Seen this before

Visitors to the SAOEE website often do so because they are looking for a specific topic and a search engine suggests something which may be useful to them.  At other times browsers are clicking until they come across an interesting topic.

Christopher was doing one of those recently and found himself looking at a picture he definitely recognised, although there were some subtle differences.  The picture is this one:

It is on the SAOEE site because it had been donated by the Tuck family.  Horace Tuck ran a small garage and workshop a few doors east of the Rats' Castle PH.  The family were members of Hatfield Road Methodist Church, which, the caption suggested, the group was part of, together with an approximate date of 1908.

My assumption was that the church, which at that date was worshipping at a tin building west of St Paul's, but which may by then have acquired the land on the Glenferrie Road corner, arranged for the photo to be taken there.  The Tuck family presumably had a copy because members of the family were in the shot.  But who else was present.

It was Christopher who took the story forward, as he had come across two similar photos, which he has posted on the My Methodist History website 

http://www.mymethodisthistory.org.uk/page/hatfield_road_methodist_church_st_albans-2?path=0p24p62p

The event, which took place annually, was the Junior Missionary Collectors picnic and the location was St Julian's Farm.  Marlborough School is located on part of the farm today.  The two photos on that site are specifically 1908 and 1910.  It therefore seems reasonable to assume that the Tuck picture was from 1909.  We understand that the minister in the 1908 picture was Rev T C Legg, while Rev J W Almond was in the 1910 shot.

"The two adults in the centre of the back row (above) are Mr Herbert Read, who was instrumental in setting up the church in 1894 at the old shoe factory in Cavendish Road, and his sister Miss E Read, who set up the Sunday School and Band of Hope a year later."  So writes Christopher.  Several others are in at least two of the three photos.  What intrigues him – and it something I now notice more, having seen all three pictures – is the presence of what appears to be a replica stone angel at two of the events!

I am sure we will discover more about the people in these pictures in the coming months.  Meanwhile, if anyone has in their family photo box, a picture of the Methodists' tin church (it was where the Liberal Club later had their premises) please do get in touch.