EHL131. Eastbourne Electric Light Co Ltd. De Roos Road where it meets Ratton Road and Mill Road, opposite corner to VR Pillar Box, Eastbourne. what3words location: wins.tables.cubes

Grace’s Guide: Eastbourne Electric Light Co Ltd. 

c.1883 Established the first system of district electric lighting in the UK using underground mains. 

c.1883 The Lowrie-Hall system of electric lighting, using the Goulard-Gibbs transformer (otherwise spelled as Gaulard-Gibbs), was deployed by Hammond & Co (Electrical Engineers) for Eastbourne Electric Lighting Co; Mr William Lowrie was the chief engineer of Hammond and Co.

By 1889 mains of 20 miles length were in use.

From ‘Bygone Eastbourne’ by J. C. Wright published in 1912 the following chapter titled ‘The Pioneer of Electricity on the South Coast’ is reproduced in full: -

The inhabitant of old Eastbourne as he chatted in the chimney-corner during the dark days of winter and lit himself to bed by the aid of a farthing rushlight did not dream that posterity should possess a light which ‘without heat, without smoke, without smell, and shut up inside an empty bulb, should emit a beam with powers denied even to the solar ray.’  It is true these advantages were not secured all at once.  The Electric Light Company was unable to avail itself of the incandescent system for some time.  Founded in 1882, the company initiated an undertaking which has become of considerable importance to the town.  Soon after its formation, it applied to the Local Board for permission to carry its wires ‘over streets or over roofs of houses or in gas-tubing under streets for the purpose of carrying the electric light into the shops and houses of such ratepayers as may desire to use it.’  The company also asked the local authority if it was willing to try the ‘Brush Arc Light’ of 2,000 candle-power in a few selected parts of town.  Though there was some opposition, the request was grant by a majority of four and it was arranged that sixteen lamps should supersede ninety existing gas lamps. 

It is amusing to read the discussions of the Board respecting the new light.  It was stated the several companies were intending to compete with the original Eastbourne Company, that they would have the power to come and break up the roads, and could not be dislodged for twenty-one years.  A few members thought ‘the more the merrier,’ but others of a more serious turn of mind regarded the outlook with feelings far removed from equanimity, and the Clerk was instructed to watch the question in the interests of the Board.  The ‘watching’ was effectual; anyhow no rival company appeared on the scene.  With youthful ardour the company urged that the Board should allow them to light one or two streets.  But the Board, desiring above all things to appear fair, resolved to put the Gas Company on a similar footing.  Accordingly the Electric Light Company was asked to give a price for lighting up the route from the drinking fountain near the railway station to the top of Victoria Place; and the Gas Company to give a price for lighting the road from the Anchor Hotel to Mr. Dicker’s shop in South Street.  The Gas Company took offence, because, said one of the members, they had ‘had a nice thing for a long time, and did not want it taken away.’  So the company refused to give a price.  But an agreement was entered into with the rival company to light fourteen arc lamps in Devonshire Place, Terminus Road, and Seaside Road.  This arrangement was not carried out in its entirety, but Devonshire Place was actually lighted by the company for some time.  The direct current was at first employed, but this gave place to the alternating current, and along with it the system of incandescent lighting, the first place to be lit by the company being the new Town Hall.

As the pioneers of electric lighting on the south coast the company had frequently to pay heavily for their experience, for essentially it was an experimental company in its early days, and but for the assistance of capitalists introduced by Mr. Robert Hammond, the well-known consulting electrical engineer, under whose superintendence the company’s system was originally laid down, the undertaking might have collapsed.  After 1890 the company ‘turned a corner’ and began paying dividends, which in the year prior to its transference to the Corporation reached 10 per cent.  Many of the principal boroughs, including that of Dublin, and several of the London vestries visited Eastbourne to inspect the company’s operations, and at the opening of the works in Junction Road in 1885 the Chinese Ambassador, the Marquess T’Seng, was present. 

The original directors were Mr. George Boulton (chairman) and Messrs. J. G. Langham, Wm. Routledge, Caleb Diplock, and J. A. Skinner; and from the incorporation of the company Mr. Henry Towner acted as secretary and accountant. Latterly Mr. H. W. Wilkinson was the electrical engineer.  Since the undertaking came into the hands of the Town Council, it has been found necessary to erect new works at Roselands.

EHL129. Eastbourne Electric Light Co Ltd. De Roos Road where it meets Ratton Road and Mill Road, Eastbourne. what3words location: flame.miss.rash

Grace’s Guide: Eastbourne Electric Light Co Ltd. 

c.1883 Established the first system of district electric lighting in the UK using underground mains. 

c.1883 The Lowrie-Hall system of electric lighting, using the Goulard-Gibbs transformer (otherwise spelled as Gaulard-Gibbs), was deployed by Hammond & Co (Electrical Engineers) for Eastbourne Electric Lighting Co; Mr William Lowrie was the chief engineer of Hammond and Co.

By 1889 mains of 20 miles length were in use.

From ‘Bygone Eastbourne’ by J. C. Wright published in 1912 the following chapter titled ‘The Pioneer of Electricity on the South Coast’ is reproduced in full: -

The inhabitant of old Eastbourne as he chatted in the chimney-corner during the dark days of winter and lit himself to bed by the aid of a farthing rushlight did not dream that posterity should possess a light which ‘without heat, without smoke, without smell, and shut up inside an empty bulb, should emit a beam with powers denied even to the solar ray.’  It is true these advantages were not secured all at once.  The Electric Light Company was unable to avail itself of the incandescent system for some time.  Founded in 1882, the company initiated an undertaking which has become of considerable importance to the town.  Soon after its formation, it applied to the Local Board for permission to carry its wires ‘over streets or over roofs of houses or in gas-tubing under streets for the purpose of carrying the electric light into the shops and houses of such ratepayers as may desire to use it.’  The company also asked the local authority if it was willing to try the ‘Brush Arc Light’ of 2,000 candle-power in a few selected parts of town.  Though there was some opposition, the request was grant by a majority of four and it was arranged that sixteen lamps should supersede ninety existing gas lamps. 

It is amusing to read the discussions of the Board respecting the new light.  It was stated the several companies were intending to compete with the original Eastbourne Company, that they would have the power to come and break up the roads, and could not be dislodged for twenty-one years.  A few members thought ‘the more the merrier,’ but others of a more serious turn of mind regarded the outlook with feelings far removed from equanimity, and the Clerk was instructed to watch the question in the interests of the Board.  The ‘watching’ was effectual; anyhow no rival company appeared on the scene.  With youthful ardour the company urged that the Board should allow them to light one or two streets.  But the Board, desiring above all things to appear fair, resolved to put the Gas Company on a similar footing.  Accordingly the Electric Light Company was asked to give a price for lighting up the route from the drinking fountain near the railway station to the top of Victoria Place; and the Gas Company to give a price for lighting the road from the Anchor Hotel to Mr. Dicker’s shop in South Street.  The Gas Company took offence, because, said one of the members, they had ‘had a nice thing for a long time, and did not want it taken away.’  So the company refused to give a price.  But an agreement was entered into with the rival company to light fourteen arc lamps in Devonshire Place, Terminus Road, and Seaside Road.  This arrangement was not carried out in its entirety, but Devonshire Place was actually lighted by the company for some time.  The direct current was at first employed, but this gave place to the alternating current, and along with it the system of incandescent lighting, the first place to be lit by the company being the new Town Hall.

As the pioneers of electric lighting on the south coast the company had frequently to pay heavily for their experience, for essentially it was an experimental company in its early days, and but for the assistance of capitalists introduced by Mr. Robert Hammond, the well-known consulting electrical engineer, under whose superintendence the company’s system was originally laid down, the undertaking might have collapsed.  After 1890 the company ‘turned a corner’ and began paying dividends, which in the year prior to its transference to the Corporation reached 10 per cent.  Many of the principal boroughs, including that of Dublin, and several of the London vestries visited Eastbourne to inspect the company’s operations, and at the opening of the works in Junction Road in 1885 the Chinese Ambassador, the Marquess T’Seng, was present. 

The original directors were Mr. George Boulton (chairman) and Messrs. J. G. Langham, Wm. Routledge, Caleb Diplock, and J. A. Skinner; and from the incorporation of the company Mr. Henry Towner acted as secretary and accountant. Latterly Mr. H. W. Wilkinson was the electrical engineer.  Since the undertaking came into the hands of the Town Council, it has been found necessary to erect new works at Roselands.

EHL231. Eastbourne Electric Light Co Ltd. 2 Moatcroft Road, Eastbourne. what3words location: mostly.case.logs

 

An atmospheric night time photograph!

Grace’s Guide: Eastbourne Electric Light Co Ltd. 

c.1883 Established the first system of district electric lighting in the UK using underground mains. 

c.1883 The Lowrie-Hall system of electric lighting, using the Goulard-Gibbs transformer (otherwise spelled as Gaulard-Gibbs), was deployed by Hammond & Co (Electrical Engineers) for Eastbourne Electric Lighting Co; Mr William Lowrie was the chief engineer of Hammond and Co.

By 1889 mains of 20 miles length were in use.

From ‘Bygone Eastbourne’ by J. C. Wright published in 1912 the following chapter titled ‘The Pioneer of Electricity on the South Coast’ is reproduced in full: -

The inhabitant of old Eastbourne as he chatted in the chimney-corner during the dark days of winter and lit himself to bed by the aid of a farthing rushlight did not dream that posterity should possess a light which ‘without heat, without smoke, without smell, and shut up inside an empty bulb, should emit a beam with powers denied even to the solar ray.’  It is true these advantages were not secured all at once.  The Electric Light Company was unable to avail itself of the incandescent system for some time.  Founded in 1882, the company initiated an undertaking which has become of considerable importance to the town.  Soon after its formation, it applied to the Local Board for permission to carry its wires ‘over streets or over roofs of houses or in gas-tubing under streets for the purpose of carrying the electric light into the shops and houses of such ratepayers as may desire to use it.’  The company also asked the local authority if it was willing to try the ‘Brush Arc Light’ of 2,000 candle-power in a few selected parts of town.  Though there was some opposition, the request was grant by a majority of four and it was arranged that sixteen lamps should supersede ninety existing gas lamps. 

It is amusing to read the discussions of the Board respecting the new light.  It was stated the several companies were intending to compete with the original Eastbourne Company, that they would have the power to come and break up the roads, and could not be dislodged for twenty-one years.  A few members thought ‘the more the merrier,’ but others of a more serious turn of mind regarded the outlook with feelings far removed from equanimity, and the Clerk was instructed to watch the question in the interests of the Board.  The ‘watching’ was effectual; anyhow no rival company appeared on the scene.  With youthful ardour the company urged that the Board should allow them to light one or two streets.  But the Board, desiring above all things to appear fair, resolved to put the Gas Company on a similar footing.  Accordingly the Electric Light Company was asked to give a price for lighting up the route from the drinking fountain near the railway station to the top of Victoria Place; and the Gas Company to give a price for lighting the road from the Anchor Hotel to Mr. Dicker’s shop in South Street.  The Gas Company took offence, because, said one of the members, they had ‘had a nice thing for a long time, and did not want it taken away.’  So the company refused to give a price.  But an agreement was entered into with the rival company to light fourteen arc lamps in Devonshire Place, Terminus Road, and Seaside Road.  This arrangement was not carried out in its entirety, but Devonshire Place was actually lighted by the company for some time.  The direct current was at first employed, but this gave place to the alternating current, and along with it the system of incandescent lighting, the first place to be lit by the company being the new Town Hall.

As the pioneers of electric lighting on the south coast the company had frequently to pay heavily for their experience, for essentially it was an experimental company in its early days, and but for the assistance of capitalists introduced by Mr. Robert Hammond, the well-known consulting electrical engineer, under whose superintendence the company’s system was originally laid down, the undertaking might have collapsed.  After 1890 the company ‘turned a corner’ and began paying dividends, which in the year prior to its transference to the Corporation reached 10 per cent.  Many of the principal boroughs, including that of Dublin, and several of the London vestries visited Eastbourne to inspect the company’s operations, and at the opening of the works in Junction Road in 1885 the Chinese Ambassador, the Marquess T’Seng, was present. 

The original directors were Mr. George Boulton (chairman) and Messrs. J. G. Langham, Wm. Routledge, Caleb Diplock, and J. A. Skinner; and from the incorporation of the company Mr. Henry Towner acted as secretary and accountant. Latterly Mr. H. W. Wilkinson was the electrical engineer.  Since the undertaking came into the hands of the Town Council, it has been found necessary to erect new works at Roselands.

EHL374. Rediffusion TV. c1960's. Belmore Road near the junction with Melbourne Road. what3words location: shepherds.fuss.coder

These covers can be found all over Eastbourne, and indeed all over the UK and abroad.

From Wikipedia: -

Rediffusion was the trading name of Broadcast Relay Service Limited, founded in March 1928 by Joshua Powell.  In January 1929, the company introduced its first cable radio service in Hull to customers frustrated with the difficulties of tuning in weak radio broadcasts. In the customer premises, nothing more than a selector switch and loudspeaker were needed. Initially, the service consisted primarily of rebroadcasts of the BBC Radio service, which was reflected in the trading name: Rediffusion simply means "broadcasting again".  Rediffusion quickly branched out into making, renting, and selling radios. With the arrival of the first experimental television broadcasts in the 1930s, Rediffusion began manufacturing TV sets and supplying "Piped TV", an early form of Cable TV, to its customers, until the cessation of television broadcasts during the Second World War.

In 1947, British Electric Traction acquired a substantial minority interest in Rediffusion.  BET's financial resources enabled Rediffusion to capitalise on the growth in post war television, which restarted in 1946. Initially, the company installed cable TV systems in blocks of flats in London, and over the next few years expanded outside London. The company was also involved in the sale and rental of television sets.  With the passage of the Television Act 1954, Rediffusion joined forces with Associated Newspapers, a subsidiary of Daily Mail and General Trust, to form Associated-Rediffusion, and won the coveted London weekday ITV broadcast franchise. They began broadcasting on 22 September 1955.  By 1964, Associated-Rediffusion changed its name to Rediffusion London.

In 1967 the Independent Television Authority ordered Rediffusion London to merge with ABC Weekend TV, the holder of the weekend Midlands and North of England franchises, to form Thames Television, with ABC given the controlling interest and Rediffusion holding 49%. Thames Television was given the new weekday London franchise, with ABC's existing franchises awarded to other companies.

Rediffusion also offered a low-bandwidth cable TV and radio distribution system. This was based on connecting homes with multiple twisted-pair cables. Each pair carried a single TV or radio channel. The system was provided in most United Kingdom towns. Selection of TV or radio station was by means of a rotary switch, usually mounted on a wall or window frame close to the point of entry of the cable into the home.  Rediffusion abandoned this system of TV and radio distribution by the end of the 1980’s. The wall mounted switches, external junction boxes and street cable ducts are still visible in places that have not been redeveloped since the late 1980’s.  The company also experimented with its local cable operations: a local community station in Bristol ("Bristol Channel") from 1973 to 1976, and an optical fibre system in Hastings in 1976.  The Rediffusion retail chain; renting and servicing TVs, radios, VCRs, and hi-fi systems, was common on high streets until it was bought by Granada Rentals in 1984.

On a personal note, I well remember the rotary control box being installed in our home in approximately 1968 (at a guess), and how excited we were (well me anyway!) with this cutting-edge technology!  Also, just a few years ago when I was repainting the front fascia of my present home, I decided to remove all the old Rediffusion cabling and junction box.  It was amazing how heavy the cabling was when I finally got it all down, obviously nothing like the lightweight fibre-optic cables of today.

Additional information from Kevin Gordon: Although Rediffusion was initially rejected by the Council in 1951 following complaints by radio shops, the decision was overturned a few weeks later.

George Kent Ltd, London & Luton. c1910. Location: St. Anne's Road, Eastbourne, near junction with Mill Gap Road. what3words: model.calculating.void

 Grace’s Guide article abbreviated: -

1838: Company established by George Kent. 

1848: Advert. G. Kent, Patentee of the Rotary Knife Cleaner, 329 Strand and 101 Holborn Hill.

1862: Patent for the invention of "improvements in apparatus for producing cocoa berries and other vegetable and animal substances to powder or pulp, and for mashing potatoes."

1865: Patent for the invention of "improvements in apparatus used when boiling milk."

1865: Advert. 'George Kent at his Warehouse for the applications of Science to the Comforts of Life'

1866: Listed as 'George Kent, of No. 199, High Holborn, in the county of Middlesex, Manufacturer of Articles for promoting Domestic Economy'

1868: Patent for the invention of "improvements in ice preservers, refrigerators, and ice safes."

1873: Patent for an invention of "an improved combined carving fork and knife-sharpener."

1876: Patent for the invention of "an improved apparatus for cutting or slicing fruit, vegetables, and other substances."

1891: Released a water meter catalogue.

1908: New works at Luton for George Kent and Co.

1914: Mechanical and Domestic Engineers. Manufacturer of rotary knife cleaning machines, ventilated ice safes and refrigerators, fluid meters for water, sewage, air, gas, or oil.

1921: Merged with J. Blakeborough & Sons under the title of ‘George Kent Ltd and J. Blakeborough & Sons Ltd.’

The article goes on to list other acquisitions and mergers up to 1974.

EHL248. John Jones, Patent, Chelsea, London. c1900. Location: Redoubt Fortress, Royal Parade, Eastbourne, Sussex, UK. what3words: valley.tragedy.glows

 

Company established in approximately 1870.  The company wares appear on blogs and websites relating to manhole/inspection covers across the whole of the UK, and this points to the fact that they were a major manufacturer at their peak in the early 20^th Century.  The extensive 1914 catalogue (available to view and download on the Wellcome Trust website) shows the firm produced everything from sanitary pipework and fittings, baths, showers, manhole covers, to sewerage treatment systems. There is even a photograph of the exact same type of Redoubt manhole cover on a Hong Kong Facebook post which shows the company sold its wares, if not worldwide, at least Empire wide.

EHL218. Southern Railway (S.R.) Air Tight Inspection Cover c1930. Location: Eastbourne Railway Station, Sussex, UK. what3words: rare.papers.every

Southern Railway was formed in 1923 mainly from an amalgam of three companies: the ‘London & South Western Railway’ (LSWR), mainly serving the south-west of England, the ‘London, Brighton & South Coast Railway’ (LBSCR), serving central southern England; and the ‘South Eastern & Chatham Railway’ (SECR), serving the south-east of the country.  The SECR itself had been formed from the ‘South Eastern Railway’ and the ‘London, Chatham & Dover Railway’ (LCDR).  Over time these major companies had taken over smaller companies, such as the ‘Surrey Iron Railway,’ the first railway company in the world; and the ‘Canterbury & Whitstable Railway,’ which was the first to use a locomotive to haul a passenger train.

There is another identical cover nearby at the side entrance to the station adjacent to the taxi/coach ranks.

 

EHL410. Eastbourne Electric Light Co Ltd. 24 Carew Road, Eastbourne. what3words location: river.shakes.stroke

Grace’s Guide: Eastbourne Electric Light Co Ltd. 

c.1883 Established the first system of district electric lighting in the UK using underground mains. 

c.1883 The Lowrie-Hall system of electric lighting, using the Goulard-Gibbs transformer (otherwise spelled as Gaulard-Gibbs), was deployed by Hammond & Co (Electrical Engineers) for Eastbourne Electric Lighting Co; Mr William Lowrie was the chief engineer of Hammond and Co.

By 1889 mains of 20 miles length were in use.

From ‘Bygone Eastbourne’ by J. C. Wright published in 1912 the following chapter titled ‘The Pioneer of Electricity on the South Coast’ is reproduced in full: -

The inhabitant of old Eastbourne as he chatted in the chimney-corner during the dark days of winter and lit himself to bed by the aid of a farthing rushlight did not dream that posterity should possess a light which ‘without heat, without smoke, without smell, and shut up inside an empty bulb, should emit a beam with powers denied even to the solar ray.’  It is true these advantages were not secured all at once.  The Electric Light Company was unable to avail itself of the incandescent system for some time.  Founded in 1882, the company initiated an undertaking which has become of considerable importance to the town.  Soon after its formation, it applied to the Local Board for permission to carry its wires ‘over streets or over roofs of houses or in gas-tubing under streets for the purpose of carrying the electric light into the shops and houses of such ratepayers as may desire to use it.’  The company also asked the local authority if it was willing to try the ‘Brush Arc Light’ of 2,000 candle-power in a few selected parts of town.  Though there was some opposition, the request was grant by a majority of four and it was arranged that sixteen lamps should supersede ninety existing gas lamps. 

It is amusing to read the discussions of the Board respecting the new light.  It was stated the several companies were intending to compete with the original Eastbourne Company, that they would have the power to come and break up the roads, and could not be dislodged for twenty-one years.  A few members thought ‘the more the merrier,’ but others of a more serious turn of mind regarded the outlook with feelings far removed from equanimity, and the Clerk was instructed to watch the question in the interests of the Board.  The ‘watching’ was effectual; anyhow no rival company appeared on the scene.  With youthful ardour the company urged that the Board should allow them to light one or two streets.  But the Board, desiring above all things to appear fair, resolved to put the Gas Company on a similar footing.  Accordingly the Electric Light Company was asked to give a price for lighting up the route from the drinking fountain near the railway station to the top of Victoria Place; and the Gas Company to give a price for lighting the road from the Anchor Hotel to Mr. Dicker’s shop in South Street.  The Gas Company took offence, because, said one of the members, they had ‘had a nice thing for a long time, and did not want it taken away.’  So the company refused to give a price.  But an agreement was entered into with the rival company to light fourteen arc lamps in Devonshire Place, Terminus Road, and Seaside Road.  This arrangement was not carried out in its entirety, but Devonshire Place was actually lighted by the company for some time.  The direct current was at first employed, but this gave place to the alternating current, and along with it the system of incandescent lighting, the first place to be lit by the company being the new Town Hall.

As the pioneers of electric lighting on the south coast the company had frequently to pay heavily for their experience, for essentially it was an experimental company in its early days, and but for the assistance of capitalists introduced by Mr. Robert Hammond, the well-known consulting electrical engineer, under whose superintendence the company’s system was originally laid down, the undertaking might have collapsed.  After 1890 the company ‘turned a corner’ and began paying dividends, which in the year prior to its transference to the Corporation reached 10 per cent.  Many of the principal boroughs, including that of Dublin, and several of the London vestries visited Eastbourne to inspect the company’s operations, and at the opening of the works in Junction Road in 1885 the Chinese Ambassador, the Marquess T’Seng, was present. 

The original directors were Mr. George Boulton (chairman) and Messrs. J. G. Langham, Wm. Routledge, Caleb Diplock, and J. A. Skinner; and from the incorporation of the company Mr. Henry Towner acted as secretary and accountant. Latterly Mr. H. W. Wilkinson was the electrical engineer.  Since the undertaking came into the hands of the Town Council, it has been found necessary to erect new works at Roselands.

EHL240. Miller & Selmes c1900. Location: Private property, 26 New Road, Eastbourne. what3words location: battle.bars.joke

Sewer drain cover.  Lifting handles missing. 

A detailed history of the Morris foundry, with some excellent photographs, can be found via: thegilberts.net/FamMorrisIron 

The introduction states ‘Ebenezer Morris (1801-1888) established an iron-foundry business in Foundry Lane, Lewes, East Sussex in 1822. An ironmonger's shop and house at 41/42 Cliffe High Street was added, and a branch was later opened in Eastbourne, comprising a shop and a smaller works.’  There is also a short article in the Eastbourne Local History Society (ELHS) Newsletter No9 (May 1973) by Mr. K. Wilkinson, which goes back to the origins of the foundry (1784) before it was purchased by Ebenezer in 1822.

According to the website, the Cliffe Foundry in Lewes closed in 1900 and any future casting work required was sub-contracted out, which may explain the different 'MORRIS EASTBOURNE' font types found.

EHL241. Miller & Selmes Ltd c1900. Location: 60 Willingdon Road, Eastbourne, Sussex, UK. what3words: offer.held.ally

In the early 1870’s, John Tunbridge Miller and George Selmes formed a partnership that was to become the firm Miller & Selmes. The 1881 census shows John T Miller’s family living in Longstone Road and by 1901 they were living on the firm’s premises at 75 Tideswell Road.  This property was demolished as part of the original Arndale Centre development.  The firm was involved in many prominent buildings in Eastbourne and the surrounding area.  Pike's Blue Book Directory for Eastbourne 1889, page 359 (Builders): Miller & Selmes, 76 Longstone Road & 10 Bedford Grove.  Pike's Blue Book Directory for Eastbourne 1891-92, page 290 (Builders & Contractors): Miller & Selmes, Kilburn Terrace, Junction Road, and 76 Longstone Road.  The partnership of Miller & Selmes continued successfully until larger building firms gradually took the more prominent contracts.  Finally, in 1967, the firm went into voluntary liquidation, the chairman at that time being CT Llewellyn.  John Tunbridge Miller had died in 1919.  George Selmes died in 1936.  Lifting handle missing.

EHL256. Nicholson & Ade c1900. Location: Junction of Watts Lane & Selwyn Road, Eastbourne. what3words: mime.stray.whites

Cast iron inspection cover marked ‘NICHOLSON & ADE - EASTBOURNE.’

I have taken just a selection of directory entries from 1920 back to 1896 to give an idea of the different trades the firm was involved in spanning that period, but I have started with the 1934 Kelly’s Sussex Directory as I suspect ‘Nicholade’ was the later name for the firm - page 791 (Electricians), page 860 (Ironmongers – Retail), & page 910 (Plumbers & Glaziers): Nicholade, 9 Meads St & South Street.

1920 Gowland’s page 367 Electrical Engineers, page 368 Engineers, page 372 Gas Fitters & Hot Water Fitters, page 378 Ironmongers, and page 395 Plumbers & Sanitary Engineers: Nicholson and Ade, 31, 33, and 35 South Street.

1914 as per 1920.

1909-10 Pike’s Blue Book page 422 Ironmongers & Hardware Dealers: Nicholson and Ade, 31-35 South Street.

1907 Gowland’s page 318 Electrical Engineers, and page 347 Plumbers & Sanitary Engineers: Nicholson and Ade, 31, 33, and 35 South Street.

1905 Gowland’s page 341 Plumbers & Sanitary Engineers: Nicholson and Ade, 31, 33 South Street.

1903 Gowland’s page 311 Gas Fitters & Hot Water Fitters, and page 337 Plumbers & Sanitary Engineers: Nicholson and Ade, 31, 33 South Street.

1896 & 1901 Gowland’s - Gas Fitters & Hot Water Fitters: Nicholson and Ade, 31 South Street.

Prior to 1896 there are listed the following, which could be earlier firms created by Nicholson: -

1884 & 1886 Gowland’s - Ironmongers: Nicholson and Niblett, 4 Cornfield Place.

1884 Gowland’s page 185 Engineers: Nicholson, Alexander M. (sanitary) Cornfield Place.

Morris Eastbourne c1890. Location: Ratton Road, Eastbourne. what3words: spike.safely.hired

A detailed history of the Morris foundry, with some excellent photographs, can be found via: thegilberts.net/FamMorrisIron 

The introduction states ‘Ebenezer Morris (1801-1888) established an iron-foundry business in Foundry Lane, Lewes, East Sussex in 1822. An ironmonger's shop and house at 41/42 Cliffe High Street was added, and a branch was later opened in Eastbourne, comprising a shop and a smaller works.’  There is also a short article in the Eastbourne Local History Society (ELHS) Newsletter No9 (May 1973) by Mr. K. Wilkinson, which goes back to the origins of the foundry (1784) before it was purchased by Ebenezer in 1822.

According to the website, the Cliffe Foundry in Lewes closed in 1900 and any future casting work required was sub-contracted out, which may explain the different 'MORRIS EASTBOURNE' font types found.

EHL252. Thomas Crapper drain cover. Location: 99 Cavendish Place, Eastbourne. what3words: boring.shower.divisions

Cast iron inspection cover c1890.  The close-up picture on the right of the covers centre shows the wording ‘T. CRAPPER & Co LD, SANITARY ENGINEERS, MARLBORO WORKS, CHELSEA, LONDON.’

Wikipedia: Thomas Crapper was born in Thorne, West Riding of Yorkshire.  In 1853 he was apprenticed to his brother George, a master plumber in Chelsea and thereafter spent three years as a journeyman plumber.  In 1861 Crapper set himself up as a sanitary engineer with his own brass foundry and workshops in nearby Marlborough Road.  In the 1880’s Prince Albert (later Edward VII) purchased his country seat of Sandringham House in Norfolk and asked Thomas Crapper & Co. to supply the plumbing, including thirty lavatories, thus giving Crapper his first Royal Warrant.  The firm received further warrants from Edward as king and from George V.  In 1904 Crapper retired, passing the firm to his nephew George and his business partner Robert Marr Wharam. Crapper died on 27th January 1910 and is buried in Elmer’s End Cemetery (London Borough of Bromley).  In 1966 the Crapper company was sold by then-owner Robert G. Wharam (son of Robert Marr Wharam) upon his retirement to its rival John Bolding & Sons.  Bolding went into liquidation in 1969.  The company fell out of use until it was acquired by Simon Kirby (c1998), a historian and collector of antique bathroom fittings, who relaunched the company in Stratford-upon-Avon, producing authentic reproductions of Crapper's original Victorian bathroom fittings.

Simon Kirby: Much of the time Thomas Crapper is credited with too much; he did not invent the W.C., the cistern, the syphon, or the water trap, but he did have his own factory (the ‘Marlboro’ Works’) and produced his own goods from there in addition to having special and exclusive items made by others to his specifications. He also ‘bought in’ standard lines from other manufacturers, as almost everyone did in those days.  Crapper was a shrewd businessman and a self-publicist.  In the process he promoted sanitary reform and brought sanitaryware ‘out in the open’ – up until then bathroom suppliers and manufacturers were discretely situated in side-streets.  Imagine the fuss when Crapper opened a showroom in the King’s Road, opposite Royal Avenue, with W.C. bowls in the windows!

Crapper & Co.’s manhole covers were especially important to the company – they were their own products and held patents for them. ‘T. Crapper’ on a manhole cover means exclusive to, patented by, and installed by Crapper & Co. 

Wikipedia: It has often been claimed in popular culture that the slang term for human bodily waste, crap, originated with Thomas Crapper because of his association with lavatories.  A common version of this story is that American servicemen stationed in England during WWI saw his name on cisterns and used it as Army slang, i.e., "I'm going to the crapper.’’ The word crap is of Middle English origin and predates its application to bodily waste. Its most likely etymological origin is a combination of two older words: the Dutch krappen and the Old French crappe (siftings, waste or rejected matter, from the medieval Latin crappa).  In English, it was used to refer to chaff and also to weeds or other rubbish.  Its first recorded application to bodily waste, according to the Oxford English Dictionary appeared in 1846 (when Thomas Crapper was just 10 years old) under a reference to a crapping ken, or a privy, where ken means a house.

Simon Kirby: As far as etymology is concerned, ‘crap’ is a very old word although it fell out of use in Great Britain in the 1600’s. However, the Founding Fathers took it with them so Americans have always used the term. It was not used in Victorian Britain so Crapper’s name was not amusing or remarkable.

During the Great War the American servicemen stationed in London DID find it funny – they saw it on so many Water Closets that they began to call the W.C. a "Crapper". Though crude, the sobriquet made sense and it stuck. Therefore, ‘crap’ is an old word but "Crapper" for the W.C. is named after our man. In etymological circles, this process is called a ‘back-formation’!

EHL270. Bainbridge & Sons c1905. Location: Commercial Road, Eastbourne. what3words: locate.pools.parks

George Bainbridge’s Death Notice in the Eastbourne Chronicle dated April 16^th 1921 states in part ‘Eastbourne has lost one of its oldest and most esteemed businessmen…he was born in Godalming, Surrey (1835), during the time that his father was constructing the new spire to the church…when George was 3 years old the family moved to Wilmot Square, Bethnal Green, his father becoming surveyor of Bethnal Green…on leaving school the son was placed under a French artist named Selous to study oil painting…later he (George) branched out into designing for fabrics…he designed the state dress which Queen Victoria wore on her first visit to Wales…his brother Thomas, who had been assistant to his father, went to India and secured a post of surveyor of fortifications…George took Tom’s place in his father’s office, and on his father’s death he became surveyor of Bethnal Green…after this he entered into partnership with his father-in-law in a builders business in Sevenoaks… (later George and family moved to Eastbourne)…the firm of George Bainbridge and Son specialised in new-style shop fronts.’  An advert in the Eastbourne Chronicle dated January 1882 states ‘George Bainbridge, Plumber, Gas Fitter, Painter, Glazier, House Decorator &c., 77 Terminus Road, Pumps, Baths and Water Closets Fixed and Repaired.’  The 1881 census showed that George employed 10 men at that time, but by the time of his death in 1921 he was employing over 176 staff.  An article in a 1988 copy of the Eastbourne Gazette reported the 125th anniversary of G. Bainbridge & Son ‘…trading as a builder in Eastbourne…Thomas Bainbridge his son took over in 1898 and began to develop the shopfitting side of the business, in parallel with the expansion of general building…in 1974 G. Bainbridge & Son became part of the Llewellyn Group…the firm, which now employs 200 staff, specialises in all forms of high class shopfitting.’

From the Art UK website referring to Eastbourne’s war memorial in South Street: There are bronze plaques to north and south…as there were more than a thousand names of the Fallen from Eastbourne, it was decided to erect oak panels in the Town Hall on which they would be carved rather than the original proposal to carve the names on the war memorial. The oak panels were produced by Messrs. G. Bainbridge & Son.

EHL317. Winser & Co’s. c1894. Location: 40 Coltstocks Road, ‘The Village’ Meads, Eastbourne. what3words: taped.thus.agents

 

Winser & Co’s - Inspection Cover - London S.W. - Buckingham Palace Rd.

From ‘Plumbing Practice’ published 1888 by J. Wright Clarke, First National Honours Medallist for Plumbers' Work, 1881, technical lecturer and instructor of practical plumbing at the Polytechnic, London: ‘Cast-iron manhole-covers are made in an endless variety of patterns, and may be divided into two classes, one being the open ventilating cover, and the other the air-tight cover, both being cast in heavy and light patterns. If the open cover is fixed in a situation likely to be traversed by heavy traffic, such as coal-carts etc, a strong pattern should be used, and fitted with a galvanized iron dirt-box; the light patterns can only be used in situations entirely free from traffic…the closed covers may be used where air-inlets are not required, a light-hinged cover being suitable for the purpose, except close to buildings, when the chambers should always be protected by what are known as ‘air-tight covers’.  These are generally made by having a strip of India-rubber in the frame, into which the cover presses when closed.  Instead of India-rubber, a groove in the frame is sometimes filled with sand or with oil, glycerine, or soft soap, and in addition the cover is screwed down into the frame…most of the best sanitary engineers have inspection-chambers, or manholes, built at all junctions of drains, and also at any change of direction, and have only a half-pipe or half-bend at that point, so that if any obstruction should lodge there it can easily be removed; or, if the obstruction should be in the straight lengths, any ordinary drain-machine (which is similar to a chimneysweep's) can be pushed through, and so clear it away… the channel-bends of Mr. Winser have an overhang on the outer side to prevent the escape of sewage on to the floor of the manhole, and the branches are higher than the central channel….Winser & Co. are Patentees and Manufacturers of several approved appliances, such as Channel Bends, Traps, Manhole Covers etc, of which particulars may be had on application. They are prepared to undertake and carry out work of any description, either in large or small jobs, at the lowest remunerative price. They are, however, neither able nor willing to compete with ‘skin plumbers,’ as they only put in good work and material. Sole Address: Works: - Belgrave Buildings, SW. Winser & Co., 52, Buckingham Palace Road, London, S.W.’  

Note: The Royal Polytechnic Institution (now the University of Westminster) was built by William Mountford Nurse in 1837 and opened at 309 Regent Street on August 6th 1838 to provide (in the words of its prospectus of 1837) ‘an institution where the Public, at little expense, may acquire practical knowledge of the various arts and branches of science connected with manufacturers, mining operations and rural economy.’ 

EHL264. A. G. Payne c1925. Location: 29 Carew Road, Eastbourne. what3words: mole.labs.stared

 

Arthur George John Payne; from the Railways, to the Building Trade, and finally the Church.

1901 census: Address 24 Havelock Road, Eastbourne.  Alexander J. Payne, 29, House Painter, born Seaford; wife Alice M. Payne, 27, born Burgess Hill.  Children: Alice A. age 6, born Seaford; Charles W. age 4, born Eastbourne; Arthur G. age 1 month, born Eastbourne.

1911 census: Address Lincoln Cottage, 38 Willowfield Road, Eastbourne.  Alexander James Payne, 39, House Painter/Builder; wife Alice Maud Payne, 37.  Children: Charles William Alexander Payne 14, Junior Shop Assistant; Arthur George John Payne 10; Albert Edward Payne 8, born Eastbourne; Thomas Percival Payne 6, born Eastbourne; Alfred Frederick Payne 2, born Eastbourne.

1916 National Union of Railwaymen Register: Payne, Arthur Geo John, 15 years old, Signal Lad, LB&SCR (London, Brighton & South Coast Railway) Eastbourne.

1921 census: Address Sydney Villa, Station Road, Polegate. Alexander James Payne 49, Jobbing Builder, & Alice Maud Payne 47.  Sons: Arthur George John Payne 20, Jobbing Builder; Thomas Percival Payne 16, Telegraph Messenger for G.P.O.; Alfred Frederick Payne 13; plus, a Boarder, Nelson Boniface 38, born Cooksbridge, Railway Signalman (at Polegate), LB&SC Railway.

1925 Gowland’s Eastbourne Directory (Builders): Payne A. G. & Co, Pevensey Road, Polegate.

1930 12^th July Gloucester Journal: Wesleyan Church draft of local Ministers; Arthur G. Payne, Monmouth.

1931 31^st July Western Mail & South Wales News: The Rev. Arthur George Payne, pastor of the Wesleyan Church, Monmouth, and second son of Mr & Mrs. Payne, Polegate, Sussex, was married on Thursday at the Wesleyan Church, Builth Wells, to Miss Egerton, younger daughter of Inspector Egerton and Mrs Egerton, of Hardwicke, Builth Wells.  The groomsman was Mr Alfred Payne, brother of the groom.

1934 Kelly’s Sussex Directory (Builders): Payne A.J. & Sons, Sydney Villa, Pevensey Road & High Street, Polegate.

1935 22^nd September: the death of Mrs Francis Ethel Payne the wife of Rev. A. G. Payne at Mevagissey at age 28 after a long illness.  Funeral held in her home town of Builth Wells.

1938 30^th June ‘The Cornishman and Cornish Telegraph’ newspaper reported the marriage at St. John’s Methodist Church, St. Austell of the Rev. Arthur George Payne (age 37), resident Methodist Minister of St. Agnes, second son of Mr & Mrs Payne, Polegate, Sussex, and Miss Kathleen Eddy (age 18), elder daughter of Mr & Mrs T. B. Eddy, of Beech Road, St. Austell.  The bridegroom’s brother, Rev. T. Payne of Littlehampton, was best man. 

1939 War Register: Address Fore Street, St. Agnes, Cornwall. Arthur G. J. Payne, born 14^th Feb 1901, Methodist Minister, & Kathleen Payne, born 17^th April 1920, Unpaid domestic duties.

1952 8^th February: Arthur George John Payne (Missionary), age 50, of Trevarrick, St. Austell; his wife Kathleen, age 31; and their children, Jennifer 5, and Brian 2, embarked Southampton for Bombay, India on board the P&O ship ‘Corfu.’

1985: Arthur’s death at age of 84 was registered in the district of Truro in Cornwall.

It appears that brothers Arthur & Thomas went into the service of the church sometime in the late 1920’s.  I could not find any further details for Kathleen.