Corporation Cafe on Plymouth Hoe

This latest rare photo comes from the Western Morning News of 15th July 1947 and shows the new corporation cafe on Plymouth Hoe.
The caption reads: 'Plymouth Corporation's new floral cafe, housed in a blister hangar by the bowling green on the Hoe, is to be opened tomorrow by the Lord Mayor. Accommodating about 200, it will run along cafeteria lines.'
I'm sure there are many Plymothians, like me, who have very fond memories of a day on the Hoe with their family and a cup of tea in this unusual cafe.

Saltash Passage in 1878

Here's a rare photo of Saltash Passage taken in 1878 showing the river and the few houses that were built in the area at the time. The land shown is now all built on and forms Little Ash Gardens and the area to the right including parts of Wolseley Road and Little Ash Road. It's certainly a scarce photo and won't have been seen on the internet before.

Venus at the Mount Edgcumbe Estate

I love visiting the Mount Edgcumbe Estate so was sorry to hear that the statue of Venus, near to the Orangery had been smashed up and destroyed. I hope it can be repaired.
The cutting, shown here, dates from the Western Morning News of 28th July 1921 and, perhaps, shows one of the first times that the Orangery and the Italian Gardens were open to the public.

It reads:
'MOUNT EDGCUMBE GARDENS.
The willingness of the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe to assist philanthropic effort was again illustrated yesterday, when he opened the beautiful orangery and Italian gardens at Mount Edgcumbe on payment of a small fee, to be devoted to the maintenance of the children's ward at the Royal Albert Hospital. Many persons took advantage of this concession, and, besides spending happy hours amid charming surroundings, had the satisfaction of knowing they were assisting a worthy object.'

Greyhound Racing

Following on from Chris Robinson's article in the Herald last week about greyhound racing in Plymouth, here's another rare photo from the newspaper archives. This one is from the Western Morning News of 15th February 1937 and the caption reads:
'Green Grass (left), the winner, with Peter's Pony and Ricketty Rosery, which finished second and third respectively in the second race at the meeting on Saturday at Plymouth Stadium.'

Plymouth Hoe foreshore improvements 1937

Here's another rare old photo from the Western Morning News and Daily Gazette of Friday 19th February, 1937. The caption reads:

'Foreshore Improvements.

Work in now proceeding on the improvement work at Tinside, Plymouth, and additional sun-bathing terraces and cubicles are in course of construction.'
The picture appears to show the area known as the (men only) 'Lion's Den'.
Today, it's back to its original condition!

TS Mount Edgcumbe's last berth

Many people will have read my article on the Training Ship Mount Edgcumbe which has been featured in the Herald, The Shopper and on this blog.
Searching through the archives, I have come across this very rare photo of the TS Mount Edgcumbe in a sad state, waiting to be broken up. The photo comes from The Western Morning News of Monday 25th July 1921.
The caption reads : 'One of the last wooden walls, the Mount Edgcumbe, training-ship, has been towed from her old berth, near Saltash Bridge, and is now at the dock of Queen Anne Battery, Plymouth, where she is to be broken up.'


New Flickr pages for old photos

I've just set up new Flickr pages at http://www.flickr.com/photos/99259874@N03/
where I will be posting many old photos which have never been seen before. If you get a chance, please check them out.
This photo shows the police trawling a river in the 1930s. Unfortunately, it came with no details. I am constantly buying and collecting together old photos and rather than keep them under wraps, I thought that it would be a good idea to share them. Hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I do.