The Frith Blog
Articles, news and opinions from The Francis Frith Collection.
We are always looking at old photographs and quite often we come across fascinating stories, facts and scenes and we want to share these with you. This is why we created the Frith Blog - it could be a set of photographs connected with the current season, upcoming events or a theme. We hope you enjoy browsing what we've found and if you have any ideas of articles we could create in the future, please let us know.
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Dip into this seasonal selection of nostalgic photographs from The Francis Frith Collection of people in the past having fun in the sun, as we celebrate the onset of summer this weekend when meteorological summer begins!
Happy Oak Apple Day! 29th May, known as Oak Apple Day or Royal Oak Day, used to be a public holiday celebrated in England, Wales and Ireland in the past to commemorate the restoration of King Charles II to the throne in 1660 following the Civil War. It was named after the oak tree at Boscobel in Shropshire in which Charles II hid from the Parliamentarian forces pursuing him whilst he was fleeing from the battle of Worcester in 1651, and traditional celebrations to commemorate the event often entailed the wearing of oak apples (a type of plant gall) or sprigs of oak leaves in memory of that famous oak tree.
Curious old buildings known as Buttermarkets or Buttercrosses can be seen in a number of town centres around Britain. In the days when most farmers sold their produce locally, these were specially built structures to provide shelter for the vendors, usually the farmers’ wives, where commodities such as butter and cheese could be sold under cover on market days in the town.
A nostalgic celebration in photographs and memories of the local department stores of the past that used to draw throngs of customers to towns.
Oh, the thrill of the silver screen for children in the 1950s and 1960s, and the fun to be had at the cinema in the past at the Saturday morning children’s cinema club!
This selection of memories and photos speaks strongly to the wartime spirit so synonymous with the British nation. They include evacuee memories of life in rural Britain and accounts of what it meant to "grow up British" during wartime.
A family day out and a ride on the miniature railway - what a treat! Presenting a special selection of photographs from The Francis Frith Collection of children (of all ages) enjoying the special, simple thrill of a ride on the miniature train.
Join us in a little indulgent summer nostalgia with this selection of photographs and memories from the Collection of folk having a splashing great time at the lido!
Happy St George's Day! Nowadays, it's not St George's martyrdom that propelled him to popularity, but the tales of his heroism in slaying dragons and rescuing maidens. We thought we would bring you some nostalgic photos that might help in a small way remind us all of what makes England so great!
As Easter approaches, we share this special selection of your memories of how you spent Easter as a child!
We’ve lost Woolworths, Debenhams, British Home Stores and many more – now the news is that WH Smith stores have been sold and will be rebranded with a new name.
Here are some nostalgic photos of these early supermarkets in the past – some names are now long gone, like Fine Fare and the International Stores, but others are still with us, like Tesco, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s.