So who was A T Warbis?

If you pop down to the public library before the end of July you will see the exhibition cabinets near the Local Studies Library full of sketches created by A T Warbis. Alfred Thomas Warbis, or AT as I believe he signed his drawings, was a prolific artist, and created over 1,200 drawings for the Loughborough Echo, which appeared in a column called "From and Artist's Sketchbook".

Here are some pics from the exhibition; they don't do it justice and I'm still trying to get to grips with my new camera, so do try and pop in and have a look for yourself. And, if you're on Twitter and want to follow what's going on in the Local Studies Library, follow the volunteers - LLLSV @Loughlibvol

If you pop over to the internet (preferably using Chrome rather than IE (as the site doesn't work for me on IE)) you'll find some webpages on A T Warbis created by his son, David. This site also includes an obituary that appeared in the Loughborough Echo at the time of A T's death (1976). In his introduction, David makes a great point that his father's sketches were not only works of art, but now also contribute to a recorded social history of Loughborough. So, for example, in the public library exhibition you can see copies of A T Warbis's sketches, next to a photograph of what the same view looks like today: some are little changed, but many are vastly different.

The Loughborough Echo obituary tells you a little more about the artist's life, and it is wonderful to learn that he created about 5,000 sketches, was a pupil of, amongst others, Herbert Railton *, and worked for Brush.

Personally, I love these sketches. There is no substitute for a real drawing, but since I am no drawer myself, and I do like taking photographs, so I have recently been playing with some software that allows me to create pencil sketches from photographs, and I've used these in my walking booklets. Of course, as I said, they are no substitute for the real thing ...

The Manor House

The Odeon

The Sockman

Beacon Bingo

The Parish Church

The Old Hospital Site

The Old Rectory in the snow!

 * I've been looking for a connection between Herbert Railton, artist (who originally trained as an architect) and William Railton, architect, who designed, amongst other things, Nelson's Column, and the Bavarian Lodge at Garendon Park, but as yet have been unsuccessful!

Out and about

Well, I finally dropped my camera one too many times :(  Those of you who know me will know that I take that trusty steed with me everywhere I go, eager to snap sights of local interest, or odd things from odd angles, and as I don't have a phone with much capacity (well, it is 7 years old!) I need a camera to do this!

The most major slip was blindly putting the poor thing down on a chair after listening to "76 trombones" at the recent Hathern Band and Loughborough Male Voice Choir concert. Only I didn't. Didn't put it down on the chair, that is. I actually put it down the gap between the two chairs, and quite frankly it's never been the same since! I've persevered though, taking pics of things in broad daylight that have come out as though they've been taken in the darkest of nights, but the odd one has come out and I thought I'd got away with it.

However, yesterday we had a 21st birthday in the family, and I didn't want to take the risk of not being able to have some snaps to remember the occasion by, so I bit the bullet and went out and bought a new camera. I wanted something simple: they don't make such things. It seems to work, but my youngest child has already discovered it has more features than a flock of sheep. Way beyond my capabilities!

Anyway, this blog is not supposed to be my personal diary, but this week has been another very busy one which has seen me whoop for joy at my daughter's degree success, cheer loudly at my youngest's last ever concert with Senior Brass Ensemble at De Montfort Hall, breathe a huge sigh of relief when the team away day at work went off without a hitch, spend my day off work in Newport Pagnell learning about process improvement (for work, I hasten to add), welcome back the eldest for the weekend, celebrate my middle child's 21st birthday with a lovely meal at The Plough in Normanton-on-Soar, listen to my youngest's concert with the Junior Conservatoire Wind Orchestra in Adrian Boult Hall in Birmingham, and nearly forget to take him to Birstall tonight to play with Hathern Band in the Gala!

Oh, and I'm still trying to get to grips with this new camera!

I will do better next time!

Ascot Stamford and Loughborough!

Well, I hadn't intended to write a blog post today, as I anticipated feeling too tired, and not really having enough time. However, here's a quick picture diary of the last 4 days:

This was my Thursday:

I went along with this young lady

to this place

  to see some of these

and some of these

but I wasn't expecting to see these

and I hadn't thought I might see some of these, either

Then, on Saturday I went to Tolethorpe. In the afternoon I saw this

And in the evening I saw this

Then I spent the night here

The following day I took  a trip on this

and saw this

and this

I tried to be a bit arty with the camera

and then snapped these

Luckily, I didn't need these

Later that same day, I went along to the Loughborough History and heritage Network Community Local History Day, at which there were stalls, talks and panel events, focussed around the topic of the Future of the Past. Well done to the organisers for a well-attended, interesting, informative and exciting event! Although I arrived very late, I was still able to chat to people I knew, listen to a couple of panels, chat to people I didn't know, and buy a few books. From what people said to me, the event was well-attended, and there was a real buzz in the rooms. History, particularly the local history of Loughborough, is alive and well, and if any of us who attended the event have anything to do with it, it will continue to live for a long time to come.

These are some of the books I bought:

Ian Porter's The last of the Luddites

Neil Fortey and Robert Sparham's Angels and Dragons

Christopher Matchett's Ale houses of Whitwick

Hoping for a quieter week next week!

This week's post ...

Hello! Thanks for popping by! If you're looking for this week's blogpost, hop over to the Sculpture, Art & Architecture Trail which I created for you this week instead of a post. You can also find it on the right on the top bar of the blog.

Happy walking!

See you in a couple of weeks!

250 years of Lloyds Bank

Update: Recent investigation into A.E. King has revealed that there were more than one, and the architect of Loughborough's Lloyds Bank is now thought to be Albert Edward King, about whom you can find more on a recent blog post.  

Lloyds Bank: General history, and Lloyds in Loughborough

I popped into the Loughborough branch of Lloyds earlier this week to find staff pedalling away on a static bicycle. Intrigued, I enquired and discovered that Lloyds Bank is celebrating its 250^th birthday this year, and staff were cycling to raise money for good causes. Well, having just written a couple of articles on banking in Loughborough during the nineteenth century, I thought this might be a good topic for a blog post, so I did a bit of research.

Lloyds Bank was created in 1765 as a private bank in Birmingham, by one John Taylor, a button maker, and the iron founder, Sampson Lloyd. Its original symbol, a beehive, was chosen as it represented hard work: the black horse, with which we are quite familiar these days, came much later in the bank’s history. This private bank operated in Birmingham for nearly a hundred years, before opening another branch not far from the city centre in 1864. To perhaps put this into a local context, the “Loughborough Bank” (originally founded by William Middleton) was created as a private bank in about 1790.

In 1865 Lloyds became a joint stock bank, and in 1884 it took over Barnett, Hoares and Co, and this is where the black horse logo came from. Over the years, Lloyds, like some of the other big banks, took over many of the smaller banks to become one of the Big Four banks that we know today, and the more recent history of Lloyds, the retail and commercial bank, is probably known to most of us.

After I’d done this research, I needed to pop back to the bank to conduct some more business, and I discovered they were giving away a set of postcards featuring important parts of the Lloyds Banking history: When I got these home, I discovered that most of what I had spent a couple of hours researching was actually included on the back of these cards!!!

Anyway, English Heritage (as it was called in 2008 when this article was written), had this to say about bank buildings:

“Late 19th century investment in bank buildings endowed many towns and cities with their finest commercial buildings, and their external architecture and interior fittings vied with the improved public houses and hotels in their architectural eclecticism and richness of ornamentation.”

This means that there are many, many good examples of bank architecture that have survived, in a variety of towns, particularly since the buildings were often constructed of good material, and made to last. But what of our local branch? It is located in a prominent position on the corner of Market Place and High Street, and has some, what seems to be fairly typical if English Heritage is to be believed, but nonetheless, interesting adornments.

I’m not sure when Lloyds first came to Loughborough, but the building which the bank now occupies on the corner of Market Place and High Street was built in 1907, to a design by, I believe, Arthur Ernest King, an architect working in Loughborough at the time. A E King, as he is usually known, was born in, and died in Mansfield, and did indeed live most of his life in Mansfield, but on the 1901 census he was living with his wife, Isobel, and daughter Dorothy in Ling Road, off Park Road in Loughborough, and was listed as a civil engineer’s assistant. He was also responsible for the design of the NatWest Bank in the Bullring, Shepshed (now a dental practice, I believe). See update above.

The Lloyds building in Loughborough has been enlarged on each side, and until very recently the entrance was on the High Street side. Rather fittingly, the entrance, which was in the centre of the building, making it rather symmetrical, has now been reinstated as the main entrance. The inside of the bank has changed quite dramatically since 1907, and very little ornamentation from that time has survived, which is evident when compared with this image of the inside of the branch of Lloyds on High Street in Leicester. Outside is, however, a different story.

The building is constructed of red brickwork (probably made by a local brickmaker, like Tucker), and is decorated with Hathernware terracotta. Above the entrance there is a parapet upon which are terracotta urns, carved dolphins and an allegorical female figure. In one hand the figure is holding a scroll, in the other a moneybag. Well, actually, as late as 2008 she was holding a moneybag, but more recently it would appear that sadly she has lost both the bag and the lower part of her arm.

The English Heritage assessment concluded that the building was not worthy of listing, however, it has made it to the Charnwood Borough Council listing, making it a locally listed building, meaning it is a building of local historic or architectural interest, and has been acknowledged for its contribution to the local environment.

 

The postcards:

      

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Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

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So who was John Nichols?

There have been many people over the years who have written about Leicester and Leicestershire, many of whom have described their journeys from one part of the country to another, and some of these have included Leicestershire. Here's a selection:

• William Camden (1551-1623) - a Londoner who travelled widely throughout the UK, and whilst teaching in Westminster wrote the first topographical survey of the country, county-by-county, rather than describing an individual journey. 

• Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) - the author of Robinson Crusoe was born in London and became famous for writing political pamphlets. In the 1720s he wrote a three-volume account of his travels through the UK.

• Celia Fiennes (1662-1741) - Celia Fiennes was born near Salisbury, and lived all her life in the south of England. Her travel journeys included two long ones to the more northern parts of the country which she did side-saddled, accompanied only by a couple of servants. Her travels were mainly for health reasons, and she later wrote up her account of her visits.

• Karl Moritz (1757-1793) - This young Prussian clergyman visited England in 1782 and wrote letters home, which were later published as an account of his travels.

• Arthur Young (1741-1820) - born in Suffolk, Young moved to London when he was 20, where he wrote four novels. His main interest was in agriculture, and he travelled the country, describing the changes he found in agriculture, society and politics.    

• John Wesley (1703-1791) - although Wesley was a Methodist preacher, he travelled widely, and wrote a dairy of his travels.

There were, of course, other people who wrote about Leicestershire, even though they lived there, and these included:

• John Throsby (1740-1803) - Throsby was interested in local history and the study of antiquities, which led to him writing the six volumes of "The Memoirs of the Town and County of Leicester"  in 1777. This was followed by "Select views in Leicestershire, from Original Drawings" and by various other writings.

But, John Nichols was a bit different!

• John Nichols (1745-1826) - was born in London, and was a printer - and an antiquarian - and an author - and a publisher - and a literary scholar - and a bibliophile, amongst other things! He married twice, each time to ladies from Leicestershire, so he had an strong interest in, and connection to, the county. He wrote many county histories, but his History and Antiquities of the County of Leicester, published in eight volumes, is one of the best. Unlike the writers mentioned above, Nichols didn't visit all the places he writes about: Of course, much of it he wrote himself, but as he had extensive connections in the county, he asked these people - clergymen, nobles, gentlemen, friends and relatives etc. - to research things for him, and much of their information appears in the books. He also incorporated some of Throsby's work in his own. Nowadays, Nichols' history of Leicestershire is often the first port of call for the researcher looking into the history of the county.

Sunloch: A winning horse!

Ah, sorry! Last week I promised to tell you who John Nichols was, but there is more exciting news since then! [Huge apologies also for the type face which seems to have a mind of its own this time].

Sunloch, the horse from Loughborough who won the Grand National in 1914, has been awarded a green plaque by Leicestershire County Council. Sunloch was originally a hunting horse, but entered the steeplechase aged 8. His home, Gainsborough House on Nottingham Road, is still standing, and I'm guessing this is where the green plaque will be hung. Over the last couple of years there have been a variety of newspaper reports about Sunloch, but below, I've picked out some of the choicest articles from the time. Towards the end of the article are some links to websites of interest. Enjoy! 

Before the Grand National

I think the writer of this article is reviewing the forthcoming races, including the Grand National:

"Amongst the lightweights, Sunloch, 9st. 7lb, takes my fancy most, but he has not been asked to go further than three miles one furlong, and was then unplaced, though he won over three miles at Leicester in November, and again at Derby the month following, so can probably stay the distance.

…

From the above it will be seen that my predilections lie in the direction of F Harigan’s, Hastings’ and Whitaker’s stables, with Sunloch as the best of the light weight outsiders. At this distance of time it is most difficult to select a candidate from the above establushemnts, but, taking my courage in both hands, I hope I shall not be far wrong if I pin my faith in Ilston, and name Bloodstone and Sunloch as the most probable source of danger."

Article with No Title in The Observer, 22 Mar 1914: 19.

 

At a Wolverhampton Meeting, reported in: WOLVERHAMPTON MEETING The Observer, 28 Dec 1913: 12

3.30 Christmas Handicap Steeplechase of 130 ? Two miles:
DRINAUGH by Springtime-This (Mr H. de Trafford), a, 12st … Trudghill 1
SUNLOCH (Mr T Tyler), a, 11st … Tyler 2
ORANGEVILLE (Mr G. Smith-Bosanquet), a, 12st 7lbs, … Gregson 3

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The race and soon after

Far and away the most interesting article on the Grand National of March 1914 appeared in the Daily Telegraph of 28 March 1914, pg 18. It describes Sunloch's race in some detail, and talks of his and his rider's win, as well as giving a run-down of the horses that came in 2nd-4th and those who didn't finish. Mention is also made of his parentage. There is also a picture of horse and rider on page 14.

"The Grand National Steeplechase was won by Mr T Tyler’s Sunloch. Mr H de Mumm’s Trianon III

Being second and Mr J Hennessey’s Lutteur III third. Won by eight lengths; time, 9 min. 58 2 6ths of a second."
From: Annual Register: A Review Of Public Events At Home And Abroad, For Year 1914.

“it is impossible to forget the marvellous ease and flippancy with which Sunloch, now owned by Mr. W. W. Vivian, did negotiate the formidable Aintree fences.”

Article called Racing notes, written by Trenton, which appeared in Country Life, Jan 23, 1915: 8

"Sunloch was the last 9st. 7lb. horse to win the race [Grand National], but it was generally agreed that he was very favourably handicapped, as he had strung together a nice winning sequence, even if they were minor races."

From an article entitled: An admirable Grand National Innovation, in Country Life, Jan 7, 1922: 29.

“A peculiarity of this year’s (1915’s) race was that no previous winner was among the field. Lutteur III, Covertcoat and Sunloch were all entered, but broke down during their preparation.”

An article entitled: The Grand National, in The Manchester Guardian, 27 Mar 1915: 11.

Grand National 1914: "JUST four horses completed the race with the Tom Tyler-owned and trained Sunloch, under jockey Bill Smith, winning. Trianon III was second, Lutteur III third and Rory O'Moore fourth. Tyler had turned down a substantial offer from owner Charles Assheton-Smith for the eight-year-old prior to the race. But shortly after the Aintree triumph, Tyler relented and sold him to Assheton-Smith. Although Sunloch was never the same again."

From: Evening Chronicle [Newcastle] April 1, 2014 Tuesday Edition 1; National Edition Article by Chris Wright, Four-star heroes.

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The hunter and the steeplechaser

"While steeple-chasing – and the earliest ‘chases were real point-to-points – had its origins in hunting and is to-day just as dependent upon the hunting field for some of its best recruits, hunting is not directly dependent upon steeplechasing. The translation of the hunter into the steeplechase horse has, as we know, been a success in many cases – Sunloch, Serjeant Murphy and Master Robert may be said to furnish three leading instance …"
Article called: The past point-to-point season, by Harborough. In: Country Life, May 3, 1924: 679-681.

"Beyond all doubt the success of Sunloch has done much to do credit to the British hunter, as until ten months ago he knew practically nothing about steeplechasing, but had, I understand, been regularly ridden to hounds and occasionally exhibited with success at shows. No doubt, therefore, his victory will inspire other owners of hunters to emulate the example of Mr Tyler and thereby enter their horses for steeplechases over long courses and big jumps. Is, the defeat of the more fancied candidates on Friday may turn out to be a blessing in disguise, as it must materially benefit British horse breeding and the great sport of hunting."

From: An untitled article in The Observer, 29 Mar 1914: 21

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Long after the race

A letter which appeared in Country Life

Grand National bridle

"Sir, how long does a good saddle last? In 1914 a surprise horse from Loughborough, Sunloch, won the Grand National wearing a snaffle bridle which is still in good condition and is worn every day by the cob in the accompanying photograph. …"
B C Ridley, The Ramblers, Woodhouse Eaves, Loughborough, Leicestershire.
Country Life, Mar 13, 1958: 518.

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And finally, an interesting snippet!

According to Gerald Rawling in an article about Bottomley, who was running a betting “agency”:

"First prize was once again £5,000 but the whole event was rigged and all the tickets for the fancied horses were held by members of the stable. To everyone’s surprise the race was won by a total outsider, Sunloch."
Rawling, Gerald, Swindlers of the century. In: History Today. July 1993, Vol. 43 Issue 7, p42. 7p.

Sunloch's parents were Sundorne and Gralloch: try searching this site for other horses if you want to know their pedigree. Unfortunately, it would appear that Sunloch died in 1920 when he broke a forelock. Apparently, he's buried in Sketchley, more or less where he fell.

There are lots of photographs on the internet of Sunloch: I've read that there has been a little confusion over whether or not some published photographs are really Sunloch. If this really is him - and given the description in the Daily Telegraph article which says he has three white fetlocks, I'm pretty sure it is - then this is my favourite! This one was painted by Basil Nightingale, a hunting and racing artist, who was also a horse and houndsman, and briefly lived in Melton Mowbray. Anyway, I'll leave you to hunt out more pictures for yourself!

See you next time!

What have Hathern Band, LMVC, the BCM, the carillon, ceramics and John Nichols got in common?

This week I am spoilt for choice, and having a difficult time deciding what to share with you!

Since my last post I’ve been lucky enough to listen to the Hathern Band, not once, but twice!! Last week, Hathern Band played in the bandstand in Queen’s Park, directly after the Carillon recital, in commemoration of the 70^th anniversary of VE day. This was a lovely performance, with glorious sunshine and a large, appreciative audience.

Last evening, I was lucky enough to find a seat in the Trinity Methodist Church for a joint concert of Hathern Band with the Loughborough Male Voice Choir. Hathern were on top form – especially the trombones, but I am a bit biased!! I particularly loved the rendition of “76 trombones”! The choir did themselves proud too, and their numbers have swelled recently since they had a pseudo recruitment drive earlier this year. I think they’re still on the lookout for new members, so if you’re looking for something to do, check out their webpage.

Yesterday we took a trip to the Black Country Museum in Dudley. Hadn’t been before, but had heard good reports about it, and it didn’t disappoint. Lots of exciting things to see and do, including a ride on a 1948 bus, and a Midland Red double-decker, a tram (but this was closed for maintenance), reconstructed terraced houses, dressed accordingly, and with volunteers making soup over the open fires. And gardeners tending their little plots, and producing beautiful pink sticks of rhubarb which the children dip in sugar. Then there’s the authentically 1940s shops, including a chemist, a greengrocers, ironmongers, confectioners, bakers etc., some of them actually selling things, like the little fish and chip shop. The café was in the Worker’s Institute, and had a wonderful selection of food, and we enjoyed a steak and Stilton pastie with mushy peas and new potatoes coated in yummy salt and pepper.

Lots of remnants of the days when Dudley had iron founders (I think there was a saying about the area, black by day, red by night, which related to the smoke and grime in the daytime and the glow of the iron works in the night). This reminded me of John Jones the iron founder in Loughborough, who owned the Britannia Foundry. I think he lived in that very large house at the junction of Meadow lane and Clarence Street, which now appears to be a health spa (sounds like the beginnings of a future blog post … !). The mine at the Black Country Museum was open, but I’m afraid I couldn’t go down there: The last time I went, or rather tried to go, down a mine, it was a tin mine in Cornwall, but I had to turn back pretty sharpish, when even I had to watch my head! Trips on the canal boats were also available, although they seemed to be doing quite a lot of work on the canal, so we thought we’d leave that till our next visit!! When will I ever find time?!

I’ve also giving up a bit of my spare time in helping out at the Carillon Tower and Museum again this year. This is such good fun, as I get to meet so many interesting people from all over the world, and who all have such interesting tales to tell! I also finally got to learn what the copper boots in the Airborne room were all about, and I get to hear the carillon being played (guessed what day I’m there, yet?). If you fancy helping, the museum is always on the lookout for volunteers so they can keep all floors of the tower open to visitors.

Talking of the carillon, today, I also heard the carillon play as I walked into town to take a peek at the ceramics market. It’s an annual event and I blogged about it last year, so I shan’t say anything about today’s market other than to say there was a lovely variety of pottery, and it’s difficult to go and not spend any money: Well, that’s a few birthday and Christmas presents sorted!!

Now, what have I forgotten? Oh, yes, the banquet in celebration of the bi-centenary of John Nichols’ History and Antiquities of the County of Leicester, an 8-volume work, written by Nichols in 1815. What a glorious event that was, but, I’ve run out of time to tell you about it tonight, so I will save this one for next time!