Old photos of Eachwick Hall

9/2/2013

Eachwick Hall (interior). Photo by Lyd Sawyer, Singleton House, Newcastle.

A lady called Jennie Parsons posted the following comment about the blog post, The Spearman Family of Eachwick Hall:

I have a number of photographs of Eachwick Hall (interior and exterior) that I do not know what to do with. They were probably taken towards the end of the 19Cth. They were taken by Lyd Sawyer (Singleton House, Newcastle) and are mounted on card.

I do not know how they came to be amongst my grandfather's effects but I know his parents lived in the area about 1880.

I would be very happy to send them to anyone with an interest.

I immediately expressed an interest and Jennie kindly send them over. They arrived by post today (9th February 2013).

My great grandfather who lived there at one time (thought not I suspect long) was Francis Brard Fairley. The 1881 census when my grandfather William was 4, shows them living at Grey St, Newcastle. Francis got married in 1869 and I have been unable to find him in either the 1871 or 1891 census.

An article in North East Life and details on the photoLondon website tell me that Edward Lyddell Sawyer was a professional photographer with a studio in Newcastle. He was born in North Shields in 1856 and died in Richmond, Surrey in 1927. Trade Directories show that he had a studio in Newcastle’s Northumberland Street by the mid 1880s, moving from No.56 to No.80 in the early 1890s. Although he had moved to London by 1885, Lyd Sawyer Ltd continued to produce superb high quality photography from the Newcastle address until at least 1904. His main interest was in portraiture of which there are several fine examples in the National Portrait Gallery.

If anyone knows any information about the photos or Francis Brard Fairley at Eachwich Hall please get in touch.

A good story that would allow me use the title: 'The Witches of Eachwick' would be particularly appreciated!

Bigger versions of the photos shown in the slideshow below can be seen on the page Old Photos 7.

Lyddell Sawyer 1856 to 1927 by Geoff Lowe - The Photohistorian, 167 p.5-8 (2013).

Top Victorian photographer's image of Newcastle's Pilgrim Street comes back to region - ChronicleLive 24 March 2015.

9 Comments

Val Everson

28/2/2013 09:45:12 am

loved working at heddon on the wall library way back in the 1970s spent many a happy hour in the churchyard next door transcribing all the gravestones, yet hated locking up the library at night in the dark because the graveyard was next door!

Andy Curtis

28/2/2013 12:21:12 pm

Many thanks for getting in touch, Val. I enjoyed photographing the gravestones recently to illustrate the memorial transcriptions. It wasn't at all scary during daylight hours, but there are strange tales after dark .....

Lynne Williams link

10/3/2013 03:41:24 pm

It was great to discover this blog after searching the internet for 'Henry or Edward Sawyer, North Shields - Photographers'. Edward Lydell Sawyer was my great, great granduncle. Henry (his brother) was my great, great grandfather. Until recently I had not discovered my family history. I loved finding out that professional photographers were our ancestors, especially as we have continued that interest! Thanks for posting the photographs. I'd be really grateful to receive any further information/links/tips if you have any.

Andy sawyer

13/2/2015 09:53:51 am

Hi Lynne
Lyddell is my great uncle, so that makes us somehow related.
Drop me an email, I have quite a collection of his work.

Lynne Williams link

25/8/2015 09:39:13 am

Hi Andy,
I've just noticed your reply and would love to be in contact with you - it's great to hear that you have quite a collection of his work. I can't find your email address on here - but mine is [email protected].
Since posting my comment, I've created quite a family tree using Ancestry and can now definitely say that Lyddell is my 1st cousin, 4 x removed. His uncle (Henry Sawyer) is my great, great, great grandfather.

Andy Curtis

12/3/2013 02:09:01 pm

Thanks for getting in touch, Lynne.

A gentleman called Geoff Lowe recently contacted me with an interest in the Eachwick Hall photos. He is in the process of preparing a book about the photographer, Lydell Sawyer, and I will send you his contact details.

I asked him about the location for Singleton House in Northumberland Road, Newcastle and he confirmed that it was on the site now occupied by BHS. The Olympia Theatre and the White City Hall were close by.

'It was originally a sizeable house occupied by the Rev. Richard Clayton and later by Sir John Fife, a medical man. Newcastle Medical school have stuff about him. By the time Sawyer was there it seems it was part of some temporary shopping facility.

Lyddell Sawyer was a member of the 'Linked Ring' (see Margaret Harker's book on the subject). He made some wonderful images that fall squarely into the art category.

He was a fascinating man, got married three times and wrote plays.'

Lynne Williams link

25/8/2015 09:42:27 am

Just wanted to say thank you for the information on here...and for sending Geoff Lowe's contact details. I did get in contact with him - in fact his book is about to be published this Autumn (2015). Looking forward to it!

Felicity Lane

16/9/2021 07:08:40 pm

I have found a gravestone curb edging with the name Francis Brard Fairley on it.
This stone edging has come to light on the grave of my parents, in Prestbury, Gloucestershire..
It clearly shows the date of birth and his death in 1920...
Such an unusual name Brard...maybe a connection with the above article
Kind regards

Andy Curtis

18/9/2021 07:28:49 pm

Thanks for the information Felicity.

Having had another look, there is a little more information about Francis Brard Fairley now on the web.

He was born in 1836 as the 8th and youngest son of Edward Fairley and Euphemia Galloway. His siblings were: Robert Preston Fairley, Edward Fairley, Thomas 1 Fairley, Margaret Ross Fairley, Euphemia Fairley, John Galloway Fairley, Thomas 2 Fairley, Alexander Mein Fairley, William Cunningham Fairley, Jessie Oliphant Fairley, Sarah Helen Fairley and Helen Cleghorn Fairley.

There is a book about the family with Chapter 6 dedicated to Francis Brard Fairley:
Mr. Fairley: The Oldest Banker in Glasgow by Harold Peacock (2014). You can read a fair bit in the review on Google Books.

He worked as an agent for the Bank of England in Newcastle upon Tyne for 16 years. 3 of his 4 children were born in the area. His residence is recorded as 37 Grey Street.

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Old photos of Eachwick Hall

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