John Thomas Smith’s Rural Cottages
Near Battlebridge, Middlesex
As September draws to a close and autumn closes in, I get the urge to go to ground, hiding myself away in some remote cabin and not straying from the fireside until spring shows again. With this in mind, John Thomas Smith’s twenty etchings of extravagantly rustic cottages published as Remarks On Rural Scenery Of Various Features & Specific Beauties In Cottage Scenery in 1797 suit my hibernatory fantasy ideally.
Born in the back of a Hackney carriage in 1766, Smith grew into an artist consumed by London, as his inspiration, his subject matter and his life. At first, he drew the old streets and buildings that were due for demolition at the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Ancient Topography of London and Antiquities of London, savouring every detail of their shambolic architecture with loving attention. Later, he turned his attention to London streetlife, the hawkers and the outcast poor, portrayed in Vagabondiana and Remarkable Beggars, creating lively and sympathetic portraits of those who scraped a living out of nothing but resourcefulness. By contrast, these rural cottages were a rare excursion into the bucolic world for Smith, although you only have to look at the locations to see that he did not travel too far from the capital to find them.
“Of all the pictoresque subjects, the English cottage seems to have obtained the least share of particular notice,” wrote Smith in his introduction to these plates, which included John Constable and William Blake among the subscribers, “Palaces, castles, churches, monastic ruins and ecclesiastical structures have been elaborately and very interestingly described with all their characteristic distinctions while the objects comprehended by the term ‘cottage scenery’ have by no means been honoured with equal attention.”
While emphasising that beauty was equally to be found in humble as well as in stately homes, Smith also understood the irony that a well-kept dwelling offered less picturesque subject matter than a derelict hovel. “I am, however, by no means cottage-mad,” he admitted, acknowledging the poverty of the living conditions, “But the unrepaired accidents of wind and rain offer far greater allurements to the painter’s eye, than more neat, regular or formal arrangements could possibly have done.”
Some of these pastoral dwellings were in places now absorbed into Central London and others in outlying villages that lie beneath suburbs today. Yet the paradox is that these etchings are the origin of the romantic image of the English country cottage which has occupied such a cherished position in the collective imagination ever since, and thus many of the suburban homes that have now obliterated these rural locations were designed to evoke this potent rural fantasy.
On Scotland Green, Ponder’s End
Near Deptford, Kent
At Clandon, Surrey – formerly the residence of Mr John Woolderidge, the Clandon Poet
In Bury St, Edmonton
Near Jack Straw’s Castle, Hampstead Heath
In Green St, Enfield Highway
Near Palmer’s Green, Edmonton
Near Ranelagh, Chelsea
In Green St, Enfield Highway
At Ponder’s End, Near Enfield
On Merrow Common, Surrey
At Cobham, Surrey – in the hop gardens
Near Bull’s Cross, Enfield
In Bury St, Edmonton
On Millbank, Westminster
Near Edmonton Church
Near Chelsea Bridge
In Green St, Enfield Highway
Lady Plomer’s Place on the summit of Hawke’s Bill Wood, Epping Forest
You may also like to take a look at these other works by John Thomas Smith
John Thomas Smith’s Ancient Topography of London
John Thomas Smith’s Antiquities of London
John Thomas Smith’s Vagabondiana
John Thomas Smith’s Vagabondiana II
Colin O’Brien At Chats Palace
There is currently a posthumous exhibition of work by former Contributing Photographer Colin O’Brien at Chats Palace, 42-44 Brooksby’s Walk, E9 6DF. Colin had an affinity with young people and this show focusses on his photography of children in the post-war years. Curator Peter Young introduces the exhibition.
‘I first came across Colin and his photography in December 2006 when he exhibited at the Oxo Tower Gallery. The walls were packed with strong black and white images of working class life in London and beyond, portrayed in a straightforward and dignified humanist style.
Colin was on hand to chat and showed me a portfolio of prints which was where I first saw ‘Lady in a summer dress Chatsworth Rd 1980s.’ Benjamin the chemist plus the landmark clock, and Percy Ingle the baker, were all present and correct in the background. I had walked down that street for twenty years. This was by far the best picture I had seen which summed up the atmosphere of unexpected and quiet beauty that pervaded the urban backwater of Homerton and Clapton at that time.
In 2015, Colin became a patron of Chats Palace and the following year a small exhibition of his work was installed in the recently refurbished Blue Room where it hangs to this day. As with all his work, it shows the people of London in all their multifarious ethnic and cultural, working and non-working forms. Inquisitive, outward looking and confident.’ – Peter Young
Colin’s photograph of his pals, taken in 1948 at the age of eight in Hatton Garden.
Photographs copyright © Estate of Colin O’Brien
Take a look at more pictures by Colin O’Brien
Travellers’ Children in London Fields
Marie Lenclos’ Still Light
Artist Marie Lenclos introduces her new exhibition of paintings Still Light which opens at Townhouse this Saturday 28th September and runs until Sunday 13th October
Blue Door, Fournier St
‘When I first came to London in the nineties as an Erasmus student, Spitafields immediately became a favourite place to explore. For a young Parisian, there was magic in its dense urban fabric. Brick Lane was where you went to find a cheap bike or pick up old crockery. There were surprises at every corner, human stories or colourful stalls, and the tall town houses loomed over you with the weight of their past. I liked the fact I was a foreigner amongst many others.
This was before the creation of the Overground which opened a whole new transport route for me between my home in Denmark Hill and an area of London I still love to get lost in. I walk down Fournier St and the whole place feels like a museum to me, every street corner evokes a scene from another era. The industrial past is ever present and the richness of old brickwork is illuminated by the fleeting sunlight.
These oil paintings are a record of what I notice when I walk these streets. There is noise everywhere, the perpetual movement of passers by, hurried workers carrying coffees, cars starting and stalling, suddenly honking. But to me, there is only calm. When I focus on the scene in front of me, with its play of light and its colourful texture, it is like a mental pause.
My paintings are urban landscapes caught in a moment of calm amongst the chaos. Light is the most important actor, its role is to reveal the permanence and unexpected beauty.’ – Marie Lenclos
Red shutters, Fournier St
Lamp Post, Fournier St
Window, Spitalfields
View from a house on Princelet St
Brick patchwork, Off Columbia Rd
Across Old St, Shoreditch
Telephone Exchange, Shoreditch
Blue Gate, Kingsland Rd
Near Hoxton Station
Hoxton Arches
Posters, Shoreditch
Paintings copyright © Marie Lenclos
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Conservation At St Bartholomew’s Hospital
Cover price is £35 but if you order now you can buy it for £30 and you will receive a signed copy on publication in October.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER A SIGNED COPY OF ENDURANCE & JOY
William Palin, who is responsible for supervising the conservation of the historic James Gibbs buildings at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in Smithfield, invited me over to take a look.
An intricate web of scaffolding has been woven through the these mighty structures to enable access to the ceiling for the restoration of the Great Hall and the cleaning of William Hogarth’s murals on the staircase, so I put on a hard hat and climbed up to take a closer look.
Afterwards, Will outlined the nature of his undertaking to me.
‘We’re sitting in James Gibbs’ North Wing that dates from the 1730s. It’s a fantastic building of incredibly significant architecture with two spectacular interiors, the Great Hall and the Hogarth Stair. It has not been well looked after for the past thirty years, so we have a lot of problems.
Bart’s Heritage has taken lease of the building from the hospital and raised the money to do the first phase of conservation of the envelope of the structure, with around half coming from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
This consists of repairing the stonework, the brickwork, one hundred and sixty windows, stripping the roof slates back and laying new lead. For the interiors, it is a loving conservation project using the best experts and craftsmen from around the country, with training and apprenticeships built in at every level. They will be cleaning, repairing and redecorating the surfaces, and we will be reopening in September next year hopefully.
The Great Hall will then be splendid and open regularly to the public for the first time in its history. Until the end of January, you can join a Conservation Tour to go up onto the deck and watch the restoration of the ceiling and the Hogarth Stair in progress, meet the conservators and get a feel of what the project is all about.’
Click here if you would like to take a tour and learn more
‘Bird’s nest’ scaffolding supported by external trusses fills the Great Hall
Steps up to the roof
The letters B and H are interwoven on the ceiling as the insignia of the hospital
The temporary deck installed for the restoration of the ceiling
The plan of the ceiling design
Early ground and base coats revealed
Wooden panels honour donors in the eighteenth century
Paint samples for the repainting of the ceiling
A crack caused by water ingress
A cartouche with a grotesque face high up on the wall
The good Samaritan and his charge as portrayed by Hogarth and viewed through scaffolding
Jesus at Bethesda viewed through scaffolding
A wealthy woman seeking healing viewed through scaffolding
Poor women seeking healing viewed through scaffolding
The grand chandelier from the staircase has been removed for restoration
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Purim In Stamford Hill
Photographer Neil Martinson introduces his pictures of the Purim festival celebrated by an orthodox Jewish community in Hackney
‘It’s the most surprising festival in London, in which the largest orthodox Jewish community in Europe discard their traditional black clothing and break into a dazzle of colour and costumes for the festival of Purim.
Hackney has always been a place of incredible diversity and energy. The orthodox Jewish community in Stamford Hill has long been an integral part of the borough, and I wanted to share their story, particularly around Purim, which is such an expressive and joyful festival. I first took photos of Purim in 1981 when it was a modest event held in peoples homes.
The Charedi community was established in Hackney in the 1920s, growing significantly after the Second World War as survivors of the Holocaust and refugees fled the devastation of Europe. Now numbering at least 30,000, there are seventy-five synagogues within walking distance of their homes. As the community has grown so has the festival. This is a celebration of their strength, their joy, and their traditions.’ – Neil Martinson
Photographs copyright © Neil Martinson
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Click here to buy a copy of Neil Martinson’s 28 page book of photos for £11
So Long, Maxie Lea MBE
Cover price is £35 but if you order now you can buy it for £30 and you will receive a signed copy on publication in October.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER A SIGNED COPY OF ENDURANCE & JOY
Maxie Lea died on Wednesday aged ninety-four
Maxie Lea (1930-2024) – Ready for training!
At the top of Brick Lane, there was once a nest of densely populated streets where a group of young boys became friends in the nineteen thirties and although the topography has changed beyond all recognition, their friendship remains alive today. Max Lea was one of those who shared in the lively camaraderie engendered at the Cambridge & Bethnal Green Boys’ Club, which was based nearby in Chance St, where the boys met each evening to let off steam and enjoy high jinks, while escaping their crowded homes.
‘Maxie,’ as he was commonly known, became a member in 1941 and then a club manager in 1947, a post that he held until it closed in 1989. For many years Maxie organised the annual reunions and, in 2000, the Queen gave him an MBE for his stalwart devotion to the heroic boys’ club. Of diminutive stature and playful by nature, with his pebble glasses and exuberant humour, Maxie was always a popular figure, but his experiences at the Cambridge & Bethnal Green Boys’ Club encouraged his gregarious personality and his respect for justice – finding equal expression in the sporting life he pursued both as player and as referee.
I was born in the Royal London Hospital Whitechapel on 29th June 1930 as a twin, with a blue baby that died after eight hours. My parents lived at 265 Brick Lane in a small grocery shop. My mother’s family came from Lodz in Poland and they had a tailoring business in Plumbers Row, Stepney. My father’s family were from Russia but I don’t know where, he came with his family to Portsmouth in the nineteen twenties. They met through friends. My father travelled up from Portsmouth and they got married and lived on Brick Lane where he started a tailoring business in the house. Mum ran the grocery shop, which was opposite Gossett St. There were five children, we all slept in the two upstairs rooms and we kept ourselves together, we were never short of food.
At nine, I was evacuated, at first to Soham and then to Stoke Hammond for eighteen months. The thing that always comes back to me was when we had a big snowfall, I was walking to school with my sister and the next thing she said was, “Where are you?” I fell into a ditch. Life was good, quite peaceful and I played football and cricket with the other boys. It taught me a lot about friendship.
At thirteen years, I came back for my Bar Mitzvah but on the day of the service I had Quinsy, a swelling of the throat. I was lying in bed and I could hardly speak. I heard my mother and father downstairs, saying,“What are we going to do?” At that moment, it burst! We went along but I could only say a portion of the Torah – just the pages in the front – and after that I went back to bed.
Then, at fourteen, I left school and, as my brother was a pastry cook, I decided I was going to do the same and I went to work at Joe Lyons in Coventry St, Piccadilly. Going to work so early in the mornings, the good-time girls used to take my arm and say “Come with me.” But I said, “I’m on my way to work!” I didn’t hardly know what it was all about – I was just a little fella.
In 1941, I joined the Cambridge & Bethnal Green Boys Club in Chance St. Until then, the only holiday I ever had was Southend, staying in Mrs Lewis’ boarding house for a week while my father travelled back and forth to work each day. Joining the club, I got to go on camps and Harry Tichener, the club manager known as “T,” became like a second father to me. He was a photographer by profession and an Associate of the Royal Photographic Society. At fourteen, I joined the committee as a junior officer. It built a life of comradeship for us. And it taught me how to deal with others and how to talk to people. It taught me management, that you don’t say, “Oi, Can you do this?” You say, “Can you please help me?”
I moved out of Brick Lane in 1960, when they pulled the shop down and offered us a place in Vallance Rd. But it was under the railway, so we moved to Rostrevor Avenue instead and eventually to Stamford Hill. My mother ran the shop all this time and I lived with her until she died at seventy-seven in 1976. From being a pastry chef, I became a stock keeper for sportswear company and then I worked for Tower Hamlets Housing Office, staying until I retired in 1995. When I was working for Tower Hamlets, I used to deal with new properties and, one day, a lady came in to present the papers of 265 Brick Lane and my heart stopped. “What’s the matter?” she asked, and I said, “Before they pulled it down, I used to live at that number.”
Maxie had been back only twice to Brick Lane since 1960. “Each time, I went for walk and got lost,” he admitted to me with a crazy grin of self-parody, “but it’s just as mixed now as it ever was.” Yet although the streets are changed and the building in Chance St has gone long ago, Harry Tichener’s affectionate and beautiful photographs survive to witness the vibrant world of the Cambridge & Bethnal Green Boys’ Club – which once offered an invaluable taste of freedom to so many young men from the East End.
Maxie was in regular contact with the friends he made in Brick Lane in the nineteen thirties and he lived Stanmore surrounded by trophies and certificates, commemorating his meritorious services to refereeing football matches. At first, I could not quite understand the appeal of refereeing until Maxie confided, “As a player you only make acquaintances, but as a referee you make many more lasting friendships. It has given me a very fruitful and interesting life.”
Max enjoys a casual cigarette at age eleven, pictured here with Victor Monger, 1941.
Boat trip, Max raises his fingers to his chin in the centre left of the picture.
Camp Banquet, Max is on the far left.
On Herne Bay Sands, Max stands in profile on the right.
Looking down on Dover, Max is on the left of the group.
Max is in the chef’s hat with a pipe on the left of this picture.
Max is pictured doing the washing up on the left of the table.
Max is in the centre right, paddling with his pals, Stanley, Manny, Butch & Ken.
Max & Stanley go boating.
Treasure Hunt, Max is centre left beneath the tree.
The Treasure Hunt continues, Max is on the right.
A Human Pyramid with Max at the top.
Tea in the orchard 1942, Max sits on the right drinking a mug of tea.
Max peels the spuds at the centre of this picture.
Harold goes for breakfast while Paul & Max look on.
1950, Shackelford. Max, Roy & Albert get water.
Weekend Camp, Easter 1955. Max with his head in his pal’s lap.
France, 1959, Max at the centre of this group.
France 1959, Max is seen in profile, waving at the centre left of this picture.
France, 1959, Max is at the centre of this happy group.
Easter, 1955.
Weekend Course at Amersham, Max at the centre.
Hastings, 1957, Max and his scooter.
Max & pals at Middelkerne Beach.
In 2000, Max receives his MBE for services to the Cambridge & Bethnal Green Boys’ Club.
Max Lea MBE –“The sporting life has kept me fit for all these years.”
Cambridge & Bethnal Green Boys’ Club photographs by Harry Tichener ARPS
Portrait copyright © Jeremy Freedman
Read my other Cambridge & Bethnal Green Boys Club Stories
At the Cambridge & Bethnal Green Boys Club 86th Annual Reunion
Susannah Dalbiac’s Diary, 1776
Cover price is £35 but if you order now you can buy it for £30 and you will receive a signed copy on publication in October.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER A SIGNED COPY OF ENDURANCE & JOY
Margaret Nairne brought her great-great-great-great-aunt’s diary to show me and I publish these excerpts today. It is an Almanack of 1776 belonging to fourteen-year-old Susannah Dalbiac, whose father Charles Dalbiac was a silk & velvet merchant who ran the family business with his brother James at 20 Spital Sq. The Dalbiacs were Huguenots and Susannah’s grandfather escaped France as a youth in a hamper in July 1681 after his parents and three sisters were murdered. At the opening of the diary in January 1776, London was suffering a Great Frost with temperatures as low as minus eighteen degrees. (You can click on any diary page to enlarge it)
Monday JANUARY 1st 1776
Mama & Lucy drank tea at Mrs Martin’s. I stayed at home to make tea for Papa and Cousin James
Tuesday
Papa & Cousin James Dalbiac went to Town before Dinner.
Wednesday
Mama went to Town in the Coach at nine o’clock, took Harriet & Nurse with her. The man came to take down the Organ.
Thursday
We worked at our muffs, drew and did the same as when Mama is at home.
Friday
The man finished packing up the organ. We finished our muffs.
Saturday
I was very glad to see Papa and Mama. They came to dinner. Mama was so good as to make a present of a fan and an Almanack.
Sunday
We did not go to Church. We read a sermon in the morning… The text was Felix’s behaviours towards Paul explained.
Monday JANUARY 15th
Mr Cooke call’d in the morning. They play’d at Quadrille in the evening.
Tuesday
Papa went to town. Mama read Cyrus in the evening.
Wednesday
At Home alone.
Thursday
Mama read Cyrus in the evening.
Friday
Papa came down to dinner. They play’d at Quadrille in the evening.
Saturday
Papa took a ride in the morning to Admiral Geary’s. They play’s at Quadrille in the evening.
Sunday
We read a sermon in the morning, the text was National Mercies considered. I wrote what I understood by it. I kept up a hundred at Battledore Shuttlecock with Miss Watson.
Monday MARCH 11th
Went to Town. Took CM. Din’d at GM’s. Came back to tea. Mama drank tea at Mr Sebly’s. We at home with CM. Papa went to Bookham.
Tuesday
CKL & CM drank tea here. DK slept here.
Wednesday
Papa came to tea. Sally & Frank came to dinner from Bookham.
Thursday
Papa went to Town. We took a ride with Mama & Aunt L to Hackney. Papa came to Dinner.
Friday
Mama took a ride in the Phaeton with Papa.
Saturday
Papa went to Town. Came back to dinner, Papa went to Mr Paris’s. At home with Mama, Lucy and CM.
Sunday
Went to church with CL & we din’d here Papa & Mama drank tea at Uncle Lamotte’s.
(Susannah mistakenly entered her grandmother’s death on the wrong date and crossed it out)
Monday APRIL 1st
Aunt Lamotte went to town with Papa. Came back to tea. They all came in the evening. Grandmama very ill.
Tuesday
Papa went to town. Took CM with him. Came back to tea.
Wednesday
Aunt & Uncle Lamotte went to town with Papa. Aunt and Uncle came back to tea. We spent the day with Mama at Uncle Lamotte’s.
Miss Louise Delaporte
Thursday
Aunt & CL went to town with Papa. Aunt & Uncle came back to tea. We spent the day with Mama at Uncle Lamotte’s.
Grandmama died at four in the evening. Though expected at her age it is always a great loss. She was 84 next July
Friday
Aunt and CL went to Town Came back to dinner with Papa. They spent the evening here. CM came in the morning.
Friday
Papa went to town. Came back to tea. Mama drank tea at Uncle Lamotte’s. CM came here.
Saturday
Went to town with Papa, Uncle and Aunt L & CL who was so good as bespeak some mourning for us, Mama not being well enough. Saw G’mama. Did not find her much alter’d.
Sunday
CL came in the morning. We drank tea at Uncle Lamotte’s. Papa came down in the evening.
Monday APRIL 22nd
Drank tea at Uncle Lamotte’s where we met Uncle Dalbiac’s family
Tuesday
CK call’d. Papa slept in town
Wednesday
Papa came to dinner. Mr Paul and Peter L [..?] spent the day here
Thursday
CM spent the day here. CK called
Friday
Papa went to town. We spent the day at Uncle Lamotte’s
Saturday
CK call’d in the afternoon with MJ Lamotte.
Sunday
Went to church with CK. Sukey din’d here. CM came in the morning.
(Susannah’s own mother had died young and her stepmother gave birth to a baby boy in April.)
Monday APRIL 29th
Mama rather low at little boys going out to nurse. We drank at Uncle. Aunt came here to tea and CL in the evening. Note on opposite page – The little boy went out to nurse upon the Forest the nurse not being able to come.
Tuesday
Papa went to town
Wednesday MAY 1st
Went with nurse Flaxman to see the little boy. Found him very well
Thursday
Staid at home. Aunt Ch CS Dalbiac drank tea here
Friday
Went with nurse Flaxman to see the little boy
Saturday
Papa went to Uncle Lamotte’s in the evening where he met a great many people
Sunday
Went to church with CKL. After church we went with CM to fetch little boy. She spent the day with us.
Monday MAY 13th
Sir John Silvester came to see mama, she was so very low. CK call’d
Tuesday
Sir John Silvester came. Papa went to town came back at night
Wednesday
Papa went to town. Came back for tea.
Thursday
Sir John Silvester came
Friday
Papa went, came to back to tea. Took a ride after tea to see little boy. Found him very well. Call’d on Uncle Lamotte
Saturday
Sir John Silvester came. Ordered mama today a bed till Monday as had a little rash. CM drank tea here.
Sunday
There was no service. Took a ride with Papa & Aunt Lamotte. Called at Uncle Dalbiac.
(Sir John Silvester was a doctor from the French Hospital and one of the top physicians of the day)
(Susannah records her winnings at Quadrille on the right hand page)
Monday JUNE 10th
We drank tea at Mrs Brickendon’s with Mr and Mrs B and C. Walles. Met Mr ? and Mr Forbes
Tuesday
At Home. Play’d at Quadrille in the evening
Wednesday
Mr and Mrs Jourdan came down to dinner. Mrs Fellen and Mrs Draper dined here. Played at Piquet with Mr Barbut.
Thursday
Mrs Brickendon and Miss Streton drank tea here.
Friday
Drank tea at Mrs Brickendon. Lucy played at cards after they came home. Went halfs with her.
Saturday
Drank tea at Mrs Fellen’s. Mr Barbut came down in the Phaeton
Sunday
Went to Church with Miss Barbut. Mrs Rose & Mrs Forbes. Drank tea here.
Monday JUNE 24th
Spent the day at Uncle Lamotte’s. Slept there. Left Wanstead Lane.
Tuesday
In the Morning Papa tooke with the Phaeton to Uncle Dalbiac’s. Took a walk in the evening to see Harriet with Aunt.
Wednesday
At home alone.
Thursday
Spent the day at Sir J Silvester’s with Aunt & Uncle, CL & CM. We had a very agreeable day.
Friday
At home all day
Saturday
We went with Aunt in the morning to see little boy. Found him very well at 1 0’clock Mr Gallie called in the coach. We went with him to Uncle Lamotte’s
Monday JULY 1st
The coach came for us after Dinner to go to Town. Found Mama very well which made me quite happy
Tuesday
Went with mama the other end of Town in the morning. Very busy all day.
Wednesday
We all went down to Uncle Lamotte’s in the evening.
Thursday
Went to Town in the morning. CL & CM with us. We all went to Vauxhall in the evening & I found it much greater than my expectations as I had never see it before. In the morning we saw little Harriet and little boy.
Friday
Very busy all day. Mr Laport din’d with us. He came from New Providence to see Grandmama his sister but was disappointed.
Saturday
We set out a journey…
There is a gap in Susannah Dalbiac’s diary between 6th July and 14th October, after which she is in Paris and from then on many of the entries are written in French. It may be that her stepmother’s illness led the family to return to France where she had relatives or that the turbulence of the Weavers’ Riots in Spitalfields at this time caused James Dalbiac to withdraw his business. Susannah never married or had children but, living with her sister Louisa, she died at her brother-in-law Peter Luard’s house, Blyborough Hall, Lincolnshire in 1842, aged eighty.
Click here for details of events in the current HUGUENOT SUMMER festival
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