I Like Museums

Photographic collection gets its own room in the Archive Stores

A recent move of material over to the Northern Region Film & Television Archive at Teesside University www.nrfta.org.uk meant that a small room became vacant in the archive stores at Discovery Museum.

The Archivists and the Conservation Officers agreed that this was the right place to manage the environment required to store photographic material. A grant from DCMS enabled us to purchase and install a dehumidifier and chiller unit which will help to maintain the right environmental conditions.

I asked Matt, one of the Conservators, to explain, “The majority of the negatives are supported by a cellulose acetate layer which is prone to self destruction. As they age they give off acetic acid vapour. This causes the plastic to shrink and crumble distorting the image. Known as vinegar syndrome the chemical degradation can only be slowed down by a reduction in temperature. If the humidity is too high the silver in the photographic gelatine layer can also corrode and migrate through to the surface of the negative where it causes a mirror like effect damaging the image further”.

Once the conditions were right the move could take place. Last week Dawn (Conservation Officer) & Peter (General Assistant) moved about 200 boxes of photographic negatives into their new environmentally conditioned home.

Dawn and Peter, the move masterminds, show Mel how it’s done. The new store is looking good behind the red door.

Job done! Peter slides the last box into place.

So why invest in the Turner Collection?

Turners was established in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1900s. It was originally a chemists shop but in 1938 become a photographic dealer.

Turners went on to become a prominent photographic and video production company in the North East of England. They had 3 shops in Newcastle city centre, in Pink Lane, Blackett Street and Eldon Square. The business closed in the 1990s.

From the 1950s the business was largely involved in film-making and made many commissioned films for local businesses and organisations including routine filming of ship launches on the Tyne.

As well as these films, Turners’ work is represented in the archives of a number of companies and local authorities held at Tyne & Wear Archives, including Newcastle City Council, Mott, Hay and Anderson and Swan Hunter Shipbuilding.

Access to the photographic negatives is provided through a series of day books that record each job undertaken by the company. Volunteers are currently working on compiling an index to these volumes. This will make the collection more accessible.

Over the years, Turners’ photographers took thousands of photographs, a small sample of which can be seen on our Flickr stream.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/twm_news/sets/72157626834280271/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/twm_news/sets/72157626585625407/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/twm_news/sets/72157625316987586/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/twm_news/sets/72157627128959897/

By Mel Whewell, Principal Officer: Collections Management

Revelations of racial discrimination at sea, discovered in the plans of the Sunderland shipbuilding firm, Bartram & Sons

Collections & objects Maritime History Tyne & Wear Archives
Posted by Tyne & Wear Archives on January 23, 2012 Permalink Leave a comment

I’m pleased to report that work continues apace with the Sunderland Shipbuilding archives project. Colin and I are both currently working on the records of Bartram & Sons Ltd. The Bartrams shipyard was located at South Dock, Sunderand and was unusual in that it launched vessels directly into the North Sea rather than the River Wear.

Last month’s blog mentioned an interesting plan of a CAM ship, which Colin discovered, and he’s been finding more fascinating items this month. Of particular interest are a series of plans of the ships ‘India’ and ‘Timor’, which were launched by Bartram & Sons Ltd in 1950 (yard numbers 329 and 330). The vessels were built for the Companhia Nacionale de Navagacao of Lisbon, Portugal.

Photo of 'India' taken during sea trials (TWAM ref. 3396/6032E)

Bartrams seem to have been particularly proud of these vessels, which were the largest passenger vessels built in Sunderland for over half a century. However, an examination of one of the plans of the two ships hints at something much less praiseworthy. The plan concerned shows the ‘arrangement of emigrant spaces’ (TWAM ref. DS.BM/4/PL/1/329/18) and makes several references on the plan to spaces for ‘white emigrants … or cargo’.

Plan of emigrant spaces for the ships 'India' and 'Timor' (TWAM ref. DS.BM/4/PL/1/329/18)

Detailed view of part of plan of emigrant spaces (TWAM ref. DS.BM/4/PL/1/329/18)

There’s further evidence of racial segregation in the hull specification for the ‘India’ and ‘Timor’ (TWAM ref. DS.BM/4/6/329/2), which I recently catalogued. Two loose pages of typescript notes, tucked into the specification, document the visit of a Dr Ferreira and Mr Ruis on 2 March 1949. During the visit it was agreed that the crew’s accommodation was approved “subject to certain movement of rooms to enable Greasers, Seamen and Boys to be more segregated from the remainder, as they are Natives …’.

Loose notes of a meeting found in hull specification for the ‘India’ and ‘Timor’ (TWAM ref. DS.BM/4/6/329/2)

While such discrimination is perhaps reflective of the era it is certainly no easier to stomach for that. However, one of the key roles of an Archive is to provide a window into the past, to document a society’s past failings as well as its achievements. It’s the least we owe to those who, with little power to speak out, may have suffered in silence.

By Alan Hayward, Archivist

Volunteer Ran Museums nominees – Weardale Museum & Bellingham Heritage Centre

Great North Museum Volunteering
Posted by Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums on December 9, 2011 Permalink Leave a comment

As promised here is the film looking at Weardale Museum and Bellingham Heritage Centre ,who were nominated for the Outstanding Achievement by a Volunteer Run Museum Award at the Renaissance North East Museum Volunteer Awards 2011.

The Outstanding Achievement by a Volunteer Run Museum Award (Artwork by Annie Rie, available at the Laing Art Gallery Shop)

Congratulations to Bellingham Heritage Centre!

Enjoy the film!

Film: Outstanding Achievement by A Volunteer Run Museum Award Nominees - Weardale Museum & Bellingham Heritage Centre

Film created by Lucy Cooke, Caroline Brown and Rob McIver – TWAM 2011.

With thanks to Weardale Museum and Bellingham Heritage Centre

By Lauren Prince, Project Coordinator for Culture Track at Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums

The Great North Museum: Hancock Library – discovering Mr E. Story-Gofton

Collections & objects Great North Museum
Posted by Great North Museum on December 7, 2011 Permalink Leave a comment

By Martin Collins (Library volunteer)

One of the great joys of rummaging through the Society of Antiquaries (SANT) books in the Great North Museum Library is that you can never be exactly sure what you will come across. One of my many passions is the theatre so finding that the library had a copy of Ellen Terry’s autobiography was a joy. However, as it turned out, it was not Miss Terry that proved to be the most interesting aspect of this book. It was the person who had once owned the book and had donated it to SANT who took my interest, Mr. E. Story-Gofton.

'The Story of My Life' by Ellen Terry

On the fly page is a dedication “To Story Gofton, with very kind regards from Ellen Terry” and dated October 1908. Opposite, pasted to the cover, are press cuttings about Story-Gofton playing in Bernard Shaw’s Captain Brassbound’s Conversion along with a cartoon. Further in there is a hand written note from Terry herself to Story-Gofton welcoming him to the tour. The book is protected by a “Boots Book-Lovers Library” dust cover (a historic document in its own right) and in the back of this are a number of letters, cuttings and photographs. So who was E. Story-Gofton?

Mr Story-Gofton

Edward John Story [Gofton to be] was born at Elswick Row, Newcastle on 31 July 1845. He was educated at the Royal Grammar School where he obtained his love of the theatre, and throughout his life he performed as an actor and singer. He managed a number of touring companies both in this country and overseas. At the beginning of the 1890s he was performing Shakespeare and other plays in Africa; in 1893 he returned to Newcastle to direct Cinderella at Tyne Theatre (where he had been the manager for a number of years previously), and the new year of 1898 found him at the Theatre Royal, Sydney, Australia. At the turn of the twentieth century moving pictures were developing fast and Story-Gofton appeared in a number of them between 1913 and 1922. Towards the end of his life he and his wife lived in Ilford, Essex, and Story-Gofton continued his work as a theatre critic writing a number of articles and letters to newspapers. He died aged 92 at his Ilford home in 1939.

This has by its nature only been a sketch of a man of the theatre and of course there is much more to tell. However, this illustrates just what unexpected gems can be found while rummaging through old books.

Many thanks to Martin for this fascinating piece of research. The book Martin was looking at is The Story of My Life by Ellen Terry, published by Hutchinson & Co. in 1908, and is in the collection of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne. As Martin says, you never know what exciting snippets of information you might come across while browsing through the books in the Great North Museum Library.

For library opening times please visit the Museum’s website or phone 0191 2223555 for more details.

(Please note that the library will be closed for Christmas and New Year from 23 December until 3 January).

New books in the library

New books in the GNM Library

All three library collections have a range of new books. Here is a selection:

Carlisle : excavations at Rickergate, 1998-9 and 53-55 Botchergate, 2001 / edited by Rachel Newman, Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, 2011

The Romans came this way : the story of the discovery and excavation of a Roman military way across the Yorkshire Pennines / Norman Lunn … [et al.], Huddersfield & District Archaeological Society, c2008

Benwell’s big houses : a social history / by Mike Greatbatch, Newcastle Community Heritage Project in association with Tyne Bridge Publishing, 2011

The Celtic and Roman traditions : conflict and consensus in the early medieval church / Caitlin Corning, Palgrave Macmillan, 2006

A Roman settlement and bath house at Shadwell : excavations at Tobacco Dock and Babe Ruth restaurant, the Highway, London / Alistair Douglas, James Gerrard and Berni Sudds, Pre-Construct Archaeology, c2011

The frontiers of imperial Rome / David Breeze, Pen & Sword, 2011

An encyclopaedia of North-East England / Richard Lomas, Birlinn, 2009

British Oaks: a concise guide / Michael Tyler, Crowood Press, 2008

Natural selection and beyond: the intellectual legacy of Alfred Russel Wallace / edited by Charles H. Smith and George Beccaloni, Oxford University Press, 2008

An exciting recent donation of Sunderland shipbuilding archives

Collections & objects Local history Maritime History
Posted by Tyne & Wear Archives on December 2, 2011 Permalink Leave a comment

One of my hopes for the ‘We Mak’em’ Sunderland Shipbuilding archives project, when it started in June, was that it would encourage former employees of the shipyards and their families to come forward with fascinating additions to the collections we hold. Last month this hope was realised beyond my wildest expectations when we received a fantastic donation of documents for the shipbuilding firm, Joseph L. Thompson & Sons Ltd. This generous donation was made by Sarah Thompson, a member of that famous shipbuilding family.

It was clear from early on in the project that there were major gaps in the records for Joseph L. Thompson & Sons Ltd. In particular no Board of Directors’ minutes were known to survive and I feared the worst – that they had most likely been lost or destroyed. I am excited to report that, thanks to Mrs Thompson, we now hold a complete record of both Board and AGM minutes for the firm dating from its establishment as a limited liability company in 1894 up to 1954. The donation also includes a signed set of the firm’s annual accounts from 1894 to 1969. These are key records for anyone researching the firm’s history or indeed Sunderland shipbuilding in general. They give us a unique insight into the running of the firm covering a variety of subjects including orders, the development of the shipyard premises and the company’s financial position.

I’ve only been able to enjoy a quick browse of the minute books but have already come across a few interesting items. For example, an entry from July 1923 documents the decision to built two small colliers in order to keep the shipyard operational in a difficult economic climate.

Board of Directors minutes, 23 July 1923 (TWAM ref. DS.JLT/1/7/1)

The Board minutes for 10 February 1941 are also noteworthy because they refer to a hugely significant journey to the United States by Cyril Thompson, Managing Director of the firm. He headed an Admiralty Merchant Shipbuilding Mission to get American yards to construct cheap and economical vessels for the British Government to a prototype designed by Joseph L. Thompson & Sons.

As the minutes indicate on the return journey from America, the ship on which Thompson was travelling, the ‘Western Prince’ was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic. Thompson and his fellow survivors escaped in lifeboats and were picked up by a tramp steamer, which took them back to Britain.

Board of Directors minutes, 10 February 1941 (TWAM ref. DS.JLT/1/7/2)

The Mission proved a success and contracts were signed to construct two new shipyards in Maine and California in order to build the sixty cargo vessels that the Admiralty wanted. As it turned out, the Mission was to have even greater unforeseen consequences. The Joseph L. Thompson & Sons prototype proved so popular that it was used by the US Government as the basis of over 2,700 ‘Liberty ships’ built at American shipyards between 1942 and 1945. It’s no stretch of the imagination to suggest that those ships were vital to the ultimate success of the Allied war effort.

The records donated by Mrs Thompson also include numerous other items of interest including a salaries book dating from 1878 to 1885, giving the names of officials and foremen during that period. Other aspects of the firm’s work are covered, with operational records such as estimates and books of lines plans, as well as publicity material such as photographs and scrapbooks.

There are a small number of impressive early photographs of vessels built by the firm, such as this image of the launch of the ‘Vencedora’ in 1860.

Launch of the 'Vencedora', 1860 (TWAM ref. acc. 5181)

The photographs also include several images of the ‘Coogee’, originally launched by the firm in 1887 as the ‘Lancashire Witch’. The ‘Coogee’ now lies shipwrecked outside Port Philip Bay, Melbourne, Australia and is apparently very popular with divers.

Photograph of the 'Coogee', late nineteenth century (TWAM ref. acc. 5181)

Before finishing this blog I must say a big thank you once again to Mrs Thompson for her generosity. There are gaps in the records of some of the other shipyards covered by this project and this recent donation has given me renewed hope that important documents, once feared lost, may yet emerge. If anyone is aware of such material I would be delighted to hear from them.

Blog post by Alan Hayward, Archivist

Neptune Yard Launches

Collections & objects Maritime History Tyne & Wear Archives
Posted by Tyne & Wear Archives on November 15, 2011 Permalink Leave a comment

A recent acquisition for the Archives is the visitors book for Swan Hunter’s Neptune Shipyard covering the years 1910-1963 (TWA ref DS.SWH/5/1/6/3). This volume had apparently been put in a rubbish skip on the closure of the yard in 1988 before being rescued.

The book covers the launches of over 170 ships, with the signatures of those who attended. There aren’t many very famous names, unlike the royals who launched Navy ships at the Wallsend yard but there are a few notables. These include the parties of Chinese who attended the launches of for example the SS Hai Yuan in 1934. The ship was launched by Dr Quo Tai Chi, Chinese ambassador to Britain and his wife. Their son Merlin Quo aged 9, also present at the launch, was to become a TV producer and died in New York City in 2008.

Launch of SS Hai Yuan 1934

Also present at a number of launches was Susan Auld, nee Denham Christie, the first woman to graduate as a naval architect from Durham University and designer of battleships and of the landing craft used to land Allied troops in France on D-Day.

Launch of HMS Bullfrog (TWA ref ds.swh/5/1/6/3)

By far the most attractive thing about the book is the individual paintings that illustrate each launch, in some cases just flags, but in others very detailed illustrations such as the one of Bamburgh Castle.

Launch of MS Bamburgh Castle, with illustration of Bamburgh Castle (TWA ref ds.swh/5/1/6/3)

An explosive flower show

Collections & objects Local history Social history South Shields Museum & Art Gallery
Posted by South Shields Museum & Art Gallery on November 7, 2011 Permalink Leave a comment

Towards the end of August a member of the public dropped some items off at the reception desk in South Shields Museum & Art Gallery. The individual preferred not to leave a name or contact details, but the items were duly placed on my desk, ready for me to look at when I was next in the office. It’s my job to decide if an item would make a good addition to the museum’s collection, based on its local relevance, provenance, and whether or not we already have similar examples.

The reception desk and gift shop at South Shields Museum and Art Gallery

Among the items was a tin can of movie film. Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums don’t normally collect film, as we don’t have the proper facilities or staff to store, preserve and make film accessible. However, if a film is offered to us, we would normally pass it on to the Northern Region Film and Television Archive (NRFTA), who are based in Middlesbrough.

I opened the can and inspected the end part of the film, which read “Seaton Burn Flower Show & Sports, Sat. Aug 30^th”. Seaton burn is a village in Tyne & Wear, north of Newcastle upon Tyne and near Wide Open, close to the Northumberland county border. Clearly, this was the title of an old news reel, probably made for distribution to local cinemas.

Seaton Burn about 1910, showing allotments and terraced housing. Image courtesy of Newcastle City Library.

Seaton Burn about 1912. Image courtesy of Newcastle City Library.#

I got in-touch with David Parsons, Film Archivist at the NRFTA, who said that the film could well prove to be “quite important”. He was, however, concerned that it might be nitrate film, used in the early days of cinema and potentially dangerous, with a tendency to burst into flames if not kept in the right conditions.

The film in question

I took some pics of the film and sent them to David, who confirmed that the film was indeed nitrate stock, and would need to be handled very carefully. He said that the NRFTA would love to take possession of the film, but that as it was nitrate, it would need to be sent for specialist storage at the British Film Institute (BFI) National Archive in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, where it would be securely stored and a copy made, enabling it to be safely viewed.

The title

And so that brings me to today, when a specialist transportation company have arranged to pick up the film and take it from South Shields to the BFI in one of their temperature controlled vehicles, within an airtight cylinder. Such measures are necessary to ensure against the film spontaneously combusting!

Note the nitrate film symbol (representing a flash / explosion) at the edge of the film

I’m intrigued to discover what is on the film, as I was only able to unravel enough to look at the end bit with the title on. It is believed to date from about 1920 or thereabouts, judging among other things by the style of the title lettering. When I hear back from David Parsons at the NRFTA, via the BFI, I’ll blog again about the contents of this mystery film!

By Adam Bell, Assistant Keeper of Social History

Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it

Art Collections & objects Local history South Shields Museum & Art Gallery
Posted by South Shields Museum & Art Gallery on October 28, 2011 Permalink Leave a comment

Our new exhibition opened on Saturday 15 October entitled ‘Crossing the Tyne’. It was all a bit touch-and-go for a while, as at first I thought we didn’t have enough items to exhibit; however, by the end of the week I was fretting that we had too much!

As Exhibitions Officer, the installation of exhibitions usually falls to me to oversee but I must admit that art exhibitions are not my speciality. I trained as an Egyptologist so 3D objects are much easier for me to get my head around when it comes to displays!

Since this year saw the opening of the second vehicular Tyne Tunnel in South Tyneside it made sense for South Shields Museum & Art Gallery to celebrate this feat of engineering in some way. Several years ago there was an exhibition at the Shipley Art Gallery in Gateshead called ‘Building Bridges’, which used many of the beautiful art works that you can see in this new exhibition. However, anyone who visited that exhibition will be pleased to know that we have added plenty of new acquisitions (including objects!) to ‘Crossing the Tyne’.

The premise of the exhibition is that it takes a closer look at the different ways and means of crossing the River Tyne- starting with the ‘Pons Aelius’ (Hadrian’s Bridge) in Newcastle upon Tyne dating to AD 122 through to the Tyne ferries and tunnels.

Last week we beavered away to get everything ready in time for the opening, and as it transpired it was not the artwork that created the biggest stumbling block, but the large, to-scale model of part of the Tyne Bridge that really stumped me (or should I say, nearly killed me). If you do go and see the exhibition, have a look at the size of the plinth that was made and you will see what I mean…

Anyway, the exhibition runs until the 28 January 2012 and we have some great people contributing to the free events programme so I genuinely hope you enjoy it. Personally, I think it looks great…

The Emperor Hadrian Landing at Pons Aelii (now Newcastle) AD 122

By Gill Scott, Exhibitions Officer

Recent developments on the ‘We Mak’em’ Sunderland Shipbuilding archives project

Collections & objects Discovery Museum Local history Maritime History Social history Tyne & Wear Archives
Posted by Tyne & Wear Archives on October 24, 2011 Permalink Leave a comment

It’s been an exciting past month on the Sunderland Shipbuilding archives project. For one thing I now have a ‘glamorous’ assistant, Colin Boyd, who will be working part-time with me for the next year. Colin has worked in the shipbuilding industry and so he brings valuable technical and historical knowledge to the project. He is already making excellent progress sorting through the large quantity of unlisted ships plans we hold for the company of Bartram and Sons Ltd.

Most of my recent work has focussed on cataloguing the records of the firm of Sir James Laing & Sons Ltd. The firm dates back to 1793 and was established by two brothers, Philip and James Laing, who moved to Sunderland from Fife, in Scotland. Our collection of Laings records is one of the largest that I will work on during the project and includes many of the oldest Sunderland shipbuilding documents we hold.

The earliest shipbuilding record we hold for Sunderland is a ships particulars book for Laings dating from 1794 to 1895 (TWAM ref. DS.LG/4/2/1). This is a fascinating volume, which includes general information about the earliest vessels built by the firm. The collection is full of such gems and includes something to appeal to everyone. For instance there’s a wage book covering the years 1800-1801 (TWAM ref. DS.LG/2/12/1). This wage book is by far the oldest shipbuilding employee record we hold for Sunderland. The names in the book will be of interest to family historians, while the information about rates of pay to foremen, carpenters, hewers, sawyers, borers and smiths should prove just as valuable for social history research.

Wage book entries dating from 1800 (TWAM ref. DS.LG/2/12/1)

I also recently discovered an early ships cost book for Laings (TWAM ref. DS.LG/4/12/1). This cost book contains interesting details of the materials and labour used in building individual ships and includes the names of firms that supplied Laings. This cost book dates back to 1857 and includes a double-page entry for one of the best known vessels built on the River Wear, the ‘Torrens’.

Cost book entry for the Torrens, 1875 (TWAM ref. DS.LG/4/12/1)

Launched in 1875, she was a composite ship of iron frame and wooden planks. The ‘Torrens’ was renowned for her speed and set a new record journey time from London to Adelaide, making the voyage in 64 days. She is also well known through her association with the novelist, Joseph Conrad, who served as an officer on the ‘Torrens’ in the early 1890s, during which time he started writing his first novel.

The collection includes many excellent series of photographs. These relate mainly to the ships built by Laings and I hope to include some of these images in a future blog, once they have been catalogued. Other subjects are covered as well, including royal visits, employees and the shipyard premises. I’m particularly keen on aerial photographs and the collection includes several excellent shots of the Deptford Yard, taken in July 1959 by the firm Turners (Photography) Ltd. As well as showing the shipyard itself they also reveal fascinating details of the surrounding area.

Aerial photograph of Deptford Yard, Sunderland, July 1959 (TWAM ref. DS.LG/5/3/2)

All in all, it’s been a busy but very rewarding month … and that’s without mentioning a fantastic new donation of Sunderland shipbuilding records that I collected just over a week ago. I’d love to reveal more but that will have to wait till next month’s blog.

By Alan Hayward, Archivist

I Like Museums

Revelations of racial discrimination at sea, discovered in the plans of the Sunderland shipbuilding firm, Bartram & Sons

Volunteer Ran Museums nominees – Weardale Museum & Bellingham Heritage Centre

The Great North Museum: Hancock Library – discovering Mr E. Story-Gofton

An exciting recent donation of Sunderland shipbuilding archives

Neptune Yard Launches

Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it

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