Rye Photographers S-Z

Professional Photographers in Rye

Edwin Whiteman of Hastings & Rye

Edwin WHITEMAN (born 1857, Cambridge - died 1917, Rye)

Photographer active in Rye between 1890 and 1917

Edwin Henry Whiteman

Edwin Henry Whiteman was born in Cambridge in 1857 [Birth registered in Cambridge during the 2nd Quarter of 1857]. Edwin Henry Whiteman was the eldest son of Jane and Edwin Whiteman senior (1834 -1876), a bookseller & stationer. Edwin's father, Edwin Whiteman senior, was born and raised in Udimore in Sussex, but sometime in the 1850s he moved to Cambridge, where, in 1856, he married Jane Fanny (Frances) Grout (born c1835 Cambridge). Mrs Jane Whiteman gave birth to two sons in Cambridge - Edwin Henry Whiteman (born 1857, Cambridge) and Albert Whiteman (born 1859, Cambridge).

By 1861, Edwin Whiteman senior had returned to Sussex and by the mid 1860s he had established a bookshop and stationery business at 52 High Street, Hastings. Edwin Whiteman's business premises was known as "The Library". After settling in Hastings, there were several more additions to the Whiteman family - William (born 1861, Hastings) and Walter Thomas (born 1863, Hastings), Jane Lydia (born 1865, Hastings), George (born 1870, Hastings), Frederick (born 1873, Hastings), and twins, Frank and Ellen Whiteman (both born in Hastings during the 1st Quarter of 1876).

In 1866, Godbold & Co., a firm of photographers, opened a branch establishment at Mr. Whiteman's Library, 52 High Street, Hastings. Around 1868, Edwin Whiteman senior purchased the studio at 52 High Street from Messrs. Godbold & Co. From this date Edwin Whiteman senior operated the studio at 52 High Street, Hastings, under his own name.

On 13th October 1876, Edwin Whiteman senior died, aged 42. From this date, the Whiteman studio was run by his widow Mrs Jane Whiteman and her three photographer sons - Edwin Henry Whiteman (born 1857, Cambridge), William Whiteman (born 1861, Hastings) and Walter Whiteman (born c1864, Hastings).

In 1876, Edwin Henry Whiteman married Annie Wilkinson (born c1857 Woodchurch, Kent ). [ Marriage registered in Hastings during the 4th Quarter of 1876 ]. In the early years of their marriage, Edwin and Annie Whiteman produced two daughters - Grace Annie (born 1876, Hastings) and Lily (born 1879, Hastings). At the time of the 1881 census, Edwin Henry Whiteman was living with his wife and two young daughters at 7 Carlton Terrace in Egremont Place, Hastings. In the 1881 census return, Edwin Henry Whiteman is described as a "Photographer", aged 24.

By 1887, Edwin Henry Whiteman, Mrs Jane Whiteman's eldest son, had become the proprietor of his mother's studio at 52 High Street, Hastings. By this date, Edwin had fathered two more daughters - Gladys May (born 1884, Hastings) and Edith (born 1887, Hastings).

By 1890, Edwin H. Whiteman had sold the studio at 52 High Street, Hastings and with his wife and four daughters moved to the small historic town of Rye, 9 miles north-east of Hastings .

Edwin Henry Whiteman in Rye

[ABOVE] A view of Landgate, Rye, photographed around 1905. Edwin Whiteman's first photographic studio in Rye was located in the area around the Landgate, one of four fortified gateways built in the town walls in 1329. This view, looking northwards through the archway, shows the old town forge on the right. Whiteman's studio was probably located in the parade of shops situated south of the Landgate, part of which can be glimpsed through the archway of the Landgate.

Edwin Henry Whiteman moved to Rye, Sussex around 1890. Edwin Henry Whiteman established a photographic studio at Landgate in Rye. Annie Whiteman gave birth to a son in Rye during the First Quarter of 1890. The boy was named Edwin Henry Whiteman, after his father. Edwin Whiteman operated the studio at Landgate, Rye from 1890 to 1894, . When the 1891 census was taken, Edwin Whiteman, his wife Annie, and their five children were living at 15 Ferry Road, Rye. Edwin Whiteman is recorded as a "Photographer", aged 34.

By 1894, Edwin Whiteman had opened a new studio in Cinque Ports Street, Rye. Edwin Whiteman worked as a photographer in Cinque Ports Street until around 1913. The following year, Edwin Henry Whiteman moved his studio to Winchelsea Road, Rye, where he worked as a photographer until his death in 1917.

Edwin Henry Whiteman died in Rye during the First Quarter of 1917 at the age of 59.

[ABOVE] The reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait showing the trade plate of E. Whiteman, Photographer, 52 High Street, Hastings (c1885). As the eldest son of Mrs Jane Whiteman, the proprietor of the Whiteman studio, Edwin Henry Whiteman was the chief photographer at 52 High Street until his departure around 1890.

[ABOVE] Portrait of a Boy and Girl. Carte-de-visite by E. Whiteman, Photographer, 52 High Street, Hastings. (c1885). Edwin Henry Whiteman was running the Whiteman studio in Hastings when this photograph was taken.

[ABOVE] The trade mark "E. Whiteman Rye Sussex" which was stamped in the corner of Edwin Whiteman's cabinet photographs after he established a photographic studio in Rye.

The site of Edwin Whiteman's Portrait Studio in Landgate, Rye

[ABOVE] A modern photograph, taken in 2008, of Landgate, Rye, where the photographer Edwin Whiteman had a studio between 1890 and 1894. The stone archway of the Landgate, the ancient entrance into the town of Rye can be seen at the end of the street.

[ABOVE] A photograph taken around 1905 showing a few of the businesses situated in Landgate, Rye, during the Edwardian period. On the left is The Tower Inn, a public house which closed around 1910. The Tower Inn was established before 1855, when Robert Dunk was the landlord. By 1866, William Henry Mills was the licensee of The Tower Inn. Thomas Valentine Dale was the innkeeper at the The Tower Inn between 1878 and 1881. When this photograph was taken, The Tower Inn was occupied by James Taylor. The building to the right of the Tower Inn housed the shop of the Art Pottery Galleries and the business premises of Frederick James, a baker who opened a shop in Landgate around 1904. The stonework of the Landgate archway can be glimpsed on the right-hand edge of this photograph.

Landgate, Rye (also known as King Street)

[ABOVE] A view of the shops in the Landgate area, photographed in 1914. The Landgate, a stone gateway built in Rye in 1329, can be seen at the end of the street. This road, which approached the Landgate from the north, was known as King Street in the period 1858-1890. Around the time that Edwin Whiteman arrived in Rye in 1890, the name of the street reverted back to the old name of Landgate. On the left of the picture is the business premises of E Bryan & Co, Cycle and Motor Car Engineers. The founder of the firm was Edward Bryan (born c1853, Wolverhampton), a cycle maker who established a cycle store in Landgate around 1890. By the time this photograph was taken in 1914, Bryan & Co. had opened a garage in Fishmarket Road, Rye.

Cabinet Portraits by Edwin Whiteman of Rye


[ABOVE] A family group portrait of a father with his two grown-up children, photographed by Edwin Whiteman at his Rye studio (c1900).	[ABOVE] A cabinet portrait of a young woman, photographed on location by Edwin Whiteman of Rye (c1907). This young lady was photographed a few years earlier by Whiteman in a studio setting, when she posed for a family portrait with her father and brother (see the family group portrait on the left).

Photographs on Location,

[ABOVE] A group of men photographed by Edwin Whiteman at the Fishmarket, Rye in the late 1890s. The Fishmarket area of Rye was populated by fishermen, ironworkers, sail-makers, shipbuilders and bargemen.

Portraits by Edwin Whiteman of Cinque Ports Street, Rye

[ABOVE] Portrait of a youth wearing a cap, a carte-de-visite photograph by Edwin Whiteman, Cinque Ports Studio, Rye. (c1903). The sitter is identified on the reverse of the mount as "William Ransom" and is probably William Edward Ransom (born 1890, Hollington, Sussex), the son of Alma and Henry Ransom, a carpenter and joiner.

[RIGHT] Vignette portrait of a woman, a cabinet photograph by Edwin Whiteman, Cinque Ports Studio, Rye (c1895)

Cinque Ports Street, Rye

[RIGHT] A view of Cinque Ports Street, Rye, photographed around 1905. Edwin Whiteman opened a photographic studio in Cinque Ports Street around 1895 and was based in this street for the next twenty years.

On the right of this picture of Cinque Ports Street is the shop of Mrs Emma Eliza Stocks (born 1846, Rye), confectioner and tobacconist. Mrs Stocks also ran a tea room on the same premises and a painted sign proclaiming "Teas & Light Refreshments" can be seen beneath the shop window. Mrs Stocks established her business in Cinque Ports Street after her husband Felix Stocks, a Rye carpenter, died in 1897.

Next door to Mrs Stocks' shop is the "Kings Arms" Inn, a licensed public house which was run by Moses Hoad (born c1853, Hurstmonceux) from about 1899 until the inn closed around 1910.

At the junction with the High Street, opposite the "Kings Arms" Inn, is the business premises of Francis George Long (born 1844, London), a baker and confectioner, who set up shop at 89 High Street, Rye, around 1900.

Family Group Photograph by Edwin Whiteman of Rye

[ABOVE] A group portrait of a large family, photographed by Edwin Whiteman of Rye (c1900). This photograph was found in a collection of family photographs from Peasmarsh, Sussex.

[ABOVE, RIGHT] The family group portrait by Edwin Whiteman of Rye as it appears on the card mount. Edwin Whiteman's trade mark which appears in the bottom right-hand corner of the card mount.

[BELOW, RIGHT] An enlarged detail from the border of the family group portrait by Edwin Whiteman of Rye. The photographer's trade mark, which reads "Whiteman Rye Sussex" appears in the bottom right-hand corner of the card mount of the family group portrait shown above.

Views and Picture Postcards by Edwin Whiteman of Rye

[ABOVE] Photograph of Ellen Terry's cottage In Winchelsea, a picture postcard by Edwin Whiteman of Rye (c1910). The famous actress Ellen Terry (1847-1928) lived at Tower Cottage, Winchelsea for 10 years, from 1896 until 1906.

[ABOVE] The photographer's blind-stamp which appears on the bottom right-hand corner of the above picture postcard by Edwin Whiteman of Rye. The blind-stamp reads "E. Whiteman, Rye" (1910)

Edwin Whiteman produced a large number of picture postcards featuring Rye subjects between 1905 and 1917. Whiteman published picture postcards depicting picturesque views of Rye and the surrounding area (see the Whiteman postcard of Winchelsea, above) and recording important events in Rye, such as the Memorial Service to King Edward VII held in St Mary's Church, Rye in 1910 (see the two Whiteman picture postcards on the right).

[ABOVE] Two picture postcards by Edwin Whiteman of Rye, which record the Memorial Service to King Edward VII held in the parish church of St Mary the Virgin in 1910. The photographs shows members of the Rye Fire Brigade (top) and the Rye Postal Staff (bottom) entering St Mary's Church.

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