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Carlin How Tennis Courts (1925)

Carlin How tennis courts, no doubt the clothes were the height of fashion; Sykes House  in the background. Carlin How had very popular tennis courts for a lot of years after this photograph was taken.

Image courtesy of Carlin How Community Centre and Stan Ward.

Lawrence D. Todd in Paignton (June 1948)

Do you remember the picture of the little boy on the cart in an earlier post? This is him all grown up! I’ll let Norman Patton tell the story in his own words:
”This is a ”Holiday Snap” of Lawrence and Mary Todd. It was taken in Paignton in 1948! After their marriage they lived in Richard Street; then William Street, North Skelton, before moving to a new bungalow, Auld Reekie, in Saltburn Lane. Lawrence worked at North Skelton Mine throughout his working life until it closed. (I think in the 50’s). He became the Check Weigh man, which I think is synonymous with being the local Union Representative? Later in his life he took an active interest in local politics and was an elected councillor. Lawrence died in 1957 and his wife in 1967 aged 65 and 71 respectively.”

Yes, I know Paignton is nowhere near Loftus – but North Skelton is!  Anyway I like the angle Norman is taking with these photographs – keep watching!

Image and information courtesy of Norman Patton.

Carlin How Carnival Queen (c.1955)

A well-deserved title for this bevy of local beauties.

Back row: Betty Winspear, Pauline Cuthbert, Carol Shaw, Carol Breckon.

Front row: Janet Easton, Mary Lightfoot (Carnival Queen), Keturah Welford.

Image courtesy of Carlin How Community Centre, thanks to Marion for giving us the name of the Carnival Queen.

Carlin How Flower Girls (1950’s)

Originally Derick Pearson provided this image with some names already on; however we already had a query from a possible person present. The Archive asked: “Can anybody assist?” It would be nice to know the origin of the flower festival in Carlin How?  Did it feature Morris Dancing and Sword Dancing often a feature of these community festivals often resulting from the influx of new residents owing to the mines and other industrial developments in the Victoria era?

Left to right: ?? , ?? , Ann Carveth, ?? , ??, Ivy Metcalf (later marrying Norman Cockburn and moving to live in Liverton Village), ? Butler, Betty Winspear.

Image courtesy of Carlin How Community Centre, thanks to John Garbutt, Derick Pearson and Jan Snaith (nee Carveth) for information and the updates.

Carlin How Washday Blues

I absolutely love this picture – it wasn’t just Sutcliffe who preserved history; Joseph Edward Huntrods photograph freezes a moment in time which in its day would have been regarded as hum-drum, every girls Monday nightmare.  This is before the days of washing powder and detergents, the only whitener was the blue!.  The bonnet and the apron were everyday requirements for a girl who was expected to wash, ’poss’ the clothes and peg them out and then look fresh and clean to wait on her mistress or master – they saved the clothes from wear and dirt.  She would have been up at about 4 in the morning fetching and boiling the water to do the wash. Julie Riddiough tells us: ”This woman is Mrs Rachel Ann Huntrods (nee Park) she was the wife of Joseph Edward Huntrods the photographer that lived in Errington Street, Brotton, He also opened the first picture house in Brotton and later moved to Eldon near Bishop Auckland (where Rachel was from) to open a picture house there with her brother.” So it wasn’t just Sutcliffe who used his family as props and models in his photography! Colin Turner advises: ”I have sent Julie a picture (colour) showing that the Eldon picture house survived until recently and still had the projection screen on the end wall, althought it had gone through many owners as a garage/storage since it closed as a picture house (unknown date – probably late 1920s). I would love to know if any of his photos of the Eldon area survive, as I regularly put on an exhibition ‘Images of Eldon’ to show people the past”.

Victor Huntrods Brown says of this image: ”My grandmother by my grandfather.  I have the original. He died very young of a problem which I  suspect may have been brought on by chemicals he worked with developing photos etc.  My reason for thinking this is that in correspondence from his cousin Dick Borrows (a photographer with the Northern Echo); ill health next to photography is the number one topic.”

Image courtesy of Carlin How Community Centre, thanks to Julie Riddiough and Colin Turner for the updates. Many thanks to Victor Huntrods Brown for an appropriate footnote to this haunting image.

Carlin How School (1925)

This young lady looks rather shy to me, can anybody name her? A previous editor placed the following: ”The school looks like a Poor Law School with strict segregation of boys and girls.  Was it a symmetrical building with an entrance at each end?  I bet you had to queue to go in,  boys at one door and girls at the other, the classrooms aren’t segregated today though. How times have changed.” We think the comments from both Andrew Downs: “I don’t think it was a poor law school though, and segregated entrances were extremely common in schools of this period, look at any Victorian school , and you’ll see such writing above the doors!” and Bill Kitching: “I attended Carlin How junior school in 1926, and we did have separate entrances. We lined up in the cloakroom and marched into the hall where there were white spots painted on the floor. Miss Richardson played the piano and we lined up on the spots It was a hungry time in those days and we always had some one fainting – usually a girl. It was not a Poor Law school. It was lit by gas and it was quite something when the teacher climbed on a desk to light the gas lights. It was a lovely school with top class teachers. I owe all my success to the school and wish it well in the future”, sum up the situation very well! We apologise for this incorrect impression.

Image courtesy of Carlin How Community Centre thanks to Andrew Downs and Bill Kitching for the updates.

Carlin How Training School Workshops (1934)

The Training  School Workshops (for Skinningrove works) were next to Whitecliffe Primary School on Kilton Lane, towards the Bullit pub. Later moving to what was called the Training Centre, near the Ambulance Station at the rear of Brotton Road. Derick Pearson tells of: “Senior School pupils used to go there from school for Woodwork lessons and the girls attended for Cookery and Needlework.”

Image courtesy of Carlin How Community Centre, thanks to Derick Pearson for the update.

Carlin How Square

This view across Carlin How square is looking towards the East Cleveland Co-operative Store, possibly from the road which after bridging the railway line was the access to Skinningrove works. The photograph dates from the early twentieth century at a guess (un-metalled roads and gas lamps) – wish life was this peaceful these days! Derick Pearson advises: “The area where the Maynard Arms car park now is, was the site of Riggs the Butchers. In the 1950s it was also Lloyds’ bank.” Present day Carlin How presents a more truncated Maynard Arms and of course the square is closed by the railing fencing, the main road now bypassing what was the heart of Carlin How.

Image courtesy of Carlin How Community Centre, also thanks to Derick Pearson for the update.

Carlin How Square

Everybody turn out for the photographer!  It does help us put a date on the image though – turn of the century about 1899-1900, based upon the clothing – and about mid-day judging by the shadows! Derick Pearson feels that the disappearance of the chimney stack at the rear of Wesley terrace may assist in dating the image, can any body help?

Image courtesy of Carlin How Community Centre.

Carlin How Square – 1926

Now, a significant event that took place in 1926 was the birth of Queen Elizabeth II – could this be a celebration of that event? Derick Pearson offered some advice regarding dating: “Note on this photograph the shops joined together on the right are now in the name of  ‘East Cleveland Co-operative Society’; the bus also is commensurate with the time period. Also the front fence on Front Street is still upright rails. No zig zag.”

Image courtesy of Carlin How Community Centre, thanks again go to Derick Pearson for the dating of this image.