East Grinstead Photographers : M-S

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Professional Photographers in East Grinstead (M-S)

Henry Thomas Melville - Mrs Mary Melville - Victor E. Morris - William Page (junior) - Samuel P. L. Phillips

Henry Thomas MELVILLE (1833-1878)

Henry Thomas Melville was born in Broughton, Kent around 1833. Sometime around 1865, Henry Melville married Mary Ann Steer of East Grinstead. Mary Ann Steer was born at East Grinstead in 1843, the only daughter of Sophia and William Steer (c1791-1880), the tenant of Harwood's Farm, East Grinstead. Henry Melville operated a studio in the High Street of Bromley, South East London, in the late 1860s. Henry and Mary Ann Melville's first child, Charles Albert Melville was born in Bromley, Kent, towards the end of 1868 [ birth registered in Bromley during the 4th Quarter of 1868].

Henry Thomas Melville, his wife Mary Ann, and their son Charles arrived in East Grinstead around 1870. Initially, Henry Melville was based at Grove House, West Street, East Grinstead, where he produced studio portraits and views of East Grinstead in carte-de-visite format. In the early 1870s, H. T. Melville photographed a number of Sussex churches and issued them as a series of carte-de-visite views. Melville was an experienced, professional portrait photographer and in the early 1870s the only competition he faced in East Grinstead was from coach painter Alfred John Gear, who, under the name of Alfred Francis, took photographic likenesses at a studio attached to his home in Zion Place, West Street.

When the 1871 census was taken, Henry Thomas Melville was recorded at his business premises in West Street and he is entered on the census return as a "Photographer", aged 38. At the time of the 1871 census, Henry and Mary Ann Melville had three children - Charles Albert (born 1868, Bromley), Harry George (born 1870, East Grinstead), and Herbert Percy Melville (born 1871, East Grinstead). The couple's fourth child, a daughter named Helena Alice Melville, was born during the 3rd Quarter of 1872.

By 1874, Henry Thomas Melville had moved his photographic studio to Moat House, Moat Road, East Grinstead. Melville's only rival in portrait taking, Alfred Francis (Alfred John Gear) committed suicide on 1st June 1874. For Henry Melville the future looked promising in 1874. He had a new house and studio, his wife had presented him with four children and Alfred Francis, his sole competitor in East Grinstead, had removed himself from the photography business by swallowing a quantity of cyanide. However, Henry Melville's reign as the only photographer in town lasted less than four years. During the First Quarter of 1878, Henry Thomas Melville died in East Grinstead at the age of 45.

[ABOVE] A view of East Grinstead's High Street, photographed by Henry Thomas Melville (c1870). On the extreme left is Albion House with the tower of St Swithun's Church behind. Directly facing the photographer at the end of the street, near Middle Row, is the distinctive business premises of  George Bailye, tailor and hairdresser.

Cartes-de-visite by Henry Thomas Melville

[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a seated man by Henry Thomas Melville of  High Street, Bromley (c1868).

[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a seated woman by Henry Thomas Melville of  Grove House, West Street, East Grinstead (c1872).

[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a seated woman by Henry Thomas Melville of Moat House, Moat Road, East Grinstead. (c1874).

[ABOVE] The trade plate of H. T. Melville, Photographer of High Street, Bromley, S. E. London, as shown on the reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait (c1868).

[ABOVE] The trade plate of H. T. Melville, Photographic Artist of  Grove House, West Street, East Grinstead, as shown on the reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait (c1872).

[ABOVE] The trade plate of H. T. Melville, Portrait, Landscape & Architectural Photographer  of  Moat House, Moat Road, East Grinstead, as shown on the reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait (c1874)

Mrs Mary Ann MELVILLE (born 1843, East Grinstead)

Mrs Mary Ann Melville was the widow of the photographer Henry Thomas Melville, who operated a photographic portrait studio in East Grinstead up until his death in 1878. Mary Ann Steer was born at East Grinstead in 1843, the only daughter of Sophia and William Steer, and was baptised at St Swithun's (Swithin's) Church on 23rd April 1843. Mary's father, William Steer (c1791-1880) had been born in Lingfield, Surrey, but by 1841 he was the owner of Harwood's Farm on the outskirts of East Grinstead.

Mary Ann Steer was married to Henry Thomas Melville around 1865. In the late 1860s, her husband was a professional photographer with a studio in Bromley, South East London, but around 1870, the couple and their young son Charles came to live in Mary Ann's home town of East Grinstead. Henry Melville established a studio at Grove House in East Grinstead's West Street, but by 1874 he moved to Moat House in Moat Road. When Henry Melville died in early in 1878 at the age of 45, Mrs Melville took over the running of the Moat House studio. In Kelly's 1878 Post Office Directory of Sussex, Mrs Melville of Moat House is described as an "architectural, portrait, landscape, & equestrian photographer".

Mrs Mary Ann Melville was in business as a photographer in East Grinstead until about 1883. ( Mrs Melville is listed as a photographer at Moat House, East Grinstead in the 1882 edition of Kelly's Directory of Sussex ). By 1884, the Moat House Studio was in the hands of William Page junior (born 1858, Tilehurst, Berkshire), a photographer who had previously worked alongside his father in his Shoreham studio.

[ABOVE] Zion Chapel, West Street,  East Grinstead, photographed by Mrs Mary Ann Melville of the Moat House Studio (c1880).

Cartes-de-visite by Mrs M. A. Melville

[ABOVE] The trade plate of  Mary Ann Melville, Photographer of  Moat House, East Grinstead, as rubber-stamped on the reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait (c1880).

[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of  a youth wearing a cap and blazer by Mrs Mary Ann Melville of  Moat House, Moat Road, East Grinstead (c1880).

 

[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a man on horseback by Mrs Mary Ann Melville of  Moat House, Moat Road, East Grinstead (c1880). Mrs Melville was advertising her services as an "equestrian photographer" in 1878.

1881 CENSUS : Moat House, EAST GRINSTEAD

NAME

 

OCCUPATION

AGE

PLACE OF BIRTH

Mary A. Melville

Head (widow)

Photographer

38

East Grinstead, Sussex
Charles A. Melville son

Scholar

12

Bromley, Kent
Harry G. Melville son Scholar

11

East Grinstead, Sussex
Herbert P. Melville son Scholar

10

East Grinstead, Sussex
Helena A. Melville daughter Scholar

8

East Grinstead, Sussex
Sophia Steer Mother (widow  

83

Warwick 

[ABOVE] Details of Mrs Mary Ann Melville and her family on the 1881 census return for Moat House, Moat Road, East Grinstead.

Victor E. Morris (born 1877, East Grinstead)

Victor Emmanuel Morris was born at East Grinstead in 1877, the son of Fanny and James Morris, a grocer and draper who ran a general store and post office in Lingfield Road, East Grinstead. James Morris (1838-1906) was born in Nutley, Sussex, but after his marriage he established a newsagents and general store at 65 Lingfield Road, East Grinstead. The sub post office was added to his business in 1887. James Morris, who possessed high moral values, but held puritanical views regarding social behaviour, was elected as a Liberal Party councillor in East Grinstead's Urban District Council elections in 1903 and served on the Council until his death in 1906.

After his father's death, Victor Emmanuel Morris worked at the Lingfield Road Post Office Stores with his two elder sisters - Joanna Morris (born 1868, East Grinstead), the sub-postmistress, and Mary Morris (born 1870, East Grinstead).

Victor Morris shared his father's Liberal politics and Non-conformist beliefs. Victor Morris was also a Pacifist and as early as 1904, he was giving illustrated lectures on topics such as "Passive Resistance: Past and Present". When the First World War broke out in 1914, Morris became a Conscientious Objector. Facing a Tribunal on 28th October 1916, Victor Morris declared : " I believe that God alone has the right to take life and that under no circumstances whatever has a man the right to kill another person. I believe that war is immoral."

Victor Morris was also a keen photographer, using a dark room attached to the back of the store to develop his photographs. There is evidence that Morris was taking photographs in East Grinstead as early as 1896. (East Grinstead Museum holds a photograph by V. E. Morris entitled "East Grinstead Fair, High Street ", dated 1896). Morris produced picture postcards of local views and events in East Grinstead. Morris also produced excellent photographic lantern slides. At the Edinburgh Photographic Society Exhibition of 1922, V. E. Morris was commended for three of his lantern slides - "Morning Mist in Lakeland" (Medal), "In Winter Time" (Honourable Mention) and "Bishop Redman's Tomb, Ely Cathedral" (Honourable Mention). Morris was also awarded First Prize for his lantern slides at a photographic exhibition held in Lewes in April 1923.

[ABOVE] A portrait of James Morris (1838-1906), the father of Victor Emmanuel Morris.

[ABOVE] The Lingfield Road Post Office Stores, 65 Lingfield Road, on the corner of Durkins Road, in East Grinstead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

[ABOVE] Two photographs, taken in quick succession by Victor E. Morris, showing The London Rifle Brigade arriving at East Grinstead on 10th September 1914. The fact that Victor Morris was a Conscientious Objector to military service during the First World War did not prevent him from producing picture postcards on a military theme.

William PAGE junior (1858-1911)

William Page was born at Tilehurst, Berkshire in 1858, the son of  Martha and William Page senior, a photographer who operated a studio in Shoreham from 1878 until his death in 1915.

William Page senior was born at Reading, Berkshire, in 1831. At the age of twenty-four, William Page (senior) married Martha Watts ( c1828, Wargrave, Berkshire) in Reading. [Marriage of William Page and Martha Watts registered in the District of Reading during the 4th Quarter of 1855]. William and Martha Page settled in the small Berkshire village of Tilehurst, three miles north-west of Reading. The couple remained in Tilehurst for about six years or so, during which time Martha gave birth to four children - Rhoda (born 1856), William (1858), Charles Ernest (born 1860) and Alice Page (born 1861). By 1864, William Page was back in his home town of Reading, where his youngest son, Albin Page was born during 2nd Quarter of that year. The Page family were still residing in Berkshire at the time of the 1871 census, but by the end of the decade they had moved to Shoreham in Sussex.

William Page senior established a photographic studio in the High Street of Shoreham around 1878. [ William Page is listed as a photographer at High Street, Shoreham in Kelly's 1878 Directory of Sussex]. By this time most of William Page senior's children were old enough to assist him in his studio and there is evidence that all of them (with the possible exception of Charles Ernest Page) worked alongside their father his photography business. William Page senior's two daughters, Rhoda and Alice Page, were recorded as photographer's assistants in the Shoreham studio in adult life.

1881 CENSUS :  High Street, NEW SHOREHAM

NAME

 

OCCUPATION

AGE

PLACE OF BIRTH

William Page

Head

Photographer

50

Reading, Berkshire
Martha Page

 wife

 

53

Wargrave, Berkshire
Rhoda Page daughter

 

24

Tilehurst, Berkshire
William Page son  

22

Tilehurst, Berkshire
Charles Page son Clerk (unemployed)

20

Tilehurst, Berkshire
Alice Page daughter Assistant to Photographer

19

Tilehurst, Berkshire
Albin Page son Assistant to Photographer

16

Reading, Berkshire

[ABOVE] Details of  William Page and his family from the 1881 census return for New Shoreham

William Page junior in East Grinstead

 Although William Page junior's occupation is not listed in the 1881 census return, we can assume that he was his father's chief assistant in the Shoreham studio until he acquired the Moat House studio in East Grinstead around 1883. The photographic studio at Moat House had previously been operated by the photographer Henry Thomas Melville (1833- 1878) and his widow, Mrs Mary Ann Melville. I have a carte-de-visite portrait, dating from around 1883, mounted on one of William Page senior's cards, but rubber-stamped with the words "William Page, Photographer, Moat House, East Grinstead." (see illustration, top right). Kelly's 1887 Directory of Sussex lists William Page senior as a photographer at East Street, Shoreham and his son William Page junior with a photographic studio in Moat Road, East Grinstead. The statement in Pike's Views and Reviews ; East Grinstead (c1897) that William Page was the only photographer in the town and had been established 13 years, seems to support the view that Page took over Melville's studio in Moat Road between 1883 and 1884.

In 1886, William Page, photographer of East Grinstead, married Sarah Whitten Evans (born 30th September 1854, Hardway, Hampshire), the daughter of Sarah and Henry Evans, the Chief Officer of Coastguards at Shoreham. [ Marriage of William Page registered in the Steyning District during the 4th Quarter of 1886 ].

In 1891 census, William Page and his thirty-six year old wife are recorded at 5 Moat Road, East Grinstead. William Page is described on the 1891 census return as a "Photographer", aged 33. No children are recorded in the Page household.

As the article in Pike's Views and Reviews pointed out, William Page was the only professional photographer in East Grinstead in 1897. When William Page arrived in East Grinstead around 1884, the only portrait photographer in the town was Athelstane Basebe at Oak Croft, Moat Road. The "Guide to East Grinstead and its Environs", which was published in 1885, advised its readers that there were two "photographic establishments in the town, both in Moat Road" (i.e. Basebe at Oak Croft and William Page at Moat House). In 1888, Basebe moved to Surrey with his family leaving William Page with a monopoly in the taking of photographic portraits in East Grinstead. William Page was the main photographer in East Grinstead from 1888 until his death in 1911 and his dominance in the field of studio portrait photography was rarely challenged. Rivals appeared infrequently and without great effect. Samuel Philip Lowe Phillips set up a photography studio at 36 High Street, East Grinstead, around 1895, but Page's rival left within a year or so. George Alexander Winchester was a photographer based at 61 High Street, East Grinstead, from 1899 until 1909, but he was primarily an outdoor photographer, taking group portraits on location. Arthur Harding was producing photographic views of East Grinstead during the first decade of the 20th century, but he was an amateur, part-time photographer who was a watchmaker and jeweller by profession.

Although William Page was primarily a portrait photographer, he did produce photographic views of East Grinstead. William Page provided the photographs of East Grinstead that illustrated a town guide of 1909 and from around 1905 he began to produce picture postcards of the town.

 William Page junior, East Grinstead's premier photographer, died at East Grinstead in 1911 at the age of 53. [ Death registered in East Grinstead during the 4th Quarter of 1911].

[ABOVE] The details of William Page junior's Moat House studio in East Grinstead rubber-stamped on the back of  a card from his father's Shoreham studio. (c1883).

[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a young woman by William Page of Moat House, East Grinstead, mounted on a card mount printed with the details of his father, "W. PAGE, SHOREHAM", on the front (c1883).This must be one of  the first photographs taken by William Page at his East Grinstead studio, as he has rubber-stamped his new studio address of  "Moat House,  East Grinstead " on the back of the card (See above).

[ABOVE] The trade plate of William Page of Moat House, East Grinstead (c1885).

Cartes-de-visite by William Page

[ABOVE] The trade plate of William Page of Moat House, East Grinstead.

[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a young woman by William Page of Moat House, East Grinstead. Negative No.15037. (c1898)

[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a young man by William Page of Moat House, East Grinstead. Negative No.18696. (c1900)

Views by William Page

[ABOVE] A view of  old cottages in East Grinstead's High Street, photographed, according to the printed caption, in 1883, the year that William Page arrived in East Grinstead. Apparently, William Page acquired the negatives of  H. T. Melville's photographs when he purchased the Moat Studio and he later issued some of Melville's views as picture postcards.

[ABOVE] A view of  Lewes Road, East Grinstead, with St Swithun's Church in the background. A picture postcard issued by William Page around 1905. Page's picture postcards usually carry a caption in neat block capitals and are blind-stamped "Wm Page, Moat Studio, East Grinstead."

William Page's Moat House Studio in East Grinstead

[ABOVE] An advertisement in a local trade directory for William Page's Moat Studio at 5 Moat Road, East Grinstead (c1909).

[RIGHT] A recent photograph of  the building at 5 Moat Road, East Grinstead, where William Page worked as a photographer from around 1884 to 1911. Henry Thomas Melville had established a photographic studio at Moat House around 1874 and, after his death in 1878, his widow Mrs Mary Ann Melville continued as a photographer at 5 Moat Road until the studio was sold to William Page.

 

 

 

To view a selection of studio portraits produced by William Page of Moat House, East Grinstead, click on the link below :

Studio Portraits by William Page of East Grinstead

 

Samuel Philip Lowe PHILLIPS (1855-1934)

 

Samuel Philip Lowe Phillips was born in Totton, Hampshire, in 1855, the son of Sarah and George Phillips. Samuel Phillips' birth was registered under the name of Samuel Edwin Lowe Phillips in the district of New Forest in Hampshire and there is a record of his baptism in Romsey on 13th May 1855. George Phillips, Samuel's father, was a publican and at the time of the 1881 census he was running the White Horse Inn in the Kent village of Minster. Samuel Phillips was the eldest of George and Sarah Phillips' three children. Samuel's brother, James Lowe Phillips was born in Totton in 1856 and his sister Rose Phillips was born over eight years later in 1864. [ The births of all three children were registered in the New Forest district of Hampshire].

At the time of the 1881 census, twenty-five year old Samuel Phillips was living with his parents at the White Horse Inn, Minster-in-Thanet, and was working as a photographer. During his time in Minster, Samuel Phillips met Jane Eugenie Parsons (born 1856, Barkham, Berkshire), who was working as a barmaid in a local refreshment room. Samuel Philip Lowe Phillips married Jane Eugenie Parsons in Croydon, Surrey, during the First Quarter of 1884. Two children were born to the couple over the next four years  - Maud Gertrude Phillips (born 1886, Croydon) and Dudley Carl Phillips (born 1888, Croydon).

By 1891, Samuel Philip Lowe Phillips had established two photographic studios in Croydon, Surrey. Kelly's 1891 Directory of Surrey lists Samuel Philip Lowe Phillips as a photographer at 15 Cherry Orchard Road, Croydon & 52 North End, Croydon. The 1891 census records Samuel, his wife ( who gives her first name as Eugenie) and their two children, at 15 Cherry Orchard Road, Croydon. Samuel P. L. Phillips is entered on the census return as a "Photographer", aged 35. Samuel Phillip's main studio was at Oxford House, 15 Cherry Orchard Road, Croydon, near East Croydon Station. Phillips was still operating as a photographer at Oxford House, Cherry Orchard Road, Croydon, in 1896, but the studio address in North End had changed from No. 52 to 54a North End, Croydon. Phillips later ran a photographic studio at 147, North End, Croydon.

In the early 1890s, Samuel Philip Lowe Phillips began to expand his business by opening branch studios in South Norwood (a district in Croydon) and Upper Tooting in S. W. London. Around 1894, Phillips opened a branch studio in East Grinstead. Kelly's Post Office Directory of Sussex, published in 1895, lists photographer S. P. L. Phillips, at 36 High Street, East Grinstead. Samuel Phillips' presence in East Grinstead was brief and his studio in the town was not listed in Kelly's 1899 Directory of Sussex.

Samuel Philip Lowe Phillips was based in Croydon for most of his photographic career. The 1901 census shows Samuel Phillips living with his family at 24 Oakfield Road, Croydon. Phillips is entered on the census return as a 44 year old photographer and, as he did at the time of the previous census, he informed the enumerator that he was born in Romsey, Hampshire.

From around 1905 to 1932, Samuel P. L. Phillips operated photographic studios in Lewisham in South East London. From 1906 to 1911, S. P. L. Phillips ran a studio at 1 Station Buildings, Catford Road, Lewisham. Around 1912, Phillips moved to 2 Ringstead Road, Lewisham and this studio carried his name until 1932.

Samuel Philip Lowe Phillips died at his home in Croydon in 1934.

 

 

 
[RIGHT] Cartes-de-visite by Samuel Philip Lowe Phillips. [TOP ROW] Portrait of a woman holding a book and the reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait taken at Phillips' studio in Cherry Orchard Road, East Croydon (c1890). [BOTTOM ROW] Portrait of a bearded man (c1890) and the reverse of a carte-de-visite from Samuel Phillips' East Croydon studio (c1895).

 


 

Acknowledgements & Sources

A special thank you to Martin Hayes, County Local Studies Librarian of the West Sussex County Council Library Service. Thanks to Rachel Hurst of East Grinstead Museum for permission to use the photographs of East Grinstead. I am indebted to David Gould, the late Ron Michell and Michael J. Leppard for their work on the photographs and history East Grinstead. Thanks to my brother John Simkin of Spartacus Educational for his research into the life of Victor Morris during the First World War period.

SOURCES : Books : East Grinstead - Then & Now by Ron Michell and David Gould (Middleton Press, 1985);  East Grinstead by David Gould (Alan Sutton,1995) ; Around East Grinstead by David Gould (Sutton Publishing Ltd, 1997) ; A History of East Grinstead by M. J. Leppard (Phillimore & Co. Ltd, 2001) ; One Hundred Buildings of East Grinstead by M. J. Leppard (Phillimore & Co. Ltd , 2006).  Articles : Early Photographers in East Grinstead by M. J. Leppard (The Bulletin of the East Grinstead Society, No.18, January 1976). Websites : West Sussex Past Pictures website ; Spartacus Educational website. The photoLondon database of 19th century photographers, based on the research of David Webb, provided details of the studios operated by Samuel Philip Lowe Phillips.

 

Professional Photographers in East Grinstead  - click on links to view notes & examples

Photographers in East Grinstead  A-D A & E Basebe - Athelstane Basebe - Carr & Hopperton - Edwin Cole - Joseph Cundall - Philip H. Delamotte
Photographers in East Grinstead  E-L East Grinstead Photo. Co. (Edgar Kinsey) - Alfred Francis (Alfred Gear) - Arthur & William Harding - Alec Johnson - David Kennedy
Photographers in East Grinstead  M-S Henry Thomas Melville - Mrs Mary Melville - Victor E. Morris - William Page - Samuel P. L. Phillips - Sayers Brothers
Photographers in East Grinstead  T-Z Percy E. Tombs - Ernest Watts - A. G. Wheller - George A. Winchester

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Over 800 images of East Grinstead which are currently held in various West Sussex collections can be viewed at the West Sussex Past Pictures website. To access the archive, click on the link below :

West Sussex Past Pictures

East Grinstead Museum

The East Grinstead Town Museum, which traces the history of the town and its neighbourhood, was re-opened in a new modern building in 2006. To view details of the Museum and to see a programme of exhibitions and events, click on the link below :

East Grinstead Museum