Uckfield Photographers (H-Z)

Click here to return to home page

Professional Photographers in Uckfield

William Bartup - Daniel Blagrove - Thomas Cowdrey - John Frisby - W. Hughes & Son - Arthur Windsor Spice - Sussex School of Photography - George Bingham Towner

Part 2 :  Uckfield Photographers ( H - Z)

William Hughes (born 1839, Birmingham) [aka as William Henry Bayliss ]

Hughes & Woods

William Hughes & Son

William Hughes was born at Winson Green, Birmingham, Warwickshire on 5th March 1839, the son of Elizabeth Vale and William Hughes, a blacksmith. In 1856, at the age of seventeen, young William Hughes joined the British Army and served in the Royal Engineers. William Hughes was stationed in Ireland for most of his army career, during which time he helped reconstruct the two forts located at the entrance to Cork Harbour. Around 1871, William Hughes married a young Irish woman named Ellen Leahy (born c1850, Ireland). A daughter named Elizabeth was born in Ireland around 1872. William Hughes left the Royal Engineers at his own request in 1873 and returned to his home town of Birmingham, where his son William John Hughes was born on 25th May 1874. The following year, William Hughes and his family moved to Halford in Shropshire. After 1875, William Hughes began using the surname of Bayliss. William's next three children were born in Halford, Shropshire - Thomas Bayliss (born 1876), Kate Josephine Bayliss (born 1878) and Ellen Bayliss (born 1881).

When the 1881 census was taken, William Bayliss (Hughes) was living with his wife Ellen, together with their five children, at a house in Newington Terrace, Halford. William Bayliss is described in the census return as a forty year old "Railway Fitter".

By 1884, William was living in Uckfield, Sussex and was working as a photographer under his original name of William Hughes. When William and Ellen's sixth child was born in Uckfield during the Third Quarter of 1884, the baby boy was entered in the birth register as Michael Phillip Hughes. When Ellen gave birth to another son towards the end of 1886, the child was named Francis Gabriel Hughes.

Around 1888, William Hughes was in partnership with a photographer named Woods. The firm of Hughes & Woods are listed at The Presbytery, Church Street, Uckfield, in Brooker's Guide and Directory for Uckfield and District, published by John Brooker in 1888.

At the time of the 1891 census, William Hughes (Bayliss) was living with his family in Church Street, Uckfield, in a house situated next to St Philip's Catholic Church, not far from the Catholic School. In the census return, William Hughes ( Bayliss) is recorded as a fifty-two year old "Photographer (neither employer or employed)". William's eighteen year old daughter Elizabeth Hughes was working as a self-employed dressmaker. There is no mention on the census return of William Hughes's first-born son William Hughes junior. William Hughes's three other sons - Thomas, aged 14, Michael Phillip, aged 6, and four year old Francis were all listed as "scholars". By 1892, William Hughes had been joined in his photography business by one of his sons - either sixteen year old Thomas Bayliss or his eldest son William John Hughes. A cabinet portrait of a young girl sitting in a pram, photographed by William Hughes around 1892, carries on the reverse of the cabinet card the following studio details - "W. Hughes & Son, Photographic Artists, Church Street, Uckfield". The firm of W. Hughes & Son of Uckfield could only have lasted a short time because, by 1894, William Hughes was back in his home town of Birmingham, working as a photographer under his alternative name of William Henry Bayliss.

A Birmingham trade directory of 1894 lists William Henry Bayliss as a Photographer at 35 Parade, Birmingham. William Bayliss (Hughes) operated from the Parade studio until 1896 when he moved to 86 Garbett Street, Birmingham. When the 1901 census was taken, William Henry Bayliss was recorded in Birmingham and described as a "Photographer", aged 59. By 1903, William H. Bayliss was operating a photographic studio at 128 King Edwards Road, Birmingham. William Henry Bayliss was still listed as a photographer at the studio in King Edwards Road when Kelly's 1909 Directory of Birmingham was compiled.

[ABOVE] The trade plate of W. Hughes & Son, Photographic Artists, Church Street, Uckfield, as printed on the reverse of a cabinet format portrait (c1892)

 

[ABOVE] A 1911 map of Uckfield showing Church Street, where the photographer William Hughes (Bayliss) lived and worked between 1884 and 1893. William Hughes (Bayliss) lived in a house next to the Catholic Church of St Philip [marked Ch. on the map].

 

[ABOVE] A photographic view of Church Street, Uckfield, where William Hughes (W. H. Bayliss) operated as a photographer between 1884 and 1893.

 

[RIGHT] A cabinet portrait of a young girl in a pram by W. Hughes & Son, Church Street, Uckfield. (c1892)

[PHOTO: Courtesy of  Michael Rogers of Lewes]

 

Acknowledgements

I am indebted to members of the Hughes/ Bayliss Family for providing details of the family history and photographic career of William Hughes (aka William Henry Bayliss). Thanks are due to Peter Bayliss, (William's great, great grandson), Joan Crook ( William Hughes junior's grand-daughter) and Pat O'Keeffe ( the grand-daughter of William Hughes's eldest daughter Elizabeth). Thanks also to Mike Rogers of Lewes for providing the cabinet photograph by W. Hughes & Son of Uckfield.

 

Arthur Windsor Spice of High Street, Uckfield

[ABOVE RIGHT] A photographic view of High Street, Uckfield, where Arthur Windsor Spice operated as a photographer between 1907 and 1914. [ABOVE LEFT] Detail showing Windsor-Spice's shop at No 174 High Street, Uckfield. The sign over the shop front reads "Artist Photographer - Windsor-Spice - High class Milliner".

Arthur Windsor Spice (born 1884, Kingston, Dorset)

 

[ABOVE] Arthur Windsor Spice, photographed in 1942, shortly before he was elected Mayor of the Borough of Reigate. Arthur Windsor Spice served as Mayor of Reigate from 1942 to 1946.[PHOTO: Courtesy of  Alan Moore]

[ABOVE] The trade plate of Arthur Windsor Spice, photographer of High Street, Uckfield. Originally, Arthur Spice used the name Windsor as a second name and his early photographs were signed A. W. Spice. Around 1910, his photographs carried the studio name of A.Windsor Spice.

Arthur Windsor Spice was born in 1884 at Kingston, Dorset, the home village of his mother Ann Windsor. [The birth of Arthur Spice was registered in the District of Blandford, Dorset, during the Third Quarter of 1884]. Arthur was the first-born child of Ann Windsor and Arthur Spice, a cab proprietor and swimming instructor from St Leonards-on-Sea, near Hastings. Arthur Spice (senior) was born in St Leonards in 1865, the youngest son of Ann and John Spice (born c1826, Seven Oaks, Kent), a "Fly Proprietor" ( Note: A "Fly" was a two-wheeled carriage drawn by a single horse - a precursor of the modern-day taxi cab). In 1881, sixteen year old Arthur Spice was living with his parents and four of his siblings at 4 Undercliff, on the seafront of St Leonards. The teenager Arthur Spice is described in the census return as a "Bath Attendant". Less than a mile away, working as a domestic servant in the household of draper William Arnold at 9 Springfield Terrace, St Leonards, was Arthur Spice's future bride, sixteen year old Annie Windsor (born c1865 Kingston, Dorset).

Arthur Spice (senior) married Annie Windsor in 1884 [marriage registered in the Hastings district during the Second Quarter of 1884]. After their marriage the couple visited Annie's home village of Kingston, where their son Arthur Windsor Spice was born. Arthur Spice (senior), his wife Annie and baby Arthur returned to St Leonards where they set up home. After his father, John Spice, died in 1888, Arthur Spice (senior) took over his father's hired cab business. Arthur Spice (senior) also inherited the family home at 4 Undercliff, St Leonards.

When the census was taken on 31st March 1901, Arthur Windsor Spice is shown living at his parents' house at 4 Undercliff, St Leonards. Arthur Spice senior, Arthur's father, is entered on the census return as a thirty-five year old "Cab Proprietor and Swimming Instructor". Arthur W. Spice is recorded on the census return as a "Photographer (worker)", aged 16. Arthur Windsor Spice must have been employed at one of the twenty or so photographic portrait studios that existed in Hastings & St Leonards at that time.

By 1907, Arthur Windsor Spice had established his own photographic portrait studio in Uckfield, Sussex. Kelly's 1907 Directory of Sussex lists Arthur Windsor Spice as a photographer with a business address of High Street, Uckfield. In this period, Arthur used Spice as his surname - around 1910 he added the prefix of his mother's maiden name and was later known by the surname "Windsor Spice".

In 1909,  Arthur Windsor Spice married Rose Jane Cruttenden (born 1886, Hastings), a twenty-three year old milliner from Hastings [marriage registered in the Hastings district during the Third Quarter of 1909]. The couple operated business premises at 174 High Street, Uckfield until the outbreak of the First World War. The shop at No 174 was divided into two - the right hand side of the premises was run as a Milliner's shop by Mrs Rose Windsor-Spice and the left hand side was used for Arthur Windsor-Spice's photography business (see illustration above).

Arthur Windsor Spice was active in local politics and in 1912 he was elected as a member of the Uckfield Urban District Council. The following year, Arthur's wife gave birth to a baby girl named Joan [ birth of Joan E. Spice registered in Uckfield during the Fourth Quarter of 1913]. During the First World War, Arthur Windsor Spice served as a pilot, initially in the Royal Navy Air Service and later in the Royal Air Force. After the the First World War, Arthur Windsor Spice settled in Redhill, Surrey, where he operated a photographic studio at 1 Station Road, Redhill. Arthur Windsor Spice continued his interest in local politics and in 1936 he was elected as a member of Reigate Council. Arthur Windsor Spice became an Alderman in October 1942 and was elected Mayor of the Borough of Reigate later that year. Arthur Windsor Spice served as Mayor of Reigate from 1942 to 1946.

Portraits by Arthur Windsor Spice of High street, Uckfield

[ABOVE] A cabinet portrait of a couple by Arthur Windsor Spice of High Street, Uckfield. (c1907)

[ABOVE] A portrait of a young man by Arthur Windsor Spice of High Street, Uckfield. (c1910)

[ABOVE] A postcard portrait of a young woman in fancy dress by Arthur Windsor Spice of High Street Uckfield. (c1912)

[ABOVE] A postcard portrait of a young woman by Arthur Windsor Spice of High Street Uckfield. (c1914)

 

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Alan Moore for the portrait of Arthur Windsor Spice and for providing details of his career in Redhill and Reigate. Alan Moore is an expert on the History of Redhill and Reigate and has authored a number of books relating to the local history of Redhill. Alan Moore also runs his own website on the History of Redhill and Reigate which can be viewed via the following link:

THE HISTORY OF REDHILL and REIGATE

The Sussex School of Photography Studio in Uckfield

Sussex School of Photography

The Sussex School of Photography was established by Charles Clarke around 1865. Charles D. Clarke was born in Scotland around 1838. Charles Clarke, who described himself as an artist and photographer, arrived in Sussex before 1864. On 15th June 1864, Charles Clarke married Martha Ingledew (born c1839, Brighton) at St Nicholas Church, Brighton. By the following year, Charles Clarke had established a photographic studio at Westgate, Chichester. According to a price list which appeared on the reverse of a carte-de-visite produced in 1865, Charles Clarke charged one shilling for a single carte-de-visite and five shillings for a dozen copies. Later that year, Clarke changed the name of his studio to the Sussex School of Photography and opened a branch studio in High Street, Uckfield.

[ABOVE] The trade plate of the Uckfield branch of the Sussex School of Photography (c1865).

By the beginning of 1866, Clarke opened a new studio in West Street, Chichester. In a newspaper advertisement dated 11th January, 1866, Charles Clarke announced that his "New and Highly-Finished CRYSTAL STUDIO" in West Street, Chichester was open to the public. Clarke added that his Crystal Studio was "artificially heated, as to resemble the delicious climate of Madeira." No mention is made in this advertisement of the branch studio in Uckfield, so we can assume it had closed by January 1866.

Sometime after 1867, Charles Clarke closed the Sussex School of Photography studio and left Chichester. Clarke settled in West Ham, Essex, where he is recorded as a photographer in the 1881 census.

[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a seated woman by the Sussex School of Photography (c1866). This example was taken at Charles Clarke's Chichester studio.

[ABOVE] The reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait produced by the Sussex School of Photography around 1865.

Carte-de-visite portraits taken at the Uckfield branch of The Sussex School of Photography

[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a seated woman, photographed at the Uckfield studio of the Sussex School of Photography around 1865. The printed trade plate on the reverse of this carte-de-visite portrait reads "SUSSEX SCHOOL OF PHOTOGRAPHY, High Street, UCKFIELD". The photographer has written in ink at the bottom of the carte - "And at Westgate, Chichester", the studio address of Charles Clarke in 1865.

 

[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a seated woman with two children, photographed at the Uckfield studio of the Sussex School of Photography around 1865. The printed trade plate on the reverse of this carte-de-visite portrait reads "SUSSEX SCHOOL OF PHOTOGRAPHY, High Street, UCKFIELD". The photographer has written in ink at the bottom of the carte - "And at Westgate, Chichester", the studio address of Charles Clarke in 1865. [PHOTOCOPY: Courtesy of  Roger Packham]

 

Acknowledgements & Sources

Thanks to Roger Packham for providing the photocopy of the carte-de-visite of the woman with two children taken at the The Sussex School of Photography studio in Uckfield.

George Bingham Towner (1881-1975)

[ABOVE] Henry Towner, George Bingham Towner's father, in his Rural Postman's uniform. This photograph of Henry Towner was taken in May 1910 when he was 61 years of age. This photographic portrait was issued as a postcard and celebrated Henry Towner's 41 years of service, during which, according to the inscription on the card, the rural postman had walked 205,000 miles.

[PHOTO :The Uckfield and District Preservation Society]

George Bingham Towner was born early in 1881, the youngest son of Ann and Henry Bingham Towner, a rural postman based in Uckfield, Sussex. [The birth of George Bingham Towner was registered in Uckfield during the First Quarter of 1881]. Henry Bingham Towner (born 1849, Uckfield) had married Ann Sandels (born 1848, Isfield, Sussex) in 1870. The couple's first child, Alice Towner, was born in Uckfield during the Second Quarter of 1871. Four more children arrived over the next ten years - Herbert Henry Towner (born 1873), Ann Towner (born 1876), Charles Clifford Towner (born 1878) and George Bingham Towner (born 1881).

When the 1881 census was taken, Henry and Ann Towner, together with their five children, were living at Ridgewood in Uckfield. Henry Towner is described on the 1881 census return as a thirty-two year old "Rural Messenger", employed by the Post Office. When the census return was completed on 3rd April 1881, George Bingham Towner was a three month old baby.

At the age of thirteen or fourteen, George Bingham Towner began his working life as a "Telegraph Boy" for the Uckfield Post Office. Henry Towner, George's father, had been employed as a rural postman in Uckfield since 1869, and so it is not surprising that one of his sons followed his example and found work with the Post Office. It was while working as a telegraph boy that George Towner made the acquaintance of the photographer John Frisby, who had established a studio in Framfield Road, Uckfield, around 1895. It is reported that George Towner became interested in photography in his teens and that he received instruction in the science and art of photography from Frisby, who was Uckfield's only professional photographer in the late 1890s. Although George Towner became "a pupil of Frisby", he did not work professionally as a photographer until about 1903 and did not open his own portrait studio in Uckfield until 1906.

At the time of the 1901 census, George Towner was living with his parents in Uckfield. George's father, Henry Towner, is entered on the census return as a "Rural Postman", aged 52, while George Towner himself is recorded as a twenty year old "Assistant Postman".

In the early 1900s, George Bingham Towner was out and about with his camera recording events in and around Uckfield. One of Towner's earliest photographs shows the scene after the old cast iron railway bridge at Uckfield collapsed under the weight of a steam traction engine on 27th June 1903. Around 1906, George Bingham Towner opened a photographic studio at 1 Harcourt Road, Uckfield. This was around the time George Bingham Towner married Cecilia Harriet Webb [ marriage registered in the District of Bath during the Second Quarter of 1906].

Towner operated his studio at 1 Harcourt Road, Uckfield until 1926, when he opened a new studio at 222 High Street, Uckfield. Towner retired to Maresfield in 1947 and died in 1975 at the age of 94.

[ABOVE] George Bingham Towner in his telegraph boy's uniform, a cabinet portrait by John Frisby of Framfield Road, Uckfield. (c1895). It appears that the photographer John Frisby instructed a teenage George Towner in the art and science of photography. Around 1906, George  Bingham Towner opened his own photographic studio in Uckfield in direct competition with his old mentor.

[PHOTO :The Uckfield and District Preservation Society]

 

Photographs by George Bingham Towner

[ABOVE] A photograph of the wreckage following the collapse of  the cast iron bridge at Uckfield on 27th June 1903. The railway bridge collapsed under the weight of a steam traction engine and its two trucks. The traction engine, which weighed 9 tons, fell into the river and the collapse of the bridge caused damage to pipes carrying the gas and water supply to the town of Uckfield. One of the local photographers who arrived to record this scene of desruction was George Bingham Towner. [PHOTO :The Uckfield and District Preservation Society]

[RIGHT] A postcard portrait of two young women and a girl seated on a chair, photographed by George Bingham Towner of 1 Harcourt Road, Uckfield. (c1910).

 

 

 

Acknowledgements & Sources

Thanks to The Uckfield and District Preservation Society. Sources : Around Uckfield by Uckfield and District Preservation Society (Nonsuch, 1997); Uckfield : Portrait of a Wealden Town by Brian Hart & David Nunn (Millgate Publishing Company 1988); Bygone Uckfield by Betty Turner and Lilian Fuller (Phillimore & Co, 1988).

 

Click here to go to : Professional Photographers in Uckfield : A-G

Click here to go to : Directory of Photographic Studios in North Wealden 1860-1910

Click here to go to : A History of Photography in Uckfield

 

Click here to return to home page