From Above The Railway Station 1874, Barnstaple
From Above The Railway Station 1874, Barnstaple Ref: 5825
Memories of From Above The Railway Station 1874, Barnstaple
Railway Info.
The building on the left is a carriage shed, used for holding spare passenger vehicles under cover. It is from the North Devon Railway in the 1850s and still appears to have broad gauge track (7ft gauge - not removed until 1877) laid into it. Access was by means of a small turntable just off the picture to the left. The Ilfracombe Railway is being built - the low embankment can just be seen with what appears to be temporary track on it - and the girders of the river bridge are in place but work is continuing on the line - see the works yard at this end of the bridge. There are no signals in place, so the line is not open, and the Quay station has been built but looks unfinished. This means that the photo was probably taken in about May 1874 - 13 of the viaduct girders were undelivered in February and the first engine did not cross the river... Read more
Barnstaple & local memories
Read and share memories of Barnstaple and Devon inspired by Frith photos.
Crossing Into The '60s...
I'm fairly confident that the people below occupied the properties at that time; No 1 - The Vicar of St Marys' Magdelain in Bear Street, he lived on his own, a short, dark and mysterious man with bushy eyebrows. No 2 - Occupied by the Burges's and also owned [or rented] a walled plot of land just opposite. No 3 - Owned by the Dimeo family, ex RAF. No 4 - Occupied by spinster Ms Damon and her Mother. No 5 - We moved from Chivenor to this house during 1963, my parents bought the property from Mr & Mrs Fry who moved up into a new bungalow in Sunset Heights which overlooked the Hills View green. Mr Fry was a decorator in partnership with his son. No 6 - Mr & Mrs Sheppard lived here, he was the Manager of The International supermarket in High Street.
Rowing Boats
It must have been in the early 1950s when an Aunt and Uncle, actually cousins of my mother's from Bolton, came to visit on holiday. In those days I remember there were rowing boats for hire from the boathouse moored near the entrance to Rock Park and the South Walk which can be seen in the 1899 photo. That means it must have been there for a good while before the relatives took me out in one of the boats and rowed up the river as far as the iron railway bridge which had been built to ling the Great Western Station at Victoria Road with the Southern Railway at Barnstaple Junction. The abiding memory is of us grounding on a sandbank but fortunately not getting stuck. I remember being frightened that we would sink but nearly sixty years later I am still around to tell the tale!
Chivenor 1949
I was 19 years old, in the R.A.F. at Chivenor from October, 1948 to June, 1949 and was at the dance-hall in Barnstaple one of those nights in April, 1949. Across the room was the loveliest girl I had ever seen, brown wavy hair to her shoulders, etc., for me,it was love at first sight. I walked across and said "Excuse me, Miss, would you like to dance?"- to my great joy she did just that, and as we danced for that very first time, I knew that I had met the girl of my dreams. When the dance ended I asked if I could sit with her, and we exchanged names, etc. She was Shirley Ann Douglas who lived with her father and 6-year-old sister in Chestwood House, Hammetts Lane, Bishop's Tawton, about three miles from Barnstaple. Her father was an Army Captain based at Fremington, and brought Shirley to the dance-hall in his car and met her again at 10 p.m. to take her home, while I got... Read more
Tailor's Apprentice
I was an apprentice in Mr Richard's tailor's shop, Barnstable, horse in window with a man in riding gear. Mr Diamond instructed me, a nice gent. I had to go back to Bradford before my apprenticeship was completed. I have happy memories, go for holidays now. I would like to have a photo of the shop.
Macfisheries
Arriving in Barnstaple in 1957 from Hampshire, a 17 year old blonde haired young man, my first employment was at the High Street branch of Macfisheries, employed as a shop assistant/delivery boy delivering orders on a large black bicycle with an equally large wicker basket on the front within the Barnstaple town area. I was immediately made to feel welcome by all that I met, and had many happy years in Barnstaple, and made many good friends, male and female, before moving north in the 1960s. My wife and I and children over the years have always managed a short visit most years and stayed at hotels such as "The Imperial" where as a delivery boy I could only have dreamt of staying while delivering my orders on my large pedal cycle, how times change. If anyone who worked at Macfisheries or remembers me please to get in touch with by e-mail: ray.hay@virgin.net
Barnstaple Girlfriend Church And School 1939
As my fourteenth birthday hove into view and we entered the summer of 1939 it became clear that we could soon be at war with Germany. Bushey Heath was just fifteen miles north-west of central London. My parents felt I should be out of the way of the expected bombing raids, so they sent me, not to friends but to friends of a friend, Mr and Mrs Ovey. Mr Ovey was Pastor of the Barnstaple Mission, just by their house in Rackfield, which eventually I attended every Sunday morning and evening.
One of my first thoughts about the move concerned the delightful possibility that girls might be there. In the train I stood at the corridor window as we halted at the Barnstaple platform. There was a young girl standing among the crowd, her auburn hair loose round her shoulders. But she was beside an elderly woman and obviously waiting for someone else. No luck. I clambered down to the platform with my suitcase and gas mask, looking... Read more
Memories of Barnstaple
My aunt was the Manager of the Imperial Hotel which once stood on the bank of a river (whose name escapes me), in the 1940s. I spent several holidays with her which were great experiences for a young boy from a relatively sheltered existence in a schoolhouse in rural Scotland. My Aunt May (Mrs Strongman), known to the staff in the hotel as "MADAM", was my mother's older sister. I had never stayed in a Hotel. I had a marvellous time, going round the shops with my aunt when she bought for the hotel, having dinner when I had to wear my suit and not sports coat and flannels. I recall that the Hunt Dinner was held there once when I was staying at the hotel, and it was such a grand affair.
Having the opportunity to stay with my aunt stood me in good stead in later years, as I learned how to conduct myself with waiters and hotel staff, how to order a meal and much more.... Read more
Rock Park Swimming Pool
I attended the North Devon Technical School in the late 50's having passed the 13+ from Barnstaple Secondary Modern ( I've yet to meet anyone that took the 13+ in recent years) I must have been about 14 -15 when the school sent us to have swimming lessons in the Rock Park swimming Pool. I lived nereby in Newport Road and often went to the open pool that was a social centre for young people. In the summer there was a weekly 'gala' that was well attended. -Happy days.
John Cole
School Swimming Lessons
I remember well going to the swimming baths once a week during the summer for swimming lessons. We used to walk from Pilton School to Rock Park, or those of us with bikes were allowed to cycle and wait at the park for the others. I cannot imagine that being allowed today. By the time we gained access to the pool it was about 9.30 a.m. and it would be like a mill pond, but being so early it had not had time for the sun to work its magic, so it was also very cold. Many a weekend was also spent here when it would be packed with people who were unable to get to nearby beaches.
First Job
This picture has particularly fond memories as on the immediate right is Darks the Jewellers' shop, where I started my first job as an apprentice. The window immediately above the sun blind is the watch repairer's workshop. Two doors away is Timothy Whites, a name long gone from our High Streets.
A Crying Shame
The Castle used to be the home of the borough council, but was demolished some time during the 1960s and a new civic centre, which is an eyesore, was built on the land opposite. It was an absolute travesty that this lovely building was destroyed.
The parked car is outside my great uncle's cobbler and shoe shop. When I was eight, I spent time 'working' in the shop for a few pennies The church opposite was where the local Brownies met weekly of which I was one.
Railway Info.
This view shows the junction line which linked the GWR Victoria station with the Junction station - running from left to right and opened in 1887. It must have been almost new when the photo was taken and the earthworks are still bare.
Railway Info.
Date of this photograph is c1874/75 as the railway viaduct is complete.
Railway Info.
The furniture van to the left will have been carried to Barnstaple by rail. There were special low 'road vehicle trucks' onto which these vans could be loaded and moved long distances around the country. and it is standing next to the end loading docks at this end of the station.
