Lillie Langtry

Lillie Langtry appeared at The Palace Theatre in Union Street in a production of, 'The Crossways' on the 9th December, 1902. She played Virginia, Duchess of Keensbury in the production. Lillie Langtry was born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton in Jersey on the 13th October, 1853. She became a highly successful actress and was the mistress of King Edward VII. In 1874, Lillie married an Irish landower called Edward Langtry. One of the attractions was that he owned a yacht and she insisted that he take her away from Jersey in it. They eventually settled in Belgravia in London. She became the subject of sketches and paintings after her appearances in London Society and through this she soon became quite well known. She was nicknamed, 'Jersey Lily' because of her beauty. Her new found fame soon reached the attention of the Prince of Wales and after attending one of his dinner parties, she soon became his mistress. The affair lasted between 1877 and 1880. By 1879, Langtry had commenced an affair with the Earl of Shrewsbury and her husband announced that he would divorce her. Without her Royal connections, the Langtrys soom found themselves short of cash and realised that they had been living a lifestyle beyond their means.In October 1880, many of their possessions were sold off to meet debts. Langtry also had many other publicised affairs. In 1881, she made her acting debut in 'She Stoops to Conquer' at the Haymarket Theatre in London. Oscar Wilde, a close friend, had suggested that she take up acting. She later became the mistress of two millionaires and eventually took up American citizenship.She died in Monaco on the 12th February, 1929, aged 75.

Red Indians in Union Street

When Buffalo Bill visited Plymouth on the 3rd June 1904, he brought with him a troop of Red Indians who toured with his Wild West Show. For the first time, Red Indians could be seen sitting on street corners in the Stonehouse and Union Street areas of the city. It must have been an amazing sight when people's only experience of Red Indians was through stories read about cowboys and Indians in newspapers, comics or seen in early silent movies. Children would have been particularly fascinated by them as their only knowledge  of Indians would be from stories heard about Geronimo or Custer's Last Stand.

The one thing that was noted at the time about the visiting Red Indians was that they couldn't handle their drink and notices appeared in drinking houses which read, 'No Indians to be served'. Nowadays, this might seem to appear as being racist but at the time, the problem was actually caused by them getting drunk too quick and being overly rowdy.

Willie Sitting Bull was one of the Indians who accompanied Buffalo Bill to Britain. He was the only son of Sitting Bull (pictured). Sitting Bull himself had originally taken part in the show when it toured America. It's amazing to think how things had changed in America, especially for the Indians, in just two generations of a family. Willie regularly took part in mock battles which featured the defeat of Custer at Little Big Horn.

The show at the Exhibition Fields, Pennycomequick must have been an amazing sight. It's interesting that there are still people living in Plymouth today that remember their relatives telling them of the Wild West show and a time when Red Indians filled the streets of the town.

Picture Library Update

The Picture Library has now been up and running for several weeks and there are now hundreds of old photos at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/derektait

I hope to add many more in the following weeks and months. The total collection is also viewable by searching using 'Google Images' or by searching Flickr by entering the place (eg Honicknowle) or event you're interested in.

I think the library will make a great reference source not just for people interested in local history but also for teachers, researchers and genealogists etc.

Most picture librarys online seem to contain a list of photos available and then there's a charge before you can view the picture you're interested in. I hope by making these old pictures available through Flickr, it will make it much easier to search for and find what you're looking for.

Being interested in photography, the site also contains many photos I have taken recently of Plymouth and the surrounding areas. I hope that people will enjoy these also.

The Mount Edgcumbe Training Ship

The Mount Edgcumbe Industrial Training ship was for homeless and destitute boys. The ship was re-commissioned as a training ship in 1877. It was moored off Saltash Passage but when cables were laid to the North of the Royal Albert Bridge in 1913, it was moved to the Saltash side. Goshawk, a sea going training vessel, was moored nearby. At the time, a Herbert Price Knevitt was the Superintendent Captain. He was retired from the Navy and lived on board with his wife, Isabella and their three daughters, Nellie, Nora and Ella. He was 47 at the time and his wife was 35.They also had a servant, Louise Chapman, who was 26, who cooked and kept their quarters tidy. There were also three instructors, the oldest being 62 and the youngest being 34, and a school master, James Sale Gitsham, who was 27. Everyone else on board was referred to as ‘inmates’ and were all aged between 12 and 16. Some came from Plymouth but they also came from other parts of the country, from London to the Isle of Wight. It wasn’t difficult for the boys to find themselves on a training ship. A law in 1884 said that the qualifications for being on the boat were: Anyone found begging or receiving alms, anyone found wandering who doesn’t have a proper home, proper guardianship of means to support themselves; anyone found destitute or who is an orphan or who has a surviving parent who is in prison: anyone who frequents the company of thieves or any child that a parent feels is uncontrollable. However, no boys who had been in prison were allowed on the ship. The payment required for residence was eight shillings per week. In 1910, a Captain H Wesley Harkcom took over the ship and changed the way it had been run for many years. He stopped using the birch on the boys, he moved his family on board and he bought many of the provisions needed from local dealers including food from the Saltash Co-op and coal from Ware’s of Saltash Passage. Harkcom was an expert in rowing and encouraged the boys to take up this pastime. The ship also had a brass band and they gave concerts on the green at St Budeaux and in the nearby parish church. There was said to be anything up to 250 boys on the ship at one time and many went on to see service in the Navy. On 4 December 1920, the training ship was closed down and was sold on the 18th April, 1921 and broken up at the Queen Anne Battery.

The Folly at Mount Edgcumbe

The Folly was built in 1747 and replaced an Obelisk which had stood on the site previously. It was built by using medieval stone from the churches of St George and St Lawrence which once stood in Stonehouse. The same stone was used to build the Picklecombe Seat further along the coast. Part of the seat features a Medieval doorway. The church of St Lawrence was removed to make way for the Royal William Victualling Yard. The Folly was known as 'The Ruins' for many years. Parts of the old Stonehouse Barrier Gates were also said to have been used. As Stonehouse was never a walled town, it is thought that these came from the Abbey or Manor House. The Pall Mall Magazine, published in 1897, said: 'The ruin was constructed from the remains of a fallen obelisk and some old granite-work.' This would suggest that the obelisk had collapsed sometime before the building of the folly in 1747. If parts were used within the construction of the folly then the obelisk erected on Obelisk Hill at Cremyll can't be the complete obelisk that stood where the folly now stands. An artist painting the scene at the end of the 1800's wrote that the Earl of Edgcumbe had his workers build one folly, had it blown up, didn't like the result and had it built and blown up again to get the result we see today. The Folly couldn't have pleased everyone and within the pages of A Guide to the Coast of Devon and Cornwall, published in 1859, it says: ‘The grounds still are very attractive, but disfigured by silly artificial ruins.’ Also, in Black's Guide to Devonshire, published in 1864, it states: ‘Of the mimic ruins scattered through the grounds it is best to take no heed. They are but sorry accessories to a scene which nature has so bounteously enriched.’

The Derek Tait Picture Library

This week I launched the Derek Tait Picture Library on Flickr. At the moment, there are hundreds of old photos of Plymouth and its surrounding areas at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/derektaitoldphotos

Over the coming weeks and months, the collection will grow online to include thousands of images, not just of old Plymouth but also of other places in the country and will include subjects such as transport, people, entertainment, events, celebrations, the Second World War and many local photos that aren't available anywhere else.

I think the library will prove a great reference source to anyone interested in local history. If you have any photos that you think could be included, please send them to me and I'll add them to the collection.

Benny Hill

Benny Hill appeared at the Palace Theatre on Monday 17th March 1955. Benny was billed as the 'BBC's latest star comedian.' He was born Alfred Hawthorne Hill, in Southampton, on the 21st January 1924. Before becoming a comedian, his jobs had included being a milkman, a bridge operator, a driver and a drummer. He became an assistant stage manager and took to the stage inspired by the stars of the old music hall. He changed his name to Benny after the American comedian, Jack Benny. He started slowly touring working men's clubs, small theatres and night clubs. After the war, he worked as a radio performer. His first tv role was in 1949 in a programme called, 'Hi there!' His career took off in 1955 when the BBC gave him his own show, 'The Benny Hill Show.' The show ran with the BBC until 1968. During that time, Benny also did work for ATV. In 1969, the Benny Hill show moved to Thames Television until 1989 when, due to political correctness and the distain of so-called comedians such as Ben Elton, the show was cancelled. Benny had been a huge star and had a number one hit, 'Ernie' in 1971. When the show was cancelled, Benny was forgotten by the tv channels and his health deteriorated. He needed a triple heart bypass which he declined. He died on 19th April 1992 at his home in Teddington. He was 68.