Brighton Beach Photographers Part 1

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Brighton Beach Photographers based in the King's Road Arches - Part 1

[ABOVE] Part of a panoramic view of Brighton's seafront, published in the Illustrated London News in August 1872. This section of the woodcut runs from the West Pier, on the left, to the beach below West Street at the extreme right of the picture. In the centre is the site of the Old Battery and Pump House. The triangular structure (centre left) was later used as the Brighton Lifeboat Station. The coloured dots mark the approximate position of the photographers detailed below.
 
 

Arch No. 65

Arch No. 109

Arch No. 114

 

Arch Nos.146 & 147

West Pier

William Dawson

Life Boat Station

William Tickner snr & William Tickner jnr

The Pump Room

Richard Cartwright snr & Richard Wm Cartwright

 

[ABOVE] A picture showing the row of arches below Brighton's King's Road ; a detail from a watercolour painting entitled "Brighton Front"(c1890) by William Lionel Wyllie (1851-1931) . This painting shows the small arches immediately to the east of the West Pier. The larger arches used to house seafront businesses are in the far distance.
 

[ABOVE] A  a carte-de-visite portrait of a young woman sitting on Brighton beach, photograph by William Dawson of  No. 6 Arch, West Pier, Brighton. (c1872)

[ABOVE] The trade plate of William Dawson, Photographer, of  No. 6 Arch, West Pier, and 1 Campbell Road, New England Road, Brighton. (c1872)

William Dawson (1843-1920) - Photographer in the King's Road Arches between 1872 and 1912.

1872-1890

1891-1893

1894-1912

No. 6 Arch (near West Pier Steps) 27 King's Rd Arches 65 & 66 King's Rd Arches

William Dawson was one of the first photographers to set up a photographic studio on Brighton Beach. William Dawson worked as a beach photographer based at No.6 Arch, near Brighton's West Pier, from around 1872. In a Brighton directory published for the year 1874, William Dawson is listed as a photographer with a studio address of "The Beach, King's Road". Dawson also operated conventional portrait studios in the town.

William Dawson worked as a photographer on Brighton's seafront from about 1872 to around 1912. In early street directory listings, the address of William Dawson, photographer, is simply given as The Beach, King's Road, Brighton, but by the mid 1890s he is shown based at 65 & 66 King's Road Arches. In addition to taking photographic portraits, from about 1890 onwards, William Dawson also provided holidaymakers with food and drink at his "refreshment rooms". In a directory of 1893, William Dawson is listed as the proprietor of a restaurant at 27 King's Road Arches. Sometime in 1893, the King's Road Arches were re-numbered and from 1894 onwards William Dawson's business address is given as 65 & 66 King's Road Arches. Page's 1894 Directory of Brighton, shows Dawson with a restaurant at 65 & 66 King's Road Arches. Presumably, photographic portraits were still being taken either on the beach or in the photo rooms attached to Dawson's restaurant. William Dawson is occasionally listed as a photographer based at the King's Road Arches in the list of professional photographers detailed in local trade directories published between 1896 and 1912.

To read a detailed account of William Dawson's life and career and view  further examples of his photographic work, click on the link below:

William Dawson - Brighton Seafront Photographer

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William Tickner and William Tickner junior - Photographers and Boat Builders in Brighton

[ABOVE] A photograph taken about 1912 showing a crowd gathered around a concert party on Brighton Beach near the triple arch at 113 & 114 Kings Road Arches, where William Tickner and his son worked as boat-builders and photographers between 1887 and 1908. (See detail and modern photograph below).

[ABOVE] Detail from the photograph above showing the triple arch at 113 & 114 Kings Road Arches, where William Tickner and his son worked as boat-builders and photographers up until 1908. This arch was being used as a shooting gallery when this photograph was taken. [ABOVE] A modern  photograph showing the triple arch used by William Tickner and William Tickner junior for their boat building business. The numbering of Tickner's boat-building arch varied over the years. Between 1883 and 1889, it was numbered 100 & 101 King's Road Arches. For a few years between 1890 and 1893 Tickner's boatyard carried the number 78 & 79 and, from 1894, William Tickner's address was given as 113 & 114 Kings Road Arches. William Tickner junior vacated the yard at 113 & 114 Kings Road Arches around 1909 and from 1910, the tunnel of the arch was used as rifle range and shooting gallery by Thomas Murray.
 
William Tickner and William Tickner junior - Photographers and Boat Builders in Brighton between 1887 and 1908

William Tickner senior was born in London in 1842. William Tickner's place of birth is given variously as London, Middlesex, and Kennington, South London, but a baptism record suggests that William Tickner was born in the Marylebone district of central London on 17th November 1842  and baptised at St Mary Marylebone Church a month later on 16th December 1842. In the baptism register, William's parents are given as William and Mary Ann Tickner.

By the end of 1871, William Tickner senior was living in the Sussex seaside town of Brighton, where his eldest son, William Tickner junior was born during the 4th Quarter of 1871. William Tickner senior's marriage to Mary Ann Jordan (born c1838, Richmond, Surrey) took place at St Nicholas Church, Brighton on 18th February 1878. When William Tickner senior married Mary Ann Jordan in 1878, he was already the father of four children -  William Tickner junior (born 1871, Brighton), Frederick James Tickner (born 1874, Preston, Sussex), Albert Edward Tickner (born 1875, Preston, Sussex) and Mary Ann Tickner (born 1877, Preston, Sussex). During June 1879, Mary Ann gave birth to a daughter named Emma Elizabeth Tickner in the Preston district of Brighton. ( Emma Elizabeth Tickner was baptised at St Peter's Church, Brighton on 22nd June 1879). Four of William Tickner senior's five children were born in Preston, on the outskirts of Brighton. Preston was a village and parish just outside Brighton, but William Tickner's children were born in Campbell Road in the north-east suburb of Brighton. The 1881 census records William Tickner senior and his family at 24 Campbell Road, Brighton, and William Tickner junior and his younger sister Mary Ann were still living at the Campbell Road address when the census was taken 30 years later.

William Tickner senior was a shipwright by trade. Sometime before 1878, William Tickner senior entered into a business partnership with James Measor (born c1830, Brighton) and set up a boat-building business on Brighton's seafront. The 1878 edition of Kelly's Post Office Directory of Sussex records Tickner & Measor as a boat building firm located on The Beach, King's Road, Brighton. The Tickner & Measor boatyard was housed inside a large triple arch in the King's Road Arches between the R.N.L.I. Lifeboat Station and the original Pump House on the Lower Esplanade.

The firm of Tickner & Measor are recorded in the King's Road Arches between and 1878 and 1883. By 1887, William Tickner senior was in sole control of the boatyard, then numbered 101 King's Road Arches. The 'Brighton Street Directory' section published in the 1887 edition of Kelly's Directory of Sussex records William Tickner as a "boat builder & photographer" at The Beach, King's Road Arches. A Brighton street directory published the following year lists William Tickner as a boat builder at 101 King's Road Arches. It seems clear that William Tickner senior was supplementing his income as a boat builder by taking photographic portraits on the beach in front of his seafront boatyard.

William Tickner senior was taking was taking photographic portraits on the beach throughout the 1890s. It is likely that Tickner's portraits took the form of collodion positive photographs on glass (called ambrotypes in America). During the 1890s, Tickner's business address changed three times due to the re-numbering of the arches under the King's Road. In 1890, Tickner's  boat yard in the King's Road Arches had its number changed from No.101 to No. 79 Kings Road Arches. The arch numbers were altered again in 1893 with Tickner's boatyard address changing from 78 & 79 Kings Road Arches to 113 & 114 King's Road Arches.

When the 1901 census was taken, Wiliam Tickner and his family were recorded at 24  Campbell Road, Preston, Brighton. Fifty-Eight year old Wiliam Tickner is described on the census return as a "Boat Builder (Employer)", while his son William Tickner junior is listed as a "Boat Builder (worker)", aged 29. William Tickner senior's two daughters, Mary A. Tickner and Emma E. Tickner are both entered on the census return as dressmakers.

William Tickner senior died in Brighton during the 3rd Quarter of 1902 at the age of 59. Tickner's boatbuilding and beach photography business passed to his eldest son, thirty year old William Tickner junior (born 1871, Brighton).

[ABOVE] A photograph taken around 1900 showing boat builders at work. William Tickner senior operated as a boat-builder in Brighton from before 1878 until his death in 1902. The boat-building business at 113 & 114 Kings Road Arches continued under Tickner's son, William Tickner junior (born 1871, Brighton), until about 1908.

[ABOVE] A collodion positive (ambrotype) beach photograph of the type that was taken by William Tickner senior  in the 1880s when he was based on Brighton Beach at 101 Kings Road Arches (later renumbered 113 & 114 Kings Road Arches).

 
William Tickner junior (1871-1940) - Photographer and Boat Builder in Brighton between 1902 and 1908

William Tickner junior was eldest the son of William Tickner senior (1842-1902), a Brighton boat builder who occasionally took photographic likenesses with his camera on the beach outside his boatyard. After William Tickner senior died in 1902, his eldest son took over the running of the business at 113 & 114 King's Road Arches. Brighton street directories published between 1902 and 1908 list William Tickner as a boat builder and photographer at 114 King's Road Arches. William Tickner's name also appears in the list of professional photographers in the trades section of Kelly's Directory of Sussex in the editions issued between 1902 and 1908.

Sometime between 1908 and 1909, William Tickner junior vacated the large triple arch on Brighton's beach. The 1911 census confirms that William Tickner junior carried on working as a boat builder after his boatyard in the King's Road Arches closed down. Mrs Mary Ann Tickner, the widow of William Tickner senior, had died in Brighton in 1905 at the age of 68 and when the census was taken on 2nd April 1911, only two members of the Tickner family were recorded at 24 Campbell Road, Preston, Brighton. The 1911 census records William Tickner as a single man of 39, working as a boat builder and living with his younger unmarried sister Mary Tickner, a thirty-three year old costumier, at the old family home in Campbell Road.

Pike's 'Street Directory of Brighton & Hove', published in 1910, shows a new occupant of Tickner's former workspace in the King's Road Arches. A showman named Thomas Murray had acquired the large deep arch at 114 King's Road Arches and converted it into a rifle range and shooting gallery. The 'Brighton Street Directory' which was published in the 1911 edition of Kelly's  Directory of Sussex shows Thomas Murray as the proprietor of a "rifle saloon" at 114 King's Road Arches.

[ABOVE] A photograph of Campbell Road, Brighton taken in 1904. William Tickner's family lived at No. 24 Campbell Road in the Preston district of Brighton from the 1870s until the eve of the First World War. In the distance can be seen the London Road Railway Viaduct, which crosses Preston Road on its way to the Brighton Railway Terminus.(1904).

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Richard Cartwright senior - active as a Beach Photographer in Brighton between 1887 and 1898

Richard Cartwright senior (c1836-1898), a London photographer established a beach photography business on Brighton's seafront around 1887. Richard Cartwright worked from one of the Arches under Brighton's King's Road. Richard Cartwright had a shop and workroom at 107 & 108 King's Road Arches (later re-numbered 146 & 147 King's Road Arches). Richard Cartwright operated as a beach photographer on the stretch of the seafront which ran between his workshop located next to Bolla & Biucchi's Tea & Coffee Rooms and the Free Shelter Hall.

There is evidence that Richard Cartwright senior produced his seaside photographs in the form of collodion positive images on glass. (See illustration on the right).

Richard Cartwright senior took photographic portraits of holidaymakers in the area of the Free Shelter Hall for over a decade, between1887 and his death in 1898.

[ABOVE] A collodion positive portrait on glass of a couple seated on a bench on Brighton beach, photographed by  Richard Cartwright senior around 1887.                                            [Photo : Private Collection]
 

[ABOVE] A group of men on a works outing to Brighton, photographed on Brighton beach, near the Free Shelter Hall, by Richard William Cartwright or one of his operators (c1912). Richard William Cartwright (born 1873, Kingsland, London) was the son of  Richard Cartwright senior (c1836-1898), a London photographer who established a beach photography business near the Free Shelter Hall around 1887. The photographer's credit on the reverse of the postcard reads: "R. W. Cartwright & Co., Photographers, North St., & Kings Rd Arches, Brighton" which indicates that the photograph was taken before 1913, the year Richard William Cartwright closed his studio at 63b North Street, Brighton.

Richard Cartwright junior - active as a Beach Photographer in Brighton between 1898 and 1930

After the death of Richard Cartwright senior in 1898, Richard William Cartwright (born 1873, Kingsland,London), the photographer's only son, took over the beach photography business on Brighton's seafront. Richard William Cartwright operated from a double arch at 146-147 King's Road Arches under the company name of  R. W. Cartwright & Co. Initially, the younger Richard Cartwright might have produced collodion positive portraits on glass or even "ferrotype" portraits on thin sheets of metal, but from around 1910 most of his output was in the picture postcard format. Richard Cartwright junior was active as a beach photographer in Brighton from 1898 until at least 1930. The 1930 edition of Kelly's Directory of Sussex lists R. W. Cartwright & Co. as a firm of photographers at 146 & 147 King's Road Arches, but Cartwright's name is absent from the catalogue of professional photographers detailed in the 1934 edition of Kelly's Sussex directory.

Richard Cartwright's shop and darkroom were located in the King's Road Arches near the Free Shelter Hall (see the two picture postcards above). Cartwright's business premises at 146-147 King's Road Arches were next door to Bolla & Biucchi's seafront restaurant & tea rooms at 148-149 King's Road Arches and were in close proximity to a busy stretch of beach thronging with holiday makers and day trippers.

Richard Cartwright would invariably pose his sitters on a wooden bench conveniently placed in front of the Free Shelter Hall or photograph them perched on the boats that were lying on the beach close to the lower esplanade.
 
To read a detailed account of the lives and photographic careers of Richard Cartwright senior (c1836-1898) and Richard William Cartwright (born 1873) and to view further examples of their photographic work, click on the link below:

The Cartwright Family of Photographers

 

Seaside Group Portraits photographed near the Free Shelter Hall & Rotunda , King's Road Arches

[ABOVE] A picture postcard of three holiday makers on Brighton beach, photographed by a bench near the Free Shelter Hall, Kings Road Arches, Brighton, probably by Richard William Cartwright who had a photographer's shop at 146 & 147  King's Road Arches Brighton (c1908).

 [PHOTO: Courtesy of Rendel Williams of Sussex Postcards Info.]

[ABOVE] A picture postcard depicting a woman, a man and a young girl posed near The Belle pleasure craft on Brighton beach, photographed near the Free Shelter Hall, Kings Road Arches, Brighton, probably by Richard William Cartwright who had a photographer's shop at 146 & 147  King's Road Arches Brighton (c1908).

 [PHOTO: Courtesy of Rendel Williams of Sussex Postcards Info.]

[ABOVE] Two young men and three young women photographed on the boats near the Free Shelter Hall, Kings Road Arches, Brighton by Richard William Cartwright who had a photographer's shop at 146 & 147  King's Road Arches Brighton (c1913). The reverse of the postcard carries the credit  "R. W. Cartwright & Co., Photographers, Kings Rd Arches, Brighton".

 [PHOTO: Courtesy of Rendel Williams of Sussex Postcards Info.]

 

Index of Brighton Beach Photographers based in the King's Road Arches

PHOTOGRAPHER'S NAME

The Beach, Kings Road

Kings Road Arches

Kings Road Arches

OTHER OCCUPATIONS

 
 

1887-1888

1890-1893

1894-1915

   
Richard CARTWRIGHT (Senior)

 

 107 & 108 Kings Road Arches

148  Kings Road Arches

  See above  Profile
Richard William CARTWRIGHT (Junior)

 

 

146-147 Kings Road Arches

  See above   Profile
Frederick COLLINS (Junior)

The Beach, Kings Road

 126  Kings Road Arches

166 Kings Road Arches

bowling saloon Notes   
William DAWSON

 The Beach, Kings Road

The Beach (near West Pier steps)

65 & 66 Kings Road Arches

tobacconist, refreshment room, & fruiterer. Notes    Profile
Walter FLOWERS    

156 Kings Road Arches

bicycle depot, restaurant Notes
Thomas Frederick FOULKES

46 Kings Road Arches

 131 & 138  Kings Road Arches

174 & 181 Kings Road Arches

  Notes
William LABLE    

186-187 Kings Road Arches

refreshment room owner, printer & stationer Notes
Joseph Peter MANNING

38 Kings Road Arches

149 Kings Road  Arches

193 Kings Road Arches

  Notes
Frederick & Ralph MARKS    

185 Kings Road Arches

  Notes
William TICKNER (Senior)

101 Kings Road Arches

78 & 79 Kings Road Arches

113 & 114 Kings Road Arches

boat builder Notes
William TICKNER (Junior)    

113 & 114 Kings Road Arches

boat builder Notes
Lewis WHY  

170 Kings Road Arches

  rifle shooting range Notes

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To read about Richard Cartwright, Fred Collins junior, Walter Flowers and other photographers based in the King's Road Arches click on the following link:

King's Road Arches - Part 2

 

To read about Thomas F. Foulkes, William Lable, Joseph P. Manning, Lewis Why and other photographers based in the King's Road Arches click on the following link:

 King's Road Arches - Part 3

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