Bexhill Photographers

Bexhill Photographers (R-T)

Professional Photographers in Bexhill ( R - T )

William J. Reed - Thomas Robbins - Robson - Sackville Studio (W. M. Crouch) - Leonard Snelling - James E. Stanborough - George E. Swain - Charles Ash Talbot

[ABOVE] A photograph of the seafront at Bexhill-on-Sea around 1910. On the left is Marina Arcade, a parade of buildings built in Moghul Indian style in 1901. The Marina Arcade, a structure with distinctive ornate domes and decorative arches, housed a photographic portrait studio between 1902 and the Second World War. The shop at No. 2 Marina Arcade was first used as a photographic studio in 1902 by George E. Swain, a picture frame maker who also described himself as an "Art Photographer". By 1905, the studio at No 2 Marina Arcade had passed to the photographer William J. Reed. Between 1930 and 1938, the photographic studio at 2 Marina Arcade was in the hands of the Hastings photographer Edgar David Cooke.

William J. REED - active as a photographer in Bexhill-on-Sea between 1905 and 1907

William J. Reed was a professional photographer who owned a studio at No. 2 Marine Arcade, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, between 1905 and 1907. There was also a photographer named William James Reed (possibly the same man) who operated a studio at 22 Old Christchurch Road, Bournemouth, between 1893 and 1899.

[ABOVE] An engraved portrait of Louisa Beresford, Marchioness of Waterford (1818-1891) from a photograph by W. J. Reed of Bournemouth. This print was published in 1893.

[ABOVE] A photograph of Central Parade, Bexhill-on-Sea photographed around 1906. On the right is Marina Arcade, where William J. Reed operated as a photographer between 1905 and 1907.Bexhill's Marina Arcade was the site of several photographic portrait studios between 1902 and 1911. The proprietors of Marina Arcade studio included George E. Swain (1902-1903), William J. Reed (1905-1907) Bridgman & Robbins (1909-1911) and Thomas Robbins (.

Leonard George Wigram McArthur on horseback, photographed by William J. Reed of Bexhill-on-Sea (c1906)

[ABOVE] A photograph of Leonard George Wigram McArthur on horseback, a picture taken by W. J. Reed of Bexhill-on-Sea around 1906 . Leonard George Wigram McArthur (1899-1922), the young boy in the photograph, was from a wealthy family and it is likely that his father, George Wigram McArthur (1865-1943), a London-based company director and stock broker, commissioned the photographer William J. Reed of Bexhill to take photographs of his son on location, possibly at one of the McArthur Family's country residences. It was not unusual for wealthy families to hire a professional photographers to make a pictorial record of children's birthday parties or other family gatherings. The McArthurs were a prosperous family and it is likely that they owned or rented properties in East Sussex. Bexhill-on-Sea was an exclusive seaside resort in the early years of the 20th century and was patronized by wealthy visitors from London.

PHOTO: Courtesy of Marion Johnson


[ABOVE] Leonard George Wigram McArthur (born 1899) pictured in 1906.	[ABOVE] The trade plate of the photographer William J. Reed of Bexhill-on-Sea which appeared in the bottom right-hand copy of the portrait of Leonard McArthur on horseback (opposite, far left).

Leonard George Wigram McArthur (1899-1922)

Leonard George Wigram McArthur, the boy featured in the photograph on the left, was born in Kensington, London, during the 1st Quarter of 1899, the son of Hilda Louise Hoskings and George Wigram McArthur, a London-based company director and "stock broker". Leonard's father George Wigram McArthur (born 1865 Brixton, Surrey) had married Hilda Louise Hoskings (born c1876, New South Wales, Australia) in the London district of Kensington, during the First Quarter of 1898. Leonard George Wigram McArthur was born the following year.

Leonard George Wigram McArthur was the grandson of Alexander McArthur, MP (1814-1909), a significant figure in Australian history and Member of Parliament for the Liberal Party, representing the city of Leicester between 1874 and 1892.

At the time of the 1911 Census, Leonard George W. McArthur was residing with his parents
at 36 Buckingham Gate, Westminster. As young man, Leonard George W. McArthur attended the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, where he trained as an army officer. In September 1918, The London Gazette listed Leonard George Wigram McArthur as an officer in the Middlesex Regiment.

George Wigram McArthur, Leonard McArthur's father, emigrated to Australia with his family in 1922. Around the same time, Leonard George Wigram McArthur travelled to Singapore, where he died in 1922, aged 23. Leonard McArthur's father, George Wigram McArthur, died in Australia in 1943, aged 77.

[ABOVE] A portrait of an unknown woman, photographed by W. J. Reed of No. 2 Marina Arcade, Bexhill-on-Sea (c1906). The photographer W. J. Reed operated a photographic studio in Bexhill-on-Sea between 1905 and 1907.

PHOTO: Courtesy of Helena

[ABOVE] The trade plate of W. J. Reed of Marina Arcade, Bexhill-on-Sea as printed in the corner of a photographic mount holding the photographic portrait illustrated on the left (c1906).

[ABOVE] A photograph of Marina Arcade, Bexhill-on-Sea, as it appeared around the time W. J. Reed ran a studio in Marine Arcade (c1906)

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Marion Johnson for providing the photograph of Leonard McArthur (1899-1922) taken by William J. Reed of Bexhill-on-Sea. Marion Johnson is the great, grand-daughter of Ethel Hoskings (1870-1897), the sister of Hilda Louise Hoskings (born c1876, New South Wales, Australia). Hilda Louise Hoskings was the wife of George Wigram McArthur (1865-1943) and mother of Leonard George Wigram McArthur, the boy featured in the photograph.

Thomas Henry ROBBINS (born 1867, Devizes, Wiltshire)

Thomas Henry Robbins was born in Devizes, Wiltshire, during the Second Quarter of 1867. In 1892, Thomas Henry Robbins married Blanche Brend (born 1865, Bideford, Devon). Thomas Henry Robbins became a partner in the firm of Bridgman & Robbins, which around 1907 took over the photographic studio at 2 Marina Arcade, Bexhill-on-Sea. The Bridgman & Robbins studio in Marine Arcade continued until around 1911. By 1913, Bridgman had left the firm and from this date Thomas Robbins operated alone from the studio at 2 Marina Arcade. T. H. Robbins was still still listed as a photographer at 2 Marina Arcade in a trade directory of 1924.

Thomas Henry Robbins retired to Brighton where he died in 1939, aged 72.

[ABOVE] The trade plate of Thomas Henry Robbins, photographer of 2 Marina Arcade, Bexhill. This trade plate was impressed in the bottom right corner of a photographic portrait (c1915)

[ABOVE] Numbers 1 to 2 Marina Arcade on Bexhill seafront, photographed in 2008. Thomas Henry Robbins operated as a photographer from a studio at No. 2 Marina Arcade, Bexhill-on-Sea, between 1905 and 1924.

[RIGHT] A family group portrait by Thomas Henry Robbins of 2 Marina Arcade, Bexhill-on-Sea. This group portrait, which dates from around 1915, shows Walter Noakes, a boot manufacturer and local councillor with his second wife and three children from his first marriage. The lady sitting in the front row on the left of the picture is Mrs Mary Noakes (formerly Mary Fowler), Walter's second wife. (Walter's first wife, Mrs Anna Laura Noakes had died in 1913 at the age of 53). Walter's youngest son Ernest James Noakes (born 1893, Bexhill) is in uniform. Between Ernest Noakes and his father are Walter Noakes' two daughters - Ethel Clara Noakes (born 1889, Bexhill) and Edith Laura Noakes (born 1890, Bexhill). This group portrait was taken at Thomas Henry Robbins' studio at 2 Marina Arcade, Bexhill-on-Sea. A former partner in the firm of Bridgman and Robbins, Thomas Henry Robbins ran the Marine Arcade studio from 1911 until 1924.

Walter Noakes (1862-1934) was the owner of a successful boot-making business in Station Road, Bexhill-on-Sea as well as being an Urban District Councillor in Bexhill and a Poor Law Guardian for the Battle Union Workhouse. By 1910, Walter Noakes had become an Alderman for the Municipal Borough of Bexhill.

Ernest James Noakes, Walter's youngest son, married Florence Edith Dallaway in Hampstead, London, in 1919. Ernest J. Noakes, his wife Florence and their young daughter Clara, later emigrated to Australia, embarking from Southampton on board SS Demosthenes of the Aberdeen Line in 1927. Bryan Corkran, the owner of the Noakes Family photographs, is the grandson of Ernest James Noakes.

[ABOVE] Walter Noakes & Son, boot makers of 100 Station Road and Ninfield Road, Sidley, Bexhill-on-Sea, as listed in the 1915 edition of Kelly's Directory of Sussex .

[ABOVE] Walter Noakes of Bexhill and his family, a group portrait by Thomas Henry Robbins of 2 Marina Arcade, Bexhill-on-Sea. (c1915) Walter Noakes was a boot manufacturer and local councillor who became an Alderman in 1910.

[Photograph courtesy of Bryan Corkran]

ROBSON

Robson was a professional photographer who operated a studio at 2a Western Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, between 1906 and 1907.

The Sackville Studio (W. M. Crouch)

[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a young woman photographed at The Sackville Studio, 7 Sea Road, Bexhill-on-Sea around 1900. William Morris Crouch was the proprietor of the The Sackville Studio from around 1899 until 1903. The Sackville Studio was acquired by Mrs

The Sackville Studio at 7 Sea Road, Bexhill-on-Sea was established around 1899 by the London photographer William Morris Crouch (1847-1907). William Crouch had previously operated photographic portrait studios in London. Kelly's Directory of Sussex, published in 1899, lists William Crouch, Photographer, at 7 Sea Road, Bexhill-on-Sea in the commercial listings.

When he arrived in Bexhill-on-Sea, there were two well-established photographers in the town - Emil Vieler (born 1851, Iserlohn, Westphalia, Germany), who had a studio at 11 Upper Station Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, and James Ernest Stanborough (born 1862, London), who operated from a photographic studio in Devonshire Road, Bexhill-on-Sea. James E. Stanborough, who had studied Art and had previously worked as a photographer in Putney, had settled in Bexhill-on-Sea in 1892. Emil Vieler, who described himself as a "Miniature & Portrait Painter", as well as an "Artist in Photography", had run a studio in the West Yorkshire town of Huddersfield before moving down to the South Coast around 1893.

William Morris Crouch, perhaps with funds generated from his "apprenticeship scam", established a photographic studio at 7 Sea Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, opposite the town's Railway Station around 1899. Crouch was listed as a photographer at 7 Sea Road, Bexhill-on-Sea in the 1899 edition of Kelly's Directory of Sussex. Later that year, William Crouch re-launched his business in Sea Road as "The Sackville Photographic Studio". (An advert for Crouch's Sackville Studio appeared in Pike's trade directory published in 1899). William Morris Crouch placed the following advertisement in Kelly's "Hastings & St Leonards Directory (with Bexhill) for 1900" :

THE SACKVILLE PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO

FOR HIGHEST CLASS OF PHOTOGRAPHY

7 SEA ROAD, BEXHILL-ON-SEA

Photographs in Silver Platinum and Carbon - Enlargements in Bromide, Platinum & Carbon

Miniatures on Ivory & Porcelain - GROUPS : Wedding, Football, School, &c

ARTISTIC REPRODUCTIONS FROM OLD AND FADED PHOTOGRAPHS ETC

PHOTO CASES of all kinds and in all materials

SCALE OF CHARGES FREE ON APPLICATION

N.B. - Studio and Suite of rooms are all on the Ground Floor

[ABOVE] The text of an advertisement for William Morris Crouch's Sackville Photographic Studio which was published in Kelly's "Hastings & St Leonards Directory (with Bexhill) for 1900", advertising supplement page 266b. The original advertisement featured a photographic illustration of the interior of William Morris Crouch's photographic studio.

To read a detailed account of the life and career of the photographer William Morris Crouch, click on the link below:

William Morris Crouch

Leonard SNELLING (1871-1938)

Leonard Leslie Snelling was born in Stockwell, Surrey, South London, in 1871. [The birth of Leonard Leslie Snelling was registered in the district of Lambeth during the 2nd Quarter of 1871]. Leonard Snelling was the son of Charlotte and Frederick Snelling, a builder from Kent. In the early 1880s, Leonard was living with his parents and five siblings in Lambeth, but after his father, Frederick Snelling, died in 1886, at the age of 45, his widowed mother decided to take her family to Bexhill-on-Sea.

By 1892, Leonard Snelling had established a photographic portrait studio at 3 Albert Road, Bexhill-on-Sea.

In 1901, Leonard Leslie Snelling married Edith Charlotte Bassett (born 1874, Croydon, Surrey), the daughter of Naomi and Henry Alexander Bassett, a builder of Croydon.

In 1901, Leonard Snelling was recorded as a photographer at 5 Hambro Road, Natal Road, Streatham.

Leonard Leslie Snelling died at Kingston-on-Thames in 1938.

James Ernest STANBOROUGH (born 1862, London - died 1941, Putney)

69a Devonshire Road, Bexhill-on Sea

The site of a J. E. Stanborough's photographic studio from 1892 until 1899

[ABOVE] A modern photograph showing the site of James Ernest Stanborough's photographic studio at 69a Devonshire Road, Bexhill-on-Sea. In 2008, the building which served as a photographic studio under various proprietors between 1891 and 1915 was occupied by Priceless Tools, which stands between Chique hairdressers at No.67 and Quinns Deli at No. 71. The building at 69 Devonshire Road which housed James Stanborough's photographic studio was specially constructed in 1891. A street directory of Bexhill-on-Sea published by The Chronicle in 1891 notes that there was a "Photograph Studio in Course of Erection" between the shop of W. A. Dunlop, Ham & Beef Purveyor and The Marine Mansions Hotel. This hotel was later re-named the Roberts Marine Mansions after John Reynolds Roberts, a successful London draper who purchased the building in 1903.

[ABOVE] James Ernest Stanborough listed as a photographer on the right-hand side of Devonshire Road, adjoining the Marine Mansions Hotel. (Extract from the Street Directory published in the 1892 edition of The Bexhill Directory, Guide, and Almanack). The photographer James Ernest Stanborough operated a photographic studio at 69a Devonshire Road, Bexhill-on-Sea between 1892 and 1899.


[ABOVE] The trade plate of James Ernest Stanborough's Bexhill Art Studio in Devonshire Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, taken from the reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait (c1892).	[ABOVE] Carte-de-visite portrait of an unknown woman taken at James Ernest Stanborough's Bexhill Art Studio, 69 Devonshire Road, Bexhill-on-Sea (c1892)

James Ernest Stanborough was born in London in 1862.

At the time of the 1881 census, James Stanborough was a 19 year old art student living with his widowed mother Mrs Frances Stanborough at Sandon Lodge, Upper Richmond Road, Putney.

In 1890, James Ernest Stanborough married Nicolata Louise Botto, (born 1872, St Pancras, London), the second eldest daughter of Augusta Davies and Sebastiano Botto, a repairer of pianos. (Sebastiano Botto, Nicolato's father had been born in Montacute, Somerset around 1832, the son of an Italian immigrant named Joseph Botto). The marriage of James Ernest Stanborough and Nicolata Louise Botto, took place in Putney during the 3rd Quarter of 1890.

When the next census was taken on 5th April 1891, James E. Stanborough was recorded as a "Photographer" residing at 244 Upper Richmond Road, Putney. During 1891, James E. Stanborough paid for the construction of a specially designed photographic studio at 69 Devonshire Road, Bexhill-on-Sea. A street directory of Bexhill-on-Sea published by The Chronicle in 1891 notes that there was a "Photograph Studio in Course of Erection" between the shop of W. A. Dunlop, Ham & Beef Purveyor and The Marine Mansions Hotel.

By 1892, Stanborough's photographic studio at 69 Devonshire Road, Bexhill-on-Sea was open for business.

By 1901, James E. Stanborough was living at 195 London Road, St Leonards-on-Sea

James Ernest Stanborough died in Putney in 1941, aged 80. [ The death of James E. Stanborough was registered in the London district of Wandsworth during the 4th Quarter of 1941].

[ABOVE] A midget portrait of a young woman, taken at James Ernest Stanborough's studio in Devonshire Road, Bexhill-on-Sea around 1898.

69a Devonshire Road, Bexhill-on Sea, - the site of a photographic studio from 1891 until 1915

[ABOVE] A photograph of Devonshire Road, Bexhill-on-Sea around 1908. James Stanborough's photographic studio was situated in the building immediately behind the tram. The light-coloured building to the right of the tram is Roberts Marine Mansions, a holiday home for drapery workers. When J. E. Stanborough operated his studio in Devonshire Road, this large hotel on Bexhill's seafront was known as the Marine Hotel. In 1903, John Reynolds Roberts, a successful London draper, purchased the Marine Hotel, and turned the building into a holiday home for members of the drapery trade. The Roberts Marine Mansions was used as a holiday home for drapery workers in the first few decades of the 20th century. The Roberts Marine Mansions were demolished in 1954 after sustaining bomb damage during the Second World War. Modern flats and a shop were built on the site in 1961.

[ABOVE] An old map of Bexhill-on-Sea showing the location of the photographic studios which were active between 1892 and 1910.

KEY TO PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIOS IN BEXHILL-ON SEA (1892-1910)

Leon BALK	69a Devonshire Rd, Bexhill-on-Sea	1905-1915
Otto BROWN	69a Devonshire Rd, Bexhill-on-Sea	1905
BRIDGMAN & ROBBINS	2 Marina Arcade, Bexhill-on-Sea	1909-1911
William M. CROUCH	7 Sea Road, Bexhill-on-Sea	1899-1903
William J. REED	2 Marina Arcade, Bexhill-on-Sea	1905-1907
Thos. H. ROBBINS	2 Marina Arcade, Bexhill-on-Sea	1913-1924
SACKVILLE STUDIO	7 Sea Road, Bexhill-on-Sea	1899-1903
Leonard SNELLING	3 Albert Road, Bexhill-on-Sea	1892
J. E. STANBOROUGH	69a Devonshire Rd, Bexhill-on-Sea	1892-1899
George E. SWAIN	2 Marina Arcade, Bexhill-on-Sea	1902-1903
Charles A. TALBOT	Station Road, Bexhill-on-Sea	1888-1891
Emil VIELER	Station Road, Bexhill-on-Sea	1893-1911

George Edwin SWAIN (born 1866, Luton Bedfordshire)

[ABOVE] The trade plate of George E. Swain, photographer of 69 Devonshire Road, Bexhill-on-Sea (c1902)

[ABOVE] Carte-de-visite portrait of a woman taken at George Swain's studio at 69 Devonshire Road, Bexhill-on-Sea (c1902)

George Edwin Swain was born in Luton, Bedfordshire in 1866 and baptised the following year.

[ABOVE] A photograph of the seafront at Bexhill-on-Sea around 1910. On the left is Marina Arcade, a parade of buildings built in Moghul Indian style in 1901. George E. Swain, described as an art photographer and practical picture frame maker, opened a photographic studio at 2 Marina Arcade early in 1902.

[ABOVE] Numbers 1 to 3 Marina Arcade on Bexhill seafront, photographed in 2008. George E. Swain operated as a photographer from a studio at No. 2 Marina Arcade, Bexhill-on-Sea between 1902 and 1903.

[ABOVE] An advertisement for G. E. Swain''s studio at 2 Marina Arcade, Bexhill-on-Sea, which appeared in the Bexhill Chronicle newspaper on 2nd May 1903.

[ABOVE] An advertisement for G. E. Swain, Art Photographer and Picture Frame Maker, of 2 Marina Arcade, Bexhill-on-Sea, which appeared in the Bexhill Observer newspaper on 22nd November 1902.

Charles Ash TALBOT (born 1859, Waltham Abbey, Essex) - active as a photographer in Bexhill-on-Sea from 1887 until 1891

[ABOVE] The trade plate of Charles Ash Talbot's Rembrandt Studio in Station Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, taken from the reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait (c1890).

[ABOVE] The reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait showing details of the photographer Samuel Walter Talbot, the proprietor of the West Cliff Studio at 90 Queen Street, Ramsgate, Kent (c1880). Samuel W. Talbot was the father of Charles Ash Talbot, a photographer who opened a studio in Bexhill-on-Sea in 1888.

[ABOVE] Carte-de-visite portrait of a teenage girl taken at Charles Ash Talbot's Rembrandt Studio in Station Road, Bexhill-on-Sea (c1890).

Charles Ash Talbot was born at Waltham Abbey, Essex, in 1859, the eldest son of Jennett and Samuel Walter Talbot, a fruiterer, florist and photographer. [The birth of Charles Ash Talbot was registered in the district of Edmonton during the 4th Quarter of 1859].

Samuel Walter Talbot, (born c1835), Charles's father, had been born in the City of London, but after his marriage to Jennett Pryor (born c1834, Waltham Abbey, Essex) he settled in Waltham Abbey, his bride's home town, where he worked as a fruiterer and florist. The union of Samuel Walter Talbot and Jennett Pryor produced at least three children - Charles Ash Talbot (born 1859), Lucy ElizabethTalbot (born 1861, Waltham Abbey) and Percy Edwin Talbot (born 1864, Waltham Abbey).

By the time the 1871 census was taken, Samuel Walter Talbot and his family had moved to St Leonards-on-Sea on the Sussex coast. The 1871 census records Samuel W. Talbot as a thirty-five year old "Fruiterer & Florist" at 21 Grand Parade, St Leonards, Sussex. Samuel Talbot's shop was located next door to a photographic portrait studio at 21 Grand Parade, St Leonards, occupied by the photographer Henry Knight (born c1848, London). It was during this period that Samuel Talbot became acquainted with photography and decided to change career.

In 1876, Samuel Walter Talbot and his family were in Bexhill, where Mrs Jennett Talbot gave birth to their youngest child, Walter Eric Talbot during the 2nd Quarter of 1876.

By 1881, Samuel Talbot had established a photographic portrait studio at 90 Queen Street, Ramsgate, Kent. The census return records Samuel Talbot as a forty-six year old "Photographer" living with his wife and four children in the living quarters attached to his "West Cliff" studio at 90 Queen Street, Ramsgate. All three of Samuel Talbot's grown up children were assisting him in his Ramsgate studio. Charles, aged 21, Lucy, who was 19 and sixteen year old Percy all give their occupation as as "Photo Assistant" on the 1881 census return. By 1884, Charles Ash Talbot, the eldest son, had taken control of his father's studio in Ramsgate.

Charles Ash Talbot in Bexhill-on-Sea

By 1887, Samuel Talbot's two eldest sons, Charles and Percy, had returned to the Hastings & St Leonards area of Sussex. In 1887, Charles Ash Talbot married Fanny Parks (born 1867, Hastings) and settled in the rapidly expanding seaside resort of Bexhill-on-Sea. Shortly after his marriage, Charles Ash Talbot established a photographic portrait studio in Station Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, opposite the offices of the Bexhill Chronicle newspaper. At this time there was only one other photographic studio in Bexhill-on-Sea - the studio of Arthur Bruges Plummer at 3 Devonshire Terrace, Bexhill. Calling his studio the Rembrandt House Studio, Charles Ash Talbot announced the opening of his photographic studio in Station Road in an advertisement in the Bexhill Chronicle on 21st April 1888.

Although he was based in Bexhill, Charles Ash Talbot became a founder member of the Hastings and St Leonards Photographic Society. Charles Ash Talbot attended the inaugural meeting of the Hastings and St Leonards Photographic Society, which was held at the School of Art in Claremont, Hastings on 22nd October 1888. The Hastings & St Leonards Photographic Society was open to "all interested in Photography, Amateur or Professional". Over thirty people attended the inaugural meeting, the majority of whom were amateur photographers. About a quarter of the membership of the Hastings and St Leonards Photographic Society were professional photographers. Other professional photographers who attended the inaugural meeting included George William Bradshaw, Henry J. Godbold, Melancthon Moore, George Pearson, and William A. Thomas - all photographers with studios in Hastings or St Leonards. Charles Ash Talbot was the only Bexhill-based photographer to attend the inaugural meeting of the Photographic Society.

[ABOVE] An advertisement announcing the opening of Charles Ash Talbot's Rembrandt Studio in Station Road, Bexhill-on-Sea Marina, which appeared in the Bexhill Chronicle newspaper on 21st April 1888.



	[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a young woman photographed at Charles Ash Talbot's West Cliff Studio at 90 Queen Street, Ramsgate, Kent (c1884). Charles Ash Talbot took over the running of the West Cliff Studio when his father Samuel Walter Talbot retired from the business around 1883.	[ABOVE] The reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait showing details of Charles Ash Talbot's West Cliff Studio at 90 Queen Street, Ramsgate, Kent (c1884). Charles Ash Talbot took over the running of the West Cliff Studio when his father Samuel Walter Talbot retired from the business around 1883.

Charles Ash Talbot - Photographer and Artist in Bexhill-on-Sea between 1887 and 1891

[ABOVE] An advertisement for Charles Ash Talbot's Rembrandt Studio in Station Road, Bexhill-on-Sea Marina, which appeared in the Bexhill Chronicle newspaper on 8th September 1888.

Charles Ash Talbot remained at the Rembrandt House Studio in Station Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, for a period of three years. During this time Mrs Fanny Talbot, Charles Ash Talbot's wife, gave birth to two children - Charles Cecil Talbot, who was born in Bexhill during the 3rd Quarter of 1888 and Percy Douglas Cayley Talbot, who arrived during the 3rd Quarter of 1891. The 1891 census records Charles Ash Talbot as a thirty-one year old photographer at Rembrandt House, Station Road, Bexhill. Charles Talbot's unmarried younger brother, Percy Edwin Talbot (born 1864, Waltham Abbey) was assisting his older sibling at the Rembrandt Studio. The census return records twenty-six year old Percy E. Talbot as a "Photographer (Re-toucher)". Shortly after the birth of his second child, Percy Douglas Talbot, Charles Ash Talbot vacated the Rembrandt House Studio and moved to Twickenham with his family. The Bexhill Chronicle's Guide, Almanac and Directory to Bexhill-on-Sea published in 1892 records photographer Edgar Gael as the new proprietor of the Rembrandt House Studio in Station Road, Bexhill.

At the time of the 1901 census, Charles Ash Talbot and his family were living in Twickenham. On the 1901 census return, Charles Ash Talbot is described as a forty-one year old "Photographic Artist". By this date, Charles and Fanny Talbot were the parents of five children. In addition to twelve year old Charles junior and nine year old Percy, the two boys born in Bexhill-on-Sea, three children had been born in Twickenham - George Ronald Ernest Talbot (born 1898) and twins Doris Mary Talbot and Gladys Muriel Talbot (both born in Twickenham in 1898). By the time the next census was taken on 2nd April 1911, Charles Ash Talbot and his family were residing in Lewisham.

Charles A. Talbot died in the Poplar district of East London in 1930 at the age of 70.

[ABOVE] A cabinet portrait of a white-bearded man taken at Charles Ash Talbot's Rembrandt Studio in Station Road, Bexhill-on-Sea (c1888).

In the 1890s, the Talbot Family settled in Lewisham. Samuel Walter Talbot, Charles Ash Talbot's father, died in Twickenham in 1897 at the age of 62. In the late 1890s Charles Ash Talbot was working as a "Photographic Artist" in Twickenham. Charles Ash Talbot's younger brother Walter Eric Talbot (born 1876, Bexhill) was also living in Twickenham during this period. The 1901 census of Twickenham records Walter Eric Talbot as a twenty-five year old "Turf Commission Agent".


[ABOVE] Portrait of a young woman wearing a light-coloured hat, a carte-de-visite photograph taken at Charles Ash Talbot's Rembrandt Studio in Station Road, Bexhill-on-Sea (c1888).	[ABOVE] The reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait showing details of Charles Ash Talbot's Rembrandt Studio in Station Road, Bexhill-on-Sea (c1890).	[ABOVE] Portrait of an elderly woman, a carte-de-visite photograph taken at Charles Ash Talbot's Rembrandt Studio in Station Road, Bexhill-on-Sea (c1888).	[ABOVE] Carte-de-visite portrait of an unknown manl taken at Charles Ash Talbot's Rembrandt Studio in Station Road, Bexhill-on-Sea (c1890).


[ABOVE] Portrait of a girl with a younger sibling sitting on her lap, a cabinet photograph taken at Charles Ash Talbot's Rembrandt Studio in Station Road, Bexhill-on-Sea (c1890).	[ABOVE] Portrait of a girl with a younger sibling sitting on her knee, a cabinet photograph taken at Charles Ash Talbot's Rembrandt Studio in Station Road, Bexhill-on-Sea (c1890).

Index of Bexhill Photographers

Bexhill Photographers (A - B)	Alice Armstrong - Balk & Brown - Leon Balk - Bodom and Hawley - Hjalmar Bodom - Bridgman & Robbins - Otto Brown	Bexhill Photographers A - B
Bexhill Photographers (C - D)	William Morris Crouch (The Sackville Studio) - John B. Currie - The Devonshire Studio	Bexhill Photographers C - D
Bexhill Photographers (E - H)	Edgar Gael - Alfred Harding - A. D. Hellier - John Hicks - P.H.Hilson	Bexhill Photographers E - H
Bexhill Photographers (J - Q)	Mrs J. W. Jacklett - J. J. Jarrett - J. W. Jarrett - Miss M. Jarrett - J. J. Payne - J. Perry - Arthur Bruges Plummer	Bexhill Photographers J - Q
Bexhill Photographers (R - T)	William J. Reed - Thomas Robbins - Robson - Sackville Studio (W. M. Crouch) - Leonard Snelling - James E. Stanborough - George E. Swain - Charles Ash Talbot	Bexhill Photographers R - T
Bexhill Photographers (V -Z)	Emil Vieler - Herbert Vieler - J & E Wheeler	Bexhill Photographers V - Z

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