Horsham Photographers - Aubrey

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Professional Photographers in Horsham - The Aubrey Family

 Edwin Aubrey - Henry Aubrey - Matilda Lydia Aubrey - Lydia Aubrey

 

Edwin AUBREY (Edwin COCKING) active as a photographer in Horsham, between 1887 and 1892.

Henry AUBREY (Henry Garrett COCKING) active as a photographer in Horsham, between 1883 and 1894.

Mrs Matilda AUBREY (Mrs Matilda COCKING) active as a photographer in Horsham, between 1894 and 1905.

[ABOVE ]  A possible portrait of Edwin Cocking  (c1865). The trade plate on the reverse (below) advertises the fact that Edwin Cocking was a Portrait Artist and a Photographer.

[ABOVE] The business card of Mr. Edwin Cocking - Portrait Artist and  Photographer- of Queen's Road, Peckham, S. E. London.

[ABOVE ] This trade plate taken from the reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait produced around 1862 indicates that Edwin Cocking worked as an artist and photographer in Leamington, Warwickshire, before he established his photographic portrait studio in Peckham around 1864.
Edwin Aubrey - also known as Edwin Cocking - ( 1818 - 1892 )

Aubrey was an assumed surname. Edwin Aubrey was, in fact, Edwin Cocking, the son of Henry and Susannah Cocking of Peckham. Henry Cocking, Edwin's father, was a carpenter and builder by trade. Edwin Cocking was born in 1818 in Peckham, Surrey, and was baptised on 18th October 1818 at the Church of St. Giles in Camberwell. In the baptism register, Edwin's father, Henry Cocking, is described as a "carpenter".

Edwin Cocking was originally an artist and portrait painter. According to David Webb, Edwin Cocking received his art education at the Victoria & Albert Museum. In the 1850s and 1860s, Edwin Cocking painted portraits and drew designs for lithographs (see the music sheet cover design, illustrated below). David Gegg, a great, great grandson of Edwin Cocking, has several art works by Edwin Cocking, including a self-portrait and a painting of Winchester Cross.

On 9th June 1849, Edwin Cocking married Isabella Mitchell ( the daughter of solicitor Alexander Mitchell ) at St Mary Magdalene Church in Peckham. The couple's first child Edwin Cocking junior was born in 1850, but he did not reach adulthood, dying in 1863 at the age of 13. On 5th July 1852, Isabella gave birth to a second son, who was given the name Henry Garrett Cocking.

There is evidence that Edwin Cocking worked as an "Artist and Photographer" in the spa town of Leamington, Warwickshire, in the early 1860s. Edwin Cocking and his family were recorded in Leamingon when the census was taken on 7th April 1861. It was in 1863, when the Cocking family were residing in Leamington, Warwickshire, that Edwin and Isabella's teenage son, Edwin Cocking junior, died. By 1864, Edwin Cocking had established a photographic portrait studio at Gotha Place, Queens Road, Peckham. Gotha Place was later absorbed by Queens Road and in 1867, Edwin Cocking's studio address is given as 57 Queens Road, Peckham. Edwin Cocking became active in the South London Photographic Society and he is recorded as the Secretary of the South London Photographic Society in 1867 and 1871.

In 1870, Edwin Cocking exhibited five works at the Fifteenth Annual Exhibition of the Photographic Society of London. Edwin Cocking was awarded a prize medal by the (Royal) Photographic Society for the photographs exhibited in 1870. Edwin Cocking regularly exhibited his photographs at the annual exhibitions of the Photographic Society, showing his work in 1870, 1871,1872, 1877, 1879 and 1884. Edwin Cocking was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Photographic Society of Great Britain in 1875 and served in this post until 1890. By 1884, Edwin Cocking had become a full Member of the Royal Photographic Society. David Webb has discovered that Edwin Cocking regularly wrote articles for two or three photographic magazines. David Webb reports that Edwin Cocking was a frequent contributor to the British Journal of Photography between 1869 and 1876 and authored a series of articles on the history of the Royal Photographic Society for The Photographic Journal in 1888.

In the early 1870s, Edwin Cocking was assisted in the Queens Road studio by his son Henry Garrett Cocking (born 1852). In the mid 1870s, Edwin Cocking concentrated on his portrait painting and the photographic studio was managed by his son. From 1875 until 1880, the photographic studio at 57 Queens Road, Peckham went under the name of Henry Garrett Cocking. It appears that Edwin Cocking, Henry's father, still owned the photographic studio at 57 Queens Road, but much of his time was spent either producing painted portraits based on photographs or photographing works of art. Significantly, the last time Edwin Cocking exhibited at the Royal Photographic Society in 1884, the display was described as "Photographs of Oil Paintings".

At the time of the 1881 Census, Edwin Cocking was living at 57 Queens Road, Peckham, and he is described as an "Artist - Portrait Painter", aged 62. His wife Isabella, who was born in London, gives her age as sixty-three. Edwin Cocking remained the proprietor of the photographic studio at 57 Queens Road, Peckham until the premises were sold to the Irish-born photographer Frank Secourable (Francis Hans Secourable) around 1887.

 

[ABOVE ] Edwin Cocking's design for the front cover of the sheet music for Herman Lovenskiold's  ballet La Sylphide  ( Coloured lithograph after a drawing by Edwin Cocking )

 

 

Carte-de-visite Portraits produced by Edwin Cocking at his Photographic Portrait Studio in Peckham

[ABOVE ] Portrait of a Woman ,a carte-de-visite by Edwin Cocking of Queens Road, Peckham (c1865).

[ABOVE ] Trade plate on the reverse of a carte-de-visite by Edwin Cocking, artist and photographer of Queens Road, Peckham  (c1865).

[ABOVE ] Portrait of a Man, a carte-de-visite by Edwin Cocking of Queens Road, Peckham  (c1865).

 

 The Photographic Portrait Studios of Henry Garrett Cocking (Henry Aubrey)

[ABOVE ] Trade plate of Henry Garrett Cocking of 57 Queens Road, Peckham and the Lee Bridge Studio, Lee, taken from the reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait (c1875) . Henry Cocking had established a studio at Lee Bridge, High Road, Lee, Lewisham, in 1874. [ABOVE ] Portrait of a woman leaning on a padded chair, a carte-de-visite photograph by Henry Garrett Cocking of 26 The Parade, High Road, Lee, and 57 Queens Road, Peckham, S.E. London (c1884). The studio at 26 The Parade, High Road, Lee had opened in 1875. [ABOVE ] Trade plate of Henry Garrett Cocking of 26 The Parade, High Road, Lee, and 57 Queens Road, Peckham, taken from the reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait (c1884). Henry Cocking had another photographic studio at 4 Brunswick Place, Blackheath in the 1880s.

[ABOVE ] The trade plate of Henry Aubrey, photographer of 41 West Street, Horsham (and at Bexley Heath and Peckham), taken from the reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait (c1885)

[ABOVE ] Portrait of a woman with a basket of flowers, a carte-de-visite photograph by Henry Aubrey (Henry Garrett Cocking) of 41 West Street, Horsham (c1888) [ABOVE ] The trade plate of Henry Aubrey, photographer of 41 West Street, Horsham, publicizing his 5 prize medals for photography, taken from the reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait, (c1888).
 
To view a further selection of photographs by members of the Aubrey Family of Horsham, click on the link below:

The Photographic Work of Henry Aubrey and Mrs Matilda Aubrey of Horsham

 

Henry Aubrey - also known as Henry Garrett Cocking - (1852 -1894 )

Henry Garrett Cocking was born on 5th July 1852 in Southampton Row, Bloomsbury, London, the son of Edwin and Isabella Cocking [see above]. Henry's birth was registered in the parish of St. Giles, Camberwell during the 3rd Quarter of 1852.

Towards the end of 1876, Henry Garrett Cocking married Matilda Lydia Ward (born 1851, Peckham, Surrey) in the district of Camberwell. A daughter, Lydia Isabel Cocking, was born in Peckham in 1877. Around 1878, Henry Cocking and his family moved to Lee in Kent, where he had established a photographic studio near Lee Bridge some four years earlier. A second daughter, Edith Maud Cocking was born on 28th August 1878 at the family home at 7 Mount Elliot Terrace, Lee, Kent. A third daughter Ada Beatrice Cocking was born in Lewisham, Lee, towards the end of 1879. Henry and Matilda's 18 month old daughter Edith Maud Cocking died from meningitis on 7th February 1880, shortly after the Cocking family had moved to new accommodation at No. 26, The Parade, Lee, Lewisham, Kent.

The 1881 Census return records Henry G. Cocking, his wife Lydia, and their two surviving daughters at 26, The Parade, High Road, Lee. Henry G. Cocking is described as a photographer, aged 28. Henry Cocking was apparently a reasonably successful photographer, employing two servants in the household. Between 1875 and 1880, photographic portraits produced at Henry Garrett Cocking's studio in Lee also carry the studio address of 57 Queens Road, Peckham, S.E. London, the studio owned by his father, Edwin Cocking. An 1882 trade directory shows that Henry Garrett Cocking was running two establishments - one studio at his home on The Parade, High Road, Lee, the other at Brunswick Place in Blackheath.

By the time Henry Garrett Cocking settled in Horsham around 1883, he had adopted the surname of Aubrey. By the time his father Edwin Cocking moved to Horsham around 1887, he too had changed his surname to Aubrey. **

Henry had exhibited his work at the annual exhibitions of the Photographic Society between 1872 and 1881 under his original name of Henry Garrett Cocking, but in 1883 and 1887 his photographs are credited to "Henry Aubrey". The evidence suggests that the change of surname occurred around 1882, but it might not have been changed legally by deed poll until a few years later.

[ABOVE ] Detail from the back of a carte-de-visite by Henry Aubrey, displaying pictures of the medals awarded to him in the 1870s. The medals illustrated are from The Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society (1870, 1873 and 1879), The London Annual International Exhibition of Invention (1874) and The Photographic Society of London (1877).

[ABOVE ] A carte-de-visite by Henry Aubrey dating from around 1885 when he moved from Lee to Horsham. A paper label bearing the name of Henry Aubrey and giving details of his new studio in Horsham was pasted over his former name and old studio address (see below)

[ABOVE ] A label with the details of Henry Aubrey, artist, portrait and landscape photographer of 41 West Street, Horsham, pasted over the trade plate for his former studios in Lee and Peckham, when he went under the name of Henry Garrett Cocking (c1885)

 

** Name Change from Cocking to Aubrey

 Vivienne Wheeler and David Gegg, grandchildren of Ada Beatrice Aubrey (the youngest daughter of Henry Aubrey) have confirmed that Henry Cocking had changed his name to "Henry Aubrey" by deed poll before 1886. It has not been established exactly why Edwin Cocking and his son Henry Cocking changed their surname from Cocking to Aubrey, although it could be argued that "Aubrey" sounds more distinguished and noble than "Cocking". Vivienne Wheeler believes the name might have been changed because, Richard Coulston Cocking (1823-1889), Edwin Cocking's cousin, was also in business in the Peckham area around the same time. Richard Coulston Cocking worked as a photographer between 1869 and 1871 and ran studios in Peckham and Camberwell, but it appears that he abandoned photography after 1871 to concentrate on his other business interests. Richard C. Cocking was primarily a builder and decorator and later established a successful building business, with branches in Peckham, Camberwell and East Dulwich, under the trade name of Richard C. Cocking & Son. The building business was run by Richard Coulston Cocking junior when his father retired. Richard Coulston Cocking senior's youngest son, Samuel Joseph Cocking (1859-1919), briefly worked as an artist and painter. David Radford has discovered that Edwin Cocking's younger brother Alfred Cocking (born c1834, Lambeth) changed his surname to Aubrey before 1871. Alfred Aubrey (Cocking), who married Ada Felicia Hawkins in 1867, was a "Professor of Music" in Margate, Kent, at the time of the 1881 census. It appears that when Edwin Cocking and Henry Cocking changed their surname to "Aubrey" they were following in the footsteps of Alfred Aubrey (Cocking).

 
 
To view a further selection of photographs by members of the Aubrey Family of Horsham, click on the link below:

The Photographic Work of Henry Aubrey and Mrs Matilda Aubrey of Horsham

The Aubrey (Cocking) Family in Horsham

Henry Aubrey (formerly Henry Cocking ) established a studio at 41 West Street, Horsham around 1883. Henry Aubrey is listed as a photographer in West Street, Horsham in Kelly's Trade Directory for Sussex, published in 1887. The 1890 edition of Kelly's Directory also lists Edwin Aubrey, Henry's father, as a photographer in Horsham. Edwin Aubrey (formerly Edwin Cocking) is listed as the proprietor of a photographic studio at 30 North Street, Horsham.

In the 1891 Census, Edwin Aubrey is shown living at 30 North Street, Horsham with his wife Isabella. The enumerator records Edwin Aubrey as a seventy-two year old artist and portrait painter. Edwin Aubrey died in Horsham on 12th February 1892, aged 73.

Henry Aubrey is shown living with his wife Matilda and his two daughters at 41 West Street, Horsham, at the time of the 1891 Census. Henry Aubrey, aged 38, gives his profession as "Photographer". He apparently worked only with the assistance of his forty year old wife, Matilda. The enumerator records that Henry Aubrey was "Neither Employer nor Employed".

The Sudden Death of Henry Aubrey

By 1894, Henry Aubrey was living with his family at a house on the Crawley Road, Horsham. On the morning of Monday, 2nd July, 1894, Henry Aubrey and his wife Matilda drove to his photographic studio at 41 West Street. The 'husband and wife' team worked alongside each other at their shop in West Street. Mrs Aubrey left their business premises for a time and when she returned she was horrified to see her husband fall to the floor. Mrs Aubrey summoned help, but within minutes Henry Aubrey was dead. The cause of death was later certified as "apoplexy".

Mrs Matilda Aubrey (1851-1913)

The photography business at 41 West Street was continued by Henry's widow Matilda Aubrey. For a few years the studio carried the name of "Henry Aubrey", her late husband, but by 1902, Matilda was placing advertisements which declared "Mrs Aubrey - Portrait and Landscape Photographer- 41 West street, Horsham". Mrs Aubrey was assisted by her eldest daughter Lydia. The 1901 Census records fifty year old Matilda Aubrey as a "Photographer - own account" and twenty-three year old Lydia Aubrey as a "Photographer's Assistant". Ada Aubrey, Lydia's younger sister, worked for the Post Office as a sorting clerk and telegraphist.

Ada Beatrice Aubrey married Frank Philps (born 1869, Dorking, Surrey), a tailor and hosier, on 21st  June 1905 in the Parish Church at Horsham. This appears to be the same year that her mother, Mrs Aubrey, gave up her photography business in West Street, Horsham. Mrs Matilda Aubrey made her last appearance in the list of professional photographers in Sussex in Kelly's Trade Directory of 1905.

After she sold her photographic studio in Horsham, Mrs Matilda Aubrey moved to Bognor, West Sussex, with her eldest daughter Lydia Isabel Aubrey (born 1877, Peckham). Mrs Matilda Aubrey later retired to the Isle of Wight, where she died during the 3rd Quarter of 1913, at the age of 62.

Lydia Isabel Aubrey, Henry and Matilda Aubrey's eldest daughter, went on to marry George Philps (born 1874, Dorking, Surrey), the younger brother of Frank Philps, who had married her sister Ada in 1905. When the 1901 census was taken, George Philps was working as the manager of a stationery department and living in the Moss Side district of Manchester. Lydia married George Philps on 4th April 1914, and within a year the couple were expecting their first child. Sadly, the baby was stillborn and Lydia died a few months later during the 2nd Quarter of 1915, aged 37..

 

[ABOVE ] The design on the back of a carte-de-visite by Henry Aubrey, Photographer of 41 West street, Horsham. (c1892)

[ABOVE ] Newspaper report of the death of Henry Aubrey. Sussex Express 7th July 1894

[ABOVE ] An advertisement for Mrs Aubrey, Portrait and Landscape Photographer, 41 West street, Horsham. Bennett's Business Directory (1902).


Acknowledgements

Thanks to Vivienne Wheeler, a grand-daughter of Ada Beatrice Aubrey (the youngest daughter of Henry Aubrey) for information relating to the Aubrey Family History. Thanks also to David Gegg, a grandson of Ada Aubrey, for additional information on the Cocking /Aubrey family. Further information about the Cocking /Aubrey family has been supplied by David Radford. As always, I am indebted to the research of London Photo-Historian David Webb.
 

Notes on Horsham Photographers & Examples of their Work

  Edwin AUBREY (aka Cocking)   - Henry AUBREY (aka Cocking)   - Mrs Matilda AUBREY   - Thomas C.  BAYFIELD   - Mrs Elizabeth BAYFIELD   -  William Henry BRIGDEN   - Jesse & Charles BROWN - Ernest CHART   - Mr CLARK of West Street   - James GOLDSWORTHY   - Henry T. HEALEY   - John HICKS   - William HOBBS   - Henry HOCKING   - James LLOYD   - Arthur LYLE   - Henry PADWICK (amateur)  - Louis C. PIERRE -   Arthur PIPER   - Thomas S. ROBINSON   - Mr RUSSELL of West Street   - Herbert SALMON   - William Henry Gilbert TATE  - William WALLER - Edward WALTON - John WHEELER   
 

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Addendum : Edwin Cocking in Leamington, Warwickshire (1861-1863)

[ABOVE ] A full-length portrait of  "Mrs C Lodwick",a carte-de-visite photograph by Edwin Cocking of 117 Warwick Street, Leamington. Edwin Cocking worked as an artist and photographer in Leamington between 1861 and 1863. [ABOVE ] The trade plate of Edwin Cocking, Artist and Photographer of 117 Warwick Street, Leamington. Negative number 13,139. Edwin Cocking worked as an artist and photographer in Leamington between 1861 and 1863.
 

Addendum : Edwin Cocking in Peckham and his Prize Medals for Photography

[ABOVE ] Trade plate of Henry Garrett Cocking of 57 Queens Road, Peckham and the Lee Bridge Studio, Lee, taken from the reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait (c1874) . Henry Cocking had established a studio at Lee Bridge, High Road, Lee, Lewisham, in 1874. [ABOVE ] A full-length portrait of a young woman arranging flowers in a basket, a carte-de-visite photograph by Edwin Cocking of 57 Queens Road, Peckham. (c1874). Illustrated on the reverse of this portrait are pictures of prize medals awarded in 1870 and 1873.

[ABOVE ] Trade plate of Henry Garrett Cocking of  57 Queens Road, Peckham, S.E. London, advertising branch studios at 7 Mount Eliott Terrace, High Road, Lee  and Kelvin Grove, Sydenham, S.E. London, and displaying four prize medals awarded to Henry Cocking  for excellence in photography (c1878). [ABOVE ] Oval portrait of an unknown woman, a carte-de-visite portrait photographed at Henry Garrett Cocking's studio at  57 Queens Road, Peckham, S.E. London.  (c1878). Illustrated on the reverse of this portrait are pictures of prize medals awarded in 1870, 1873, 1874 and 1877.
 

Addendum : Unusual Cartes produced at Henry Aubrey's Horsham Studio

[ABOVE ] Picture of  a child in a pushchair, photographed at Henry Aubrey's studio at 41 West Street, Horsham and issued in carte-de-visite format (c1885) [ABOVE ] A carte-de-visite portrait of  a pet dog, photographed by Henry Aubrey at his studio in West Street, Horsham (c1888).

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