, just one more thing before I leave you in peace, in September 1891, the Loughborough cyclers indulged in a lantern parade, and the participants were decked out in gorgeous array, representing historical characters like "Ally Soper", "Paul Pry", and others!

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Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

Copyright:

The copyright © of all content on this blog rests with me, however, you are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follows:

Dyer, Lynne (2025). Christie Connections – Paul Pry. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2025/03/christie-connections-paul-pry.html  [Accessed 6 April 2025]

Take down policy:

I post no pictures that are not my own, unless I have express permission so to do. All text is my own, and not copied from any other information sources, printed or electronic, unless identified and credited as such. If you find I have posted something in contravention of these statements, or if there are photographs of you which you would prefer not to be here, please contact me at the address listed on the About Me page, and I will remove these.

External Links:

By including links to external sources I am not endorsing the websites, the authors, nor the information contained therein, and will not check back to update out-of-date links. Using these links to access external information is entirely the responsibility of the reader of the blog.

Blog archive and tags:

If you are viewing this blog in mobile format, you will not be able to easily access the blog archive, or the clickable links to various topics. These can be accessed if you scroll to the bottom of the page, and click 'View Web Version'. Alternatively, there is also a complete list of posts, which when clicked will take you to the page you are interested in.

Searching the blog:

You can search the blog using the dedicated search box that appears near the top of the blog when viewed in the web version. Alternatively, you can search using your usual search engine (e.g. Bing, Google, DuckDuckGo etc.) by following this example:

site: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/ “Radmoor House”

NOTE – the words you’re actually looking for must be in “” and the first of these must be preceded by a space

Thank you for reading this blog.

Lynne

E is for Egyptomania

For today’s A-Z April Art Deco Blogging Challenge, I was originally torn between going into [too much!] detail about Egyptomania, and some detail about the Paris Expo of 1925. But, instead I included details of the Expo under letter A, where I explained how the Art Deco movement was only named in the 1960s, and how it was a name that was influenced by that 1925 exhibition. So, let’s look at the influence of Egypt!

Egyptomania – an enthusiasm for all things Egyptian, particularly Ancient Egyptian – has always been a thing! The Western world has always been fascinated by Ancient Egypt and Egyptian motifs, and Western interpretations of these, have been around for centuries.

However, when in 1922 the tomb of King Tutankhamun was discovered, and subsequently opened, by Howard Carter, there was a renewed interest in Egyptian designs and artefacts. These Egyptian ideas were incorporated in, and became part of, the visual culture, including in the UK. They were adopted in many aspects, including fashion, like jewellery and clothing, furnishings, and in architecture.

We saw in D is for Diamonds, the brightly coloured painted columns on a shop on Ashby Road, which somehow hints at Egyptian decoration

But, our most magnificent Egyptian treasure is hiding behind some wooden covering, so not easy to spot! The building on Swan Street that was once home to the Echo Press shows off many of the features of Art Deco architecture exceedingly well, and it is here that the Egyptian columns can be found. They are hiding as when the road was open to two-way traffic one of the columns was hit and damaged by a lorry. First we have an aerial view of Swan Street, with the Echo Press building closest, and then a view of the two columns, with their stunning colours.

 

 

____________________________________ 

I'm taking part in the A-Z April Blogging Challenge!!

____________________________________

Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

Copyright:

The copyright © of all content on this blog rests with me, however, you are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follows:

Dyer, Lynne (2025). E is for Egyptomania. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2025/03/e-is-for-egyptomania.html  [Accessed 5 April 2025]

Take down policy:

I post no pictures that are not my own, unless I have express permission so to do. All text is my own, and not copied from any other information sources, printed or electronic, unless identified and credited as such. If you find I have posted something in contravention of these statements, or if there are photographs of you which you would prefer not to be here, please contact me at the address listed on the About Me page, and I will remove these.

External Links:

By including links to external sources I am not endorsing the websites, the authors, nor the information contained therein, and will not check back to update out-of-date links. Using these links to access external information is entirely the responsibility of the reader of the blog.

Blog archive and tags:

If you are viewing this blog in mobile format, you will not be able to easily access the blog archive, or the clickable links to various topics. These can be accessed if you scroll to the bottom of the page, and click 'View Web Version'. Alternatively, there is also a complete list of posts, which when clicked will take you to the page you are interested in.

Searching the blog:

You can search the blog using the dedicated search box that appears near the top of the blog when viewed in the web version. Alternatively, you can search using your usual search engine (e.g. Bing, Google, DuckDuckGo etc.) by following this example:

site: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/ “Radmoor House”

NOTE – the words you’re actually looking for must be in “” and the first of these must be preceded by a space

Thank you for reading this blog.

Lynne

D is for Diamonds

I’m sure many of us are familiar with the use of the diamond shape as a motif in Art Deco, which appears on wallpaper, on floor tiles, as mirrors, and as an architectural detail on buildings.

I’ve not found many examples of the architectural usage of the diamond shape, but there are a few in Loughborough. This one appears on the Art Deco frontage on the row of shops at the beginning of Ashby Road, close to the town centre. This is a wonderful run of facades which were added to the buildings on Ivanhoe Terrace in the Art Deco period, the properties having been built in 1882. The diamond lozenge is clearly visible on this end shop, but can also been seen on Subway next door, which used to be North’s the Chemist, and which has retained its Art Deco frontage, particularly its windows, almost intact.

 

These diamond details aren’t perhaps as exciting as some of the other architectural motifs and decorations which we’ll see later, but nonetheless they are worth looking out for!

____________________________________ 

I'm taking part in the A-Z April Blogging Challenge!!

 

____________________________________

Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

Copyright:

The copyright © of all content on this blog rests with me, however, you are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follows:

Dyer, Lynne (2025). D is for Diamonds. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2025/03/d-is-for-diamonds.html  [Accessed 4 April 2025]

Take down policy:

I post no pictures that are not my own, unless I have express permission so to do. All text is my own, and not copied from any other information sources, printed or electronic, unless identified and credited as such. If you find I have posted something in contravention of these statements, or if there are photographs of you which you would prefer not to be here, please contact me at the address listed on the About Me page, and I will remove these.

External Links:

By including links to external sources I am not endorsing the websites, the authors, nor the information contained therein, and will not check back to update out-of-date links. Using these links to access external information is entirely the responsibility of the reader of the blog.

Blog archive and tags:

If you are viewing this blog in mobile format, you will not be able to easily access the blog archive, or the clickable links to various topics. These can be accessed if you scroll to the bottom of the page, and click 'View Web Version'. Alternatively, there is also a complete list of posts, which when clicked will take you to the page you are interested in.

Searching the blog:

You can search the blog using the dedicated search box that appears near the top of the blog when viewed in the web version. Alternatively, you can search using your usual search engine (e.g. Bing, Google, DuckDuckGo etc.) by following this example:

site: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/ “Radmoor House”

NOTE – the words you’re actually looking for must be in “” and the first of these must be preceded by a space

Thank you for reading this blog.

Lynne