Kevis

Click here to return to home page

Walter John Kevis - Petworth Photographer

 Walter John KEVIS (born 1854,Holborn, London - died 1924, Croydon, Surrey)

Walter John Kevis was born in the parish of St Giles in Holborn, London in 1854, the son of Harriet and James Kevis, a licensed victualler. James Kevis, Walter's father, was born in Margate, Kent, in 1814. James Kevis married Harriet Elvey (born c1815, Kent) in 1845 and together they ran The Railway Hotel in Margate's High Street. During the time that James and Harriet were living in Margate, two children were born - Harriet Mary Kevis (born 1847, Margate) and James Henry Kevis (born c1849, Margate). In the 1851 census, the Kevis family were recorded in Camberwell, Surrey and a few years later they were living in the London district of Holborn, where Walter James Kevis was born in 1854 [ birth registered in the parish of St. Giles in the Fields during the 2nd Quarter of 1854].

By 1867, James Kevis had returned to his home town of Margate, where he was the licensee of the First & Last tavern in Vicarage Place, on the Ramsgate Road. [ In 1881, James Kevis was a sixty-six year old widower residing in Camberwell at the Licensed Victualler's Asylum, an almshouse for retired publicans on the Old Kent Road].

It is reported that Walter John Kevis went into service and as a young man was employed as a footman at Petworth House, the residence of Henry Wyndham (1830-1901), the 2nd Baron of Leconfield and MP for Sussex, and his wife Constance Evelyn Primrose, Lady Leconfield . The Wyndham family were greatly interested in photography and Walter Kevis may have had the opportunity to observe the use of a camera during his employment at Petworth House. In the 1860s, Mrs Madeline Caroline Wyndham (c1837-1911), the wife of Percy Scawen Wyndham (1835-1911), Lord Leconfield's brother, arranged for all the servants at Petworth to be individually photographed (The majority of these portraits were taken by Frank Gaudrion Morgan, a chemist & photographer with a studio in Petworth). Mary Caroline Wyndham (1870-1944), the eldest daughter of Lord and Lady Leconfield of Petworth House, later became a keen amateur photographer, using her camera to record family picnics and house parties.

In 1877, Walter John Kevis married Emma Earle (born 1850, Seend, Wiltshire), the daughter of Mary and Maurice Earle, a carpenter and Wesleyan preacher. [ Marriage of  Walter John Kevis and Emma Earle registered in the Surrey district of Camberwell during the 3rd Quarter of 1877]. Immediately after his marriage, Walter Kevis set himself up as a tobacconist and photographer at premises in Lombard Street, Petworth.

[ABOVE ] Walter John Kevis listed as a photographer in Lombard Street, Petworth, in Kelly's 1878 Directory of Sussex.

Mr and Mrs Kevis's business premises in Lombard Street was divided into two. On the ground floor was a shop which sold tobacco, cigars, cigarettes, pipes, tobacco pouches and walking sticks. At the top of the building, on the second floor, was Walter Kevis's photographic portrait studio. The north-facing wall and sloping roof of the studio was fitted with large panes of glass to let in as much light as necessary for a successful portrait. An edition of the business booklet "News & Reviews", published around 1896, had an entry for "Mr W. J. Kevis; Tobacconist, Cigar Dealer, Photographer and Maker of Picture Frames" of Lombard Street, Petworth. After discussing the tobacconist side of the business, making special mention of Mr Kevis's "capital assortment of cherry wood, briar root, meerschaum and clay pipes" and his own "special mixture" of "aromatic tobacco", this edition of "News & Reviews" goes on to describe Walter Kevis's "artistic business of photography and picture frame making" :

Mr. Kevis also conducts a photographic business, which meets with a fair measure of support both among residents in and visitors to the district. He brings to bear wide experience and a well developed artistic faculty, and on all hands favourable reports are heard of the quality of the work done. The instruments employed are of modern and up-to-date character, and all the appointments of the studio are neat and attractive, without being in any way showy or pretentious.  "News & Reviews" (c1896)

In his publicity, W. J. Kevis described himself as a "Portrait & Landscape Photographer". The bulk of Kevis's photography business was devoted to the production of studio portraits, both in the small "carte-de-visite" size and the larger "cabinet card" format, yet he was prepared to do work away from the studio, offering to take "landscapes etc" to order. Kevis took a significant number of photographs of scenes around Petworth and the surrounding area. Kevis sold these local photographic views, framed and mounted, in his ground floor shop. When the picture postcard gained popularity in the early 1900s, Kevis issued his topographic work as postcards. An advertisement for W. J. Kevis, Photographer and Tobacconist, published in the Petworth Parish Magazine around 1905 makes mention of "Local Views and Petworth Souvenirs from 6d each".

Walter John Kevis worked as a photographer in Petworth for over thirty years, eventually retiring in 1908. Walter Kevis passed on his tobacconist business in Lombard Street to his nephew Herbert Joseph Earle (born 1874, Seend, Wiltshire). Walter and Emma Kevis left Petworth and settled in Purley, near Croydon, Surrey. 

In the 1911 census, Walter Kevis and his wife Emma Kevis are both recorded as residing on the Browside Cliffe Estate in Purley in the district of Croydon. Walter John Kevis died in the district of Croydon (probably at Purley) during the 4th Quarter of 1924, aged 71. Walter's widow, Mrs Emma Kevis, died in the district of Croydon seven years later at the age of 81. [ The death of Emma Kevis was registered in the district of Croydon during the 4th Quarter of 1931.

[ABOVE ] Portrait of the Petworth photographer Walter John Kevis by John White of Littlehampton (1900). Walter Kevis and his wife lived in Petworth for over thirty years, but were very private people and very few of the residents of Petworth knew them well. Mr & Mrs Kevis had no children and so social contact with other Petworth families was limited. Mog Thayre, an old resident of Petworth, commented "Did I know them ? Oh yes, of course I did, but they did tend to keep themselves to themselves".

[ABOVE ] The trade plate of Walter John Kevis , Portrait & Landscape Photographer, Lombard Street, Petworth , taken from the reverse of a cabinet portrait (c1895). At the foot of this advertisement, Walter Kevis informs his customers that "copies can always be had". Walter Kevis rarely quoted a negative number on his cabinet and carte-de-visite portraits. It appears that for reference purposes,  Kevis preferred to keep a note of his sitters' names rather than allocate a specific negative number. In his publicity, Walter Kevis described himself as "Landscape Photographer" as well as a portraitist and on this cabinet card he advises the public that "local views" were on sale at his shop in Lombard Street.
 

[ABOVE ] An advertisement for Walter J. Kevis, Photographer and Tobacconist, of Lombard Street, Petworth (c1905).

[ABOVE ] The interior of Walter Kevis's photographic studio, located above his tobacconist's shop in Lombard Street, Petworth (c1895). The large glass windows and skylight in the roof allowed in the soft north light required for successful portrait photography.

[ABOVE ] A coloured postcard of Lombard Street, Petworth where Walter Kevis worked as a photographer and tobacconist. On the left of this picture can be seen a hanging shop sign painted with the word  "TOBACCONIST", which marks the site of Kevis's business premises.

Petworth's Lombard Street

Walter Kevis established a photographic studio in Lombard Street, Petworth in 1877. Lombard Street was a narrow, cobbled street which ran from Petworth's Market Place (Market Square) to Church Street and the parish church of St Mary's. A number of shops and small businesses lined the right-hand side of the road -  a baker, two grocery stores, a butcher's shop, a tailor's workshop and a wine merchant. Mog Thayre, an old resident of Petworth, remembered that "there were fewer shops on the opposite side. Mr and Mrs Kevis, who sold cigarettes and tobacco and carried on business as a photographer, were tucked in on the left as you went up the cobbled street."

Carte-de-visite portraits by Walter J. Kevis of Petworth

[ABOVE ] A portrait of Sidney Wild, pictured with a toy horse, photographed by Walter Kevis of Petworth around 1881. Sidney Wild (1877-1924) was born in Harting, West Sussex, in 1877, the son of  Charles Wild, a Farm Manager. [ABOVE ] A carte-de-visite portrait of an unknown woman by Walter J. Kevis, Portrait & Landscape Photographer of  Lombard Street, Petworth (c1888). [ABOVE ] A carte-de-visite portrait of a young child by Walter J. Kevis, Portrait & Landscape Photographer of  Lombard Street, Petworth (c1885). [ABOVE ] A carte-de-visite portrait of a woman wearing a fancy hat, photographed by Walter John Kevis, of  Lombard Street, Petworth (c1890).

[ABOVE ] The trade plate of the photographer Walter Kevis, who operated from a studio in Lombard Street, Petworth, as printed on the reverse of  carte-de-visite portrait (c1878).

 [ABOVE ] A carte-de-visite portrait of  a young woman, photographed by Walter J. Kevis of  Lombard Street, Petworth (c1895). [ABOVE ] The trade plate of  Walter J. Kevis, Portrait & Landscape Photographer of Lombard Street, Petworth, as printed on the reverse of  carte-de-visite portrait (c1885). [ABOVE ] A carte-de-visite portrait of  a young woman by Walter J. Kevis, Portrait & Landscape Photographer of  Lombard Street, Petworth (c1885).
 

Click link to view further examples of Walter Kevis's studio portraits and to read about other professional photographers active in Petworth during Victorian & Edwardian Times:

Photographers of Petworth

 

Cabinet Portraits by Walter J. Kevis of Petworth

[ABOVE] A cabinet portrait of a man holding a bowler hat , photographed by Walter J. Kevis of  Lombard Street, Petworth (c1897). [ABOVE] A cabinet group portrait of two men and two women, photographed by Walter J. Kevis of  Lombard Street, Petworth (c1897).

[ABOVE ] A cabinet portrait of twin girls, photographed by Walter J. Kevis of  Lombard Street, Petworth (c1900). The reverse carries the inscription "With love to Aunt and Uncle from Pearl and Ruby" [ABOVE ] A cabinet portrait of an unknown woman, photographed by Walter J. Kevis of  Lombard Street, Petworth (c1892).
 

Photographic Views of Petworth by Walter James Kevis

[ABOVE] Front cover of Petworth Time Out of Mind  by Peter Jerrome and Jonathan Newdick (The Window Press, 1990).

[ABOVE] Lombard Street, Petworth, photographed by Walter James Kevis (c1895). James Weeks, saddler & harness maker, stands in his doorway.
In 1950, local photographer George Garland (1900-1978) discovered thousands of glass plate negatives in the abandoned photographic studio in Lombard Street, Petworth, once operated by Walter James Kevis. Of the approximately 5,000 negatives, around five hundred were photographic views of Petworth and the surrounding area. One of the surviving photographs by Walter Kevis, a view of Lombard Street the location of Kevis's shop and studio, is shown above right. To see a selection of photographic views of Petworth taken by Walter Kevis between 1877 and 1907, I suggest you get hold of a copy of the excellently illustrated book Petworth Time Out of Mind by Peter Jerrome and Jonathan Newdick (The Window Press, 1990).
 

Picture Postcards by Walter James Kevis of Petworth

[ABOVE ] A coloured picture postcard of Petworth House published by the photographer Walter Kevis (c1905)
 
To view a selection of picture postcards by Walter James Kevis of Petworth, visit Rendel Williams' Sussex Postcards.Info website at:

 Picture postcards by Walter James Kevis of Petworth
 
 

The Kevis photographic negatives saved from destruction by George Garland

When Herbert Earle took over Walter Kevis's shop in Lombard Street in 1908, he decided not to continue the photography side of the business. For a few years, Herbert Earle hired out the photographic portrait studio to a local photographer Miss Coze from nearby Midhurst, but when this arrangement came to an end the studio upstairs was closed.

After Herbert Earle died in 1950, a local photographer named George Garland (1900-1978) discovered that thousands of Kevis's glass plate negatives had been found in the abandoned studio. Of the approximately 5,000 negatives, around five hundred were photographic views of Petworth and the surrounding area. Many of the surviving negatives were studio portraits, but as Walter Kevis also worked as an "Outdoor Photographer", there were a number of group portraits taken on location, including the local cricket team, a church choir, class group pictures taken at local schools and a number of portraits of domestic servants, photographed at Petworth House and other large local houses such as Lavington Rectory. Many of the portrait negatives carry the names of the sitter and the date on which the photograph was taken, written in pencil on the envelope in which they are contained. All of the surviving negatives by Walter Kevis were passed on to George Garland, who in turn, left them to West Sussex County Council.

[ABOVE] The Petworth photographer George Garland (1900-1978), who in 1950 rescued thousands of Walter Kevis's photographic negatives.
 

Acknowledgements
 Many of the details of the life and career of Walter John Kevis have been taken from Peter Jerrome and Jonathan Newdick's excellent survey of Petworth photographers - "Petworth Time Out of Mind" by Peter Jerrome and Jonathan Newdick (The Window Press,1982).  "Tread Lightly Here: an affectionate look at Petworth's Ancient Streets" by Peter Jerrome (The Window Press,1990) was another useful source, providing an account of Walter Kevis's shop in Lombard Street between 1877 and 1908.
 

To find out more about other professional photographers working in Petworth and the surrounding area during Victorian and Edwardian times, click on the link below :

Professional Photographers in Petworth

Click here to return to home page