Family Heirlooms

The Black Friar public house was built in 1875 on the north bank of the River Thames, close to Blackfriars Station. Like the inn, the surrounding area of Blackfriars derives its name from the site of the 13th century Dominican Priory on which The Black Friar pub was built. If you are ever down in London, you owe it to yourself to visit The Black Friar, you will not be disappointed.

Glance up when you arrive outside and you will see the statue of a huge friar standing guard above the main entrance at the apex of the wedge formed by the intersection of Queen Victoria Street and Blackfriars Court. However, his jolly smile quickly makes it clear that you are very welcome to enter his hostelry.

The pub's name is proudly displayed in mosaic tiles on the outside of the building, but the huge statue and the unusual exterior cannot possibly prepare you for the extraordinary interior, a dazzling tour-de-force that challenges the eyes wherever you look.

First impressions suggest you have mistakenly entered an ornate church, very definitely pre-reformation. The walls are decorated with red, green and cream marble – and a huge ensemble cast of merry monks. Above the fireplace, a large bas-relief bronze shows frolicking friars playing instruments as they sing carols. Elsewhere, friars gather grapes and harvest apples. My words do scant justice to the astonishing décor, you really need to go there to take it all in.

Failing that, there are numerous photos to be found online; I’ve included just a few. I particularly recommend the website “The Victorian Web” where you can pour over the pub’s history; head for the page “The Black Friar Pub, remodelled by Herbert Fuller-Clark (b.1869)”

https://victorianweb.org/art/architecture/pubs/9.html

where numerous link pages make it easy for you to explore the story of this astonishing building.

The interior of The Black Friar is a breathtaking work of art. The restoration was begun in 1904, with sculptors Nathaniel Hitch, Frederick T. Callcott and Henry Poole all contributing to the splendour. It beggars belief that this testament to their skill and craftsmanship was in danger of being demolished in the 1960's to make way for urban development. Thankfully, a campaign led by the future Poet Laureate John Betjeman succeeded in saving The Black Friar, so today we can marvel at its interior and enjoy a drink or two from the bar.

So there you have it. A unique family heirloom, quite special in its own right, linked to an extraordinary public house. Next time you visit London, drop in at The Black Friar; have a couple of drinks and take it all in. I promise, you will not be disappointed.

Along with a Bible presented to my Great Great Grandfather, John Beach, on his Golden wedding anniversary, by the Friends of the Primitive Methodist Church, my most treasured book is titled “Bible Readings for the Home Circle”. It was published by Pacific Press Publishing in 1893. It belonged to my Great Grandparents Robert and Sarah Beach. For me, what makes it special is that it forms part of the family’s history. Written into its pages are the marriage of Robert and Sarah, and the birth details of their 8 children and the passing of two of them. Also, tucked inside the pages are photos of Robert and Sarah, locks of hair and the memorial card for one of their children, Albert, who died aged 1 year and 9 months. It is these small inclusions that provide some tangible evidence of the lives of my family members, who lived before me, and whom I have never met. It is that feeling of connection to the family you feel when you have these treasures in your possession. Luckily my daughter will also treasure them when they are eventually passed on to her, thus keeping those connections alive.

Fiona Lowe (nee Beach)

Over the years I have collected many other pre-decimal coins, half crowns, threepenny bits, florins, sixpences, farthings etc., but some of my interest waned when decimalisation happened in 1971. The new style coins somehow didn’t have the same magic as the old ones. In recent years, the only coins that I have bothered to add to my collection are commemorative crowns to go alongside the one for the Festival of Britain that first started me on my journey. I have never been a serious collector, purchasing coins for investment. Most of my coins have been acquired by sorting through loose change, and I have never been bothered about a coin’s condition.

Going back to the Festival of Britain, it is the 70th anniversary this year and my commemorative coin is bearing up quite well; however, the little green box is showing its age and I have had to do a couple of repairs on it. I think my obsession with sliding it in and out as a child may not have done it any favours. I do wish I had asked my parents more about their visit to the festival because, from what I have read, it sounded quite an exciting event. Looking at eBay, there are many of the festival coins for sale, ranging in price from a few pounds to several hundred pounds for those in mint condition. Even though it has never been in circulation, I know that my coin is not worth a great deal as there are many of them around, but to me it is nice knowing that it did come from the festival itself.

I doubt my complete coin collection will ever have any kind of serious value, certainly not in my lifetime, but I do like to look through it from time to time and reminisce about those rather large and heavy coins we used to carry around in our pockets and purses, I think they had a lot more character than the present day offerings.

Pam Turner May 2021

A  Family  Heirloom

One keepsake that I treasure is my mother’s engagement ring. My parents were engaged in the late 1920s and the setting of the ring is in the art-deco style. It is of modest value; the diamonds are miniscule chips set in a pavement of platinum. The gold band - though probably 18 carat - is thin, and this particular fact led to my crime. 

In 1940 I was a very curious three year old and I loved to rummage through drawers and cupboards. On one of my forays, I came upon a small box and in the box was my mother’s ring. I tried it on, the diamonds twinkled but oh dear it was much too big for me and slipped round and round my finger. I can remember considering what I could do to make it fit. 

I expect you can guess. I bit into the delicate band and sure enough the ring soon fitted and the diamond pavé glittered in the light as I examined my handiwork. 

At the time I could not understand why my mother was so upset and angry when she came into the room and saw what I had done. I had no concept then of how precious the ring was to her. Now, when I look at it, l am reminded of my parent’s strong and loving marriage. The ring was later brought back to shape by a jeweler though I fancy that it is not quite so regular as it was originally.

Sheila Clarke

HENRY’S GLASS

I have a few ancestral heirlooms but the oldest one in my collection originally belonged to my 2 times great grandfather Henry Cartwright. It is a ½ pint beer glass/tumbler that dates back to at least 1880 and quite possibly much further back than that.

Between 1880 and 1890, Henry was the licensee of the “Birmingham House Inn” in Ablewell Street, Walsall; prior to that he was the landlord of the “Bagot Arms” in Moore Street, Wolverhampton from 1866 to 1880, so it is possible the beer glass dates back to that era.

The glass itself is very plain and on first glance could be mistaken for a modern day tumbler, however, on closer inspection you can see that it is heavy with thickened glass walls and that it was not manufactured on any production line due to several imperfections in the glass and shape. Also, its size is deceptive holding a smaller amount of liquid than its outward appearance due to a large indent in the base similar to those that wine bottles have. This apparently is known as a “Punt” and hand glassblowers used to insert these as a way of ensuring the glass or bottle would stand up. It is definitely a working man’s tumbler, however, the one thing that makes it stand out more than anything, and the reason that I know it definitely belonged to Henry Cartwright is that his name has been etched into the glass. According to my Mom, from whom I inherited the glass, it was Henry’s personal glass that he used when having a drink in his pub. Looking at the inscription on the glass, and comparing it with Henry’s signature on his marriage records, I believe it is possible Henry did the etching himself.

As well as being a Pub Landlord, Henry Cartwright was also a Farmer; he came from a rather large farming family that dates back in the Midlands area to the 17th century. Henry was born in 1830 on the Essington/Bloxwich border of Staffordshire. His father was a shoemaker and farm hand, but his uncle William Cartwright owned Hobble End Farm in Essington, which eventually passed down to Henry’s older brother. As well as being licensee of the Birmingham House Inn, Henry also owned 2 farms in Walsall, “Dairy Farm” on the Sutton Road and Gorway Farm in the same area. It was stated in the 1881 census that Henry had 80 acres and employed 2 men and a boy. My Mom was apparently told by her grandmother Louisa - who was Henry’s daughter - that Henry used to sell milk from his dairy farm at the pub as well as beer; apparently if someone wanted beer they used the front door and if they wanted milk they used the back door. Louisa was the first person to inherit the glass, it then went to her daughter Gladys (Mom’s aunt), then to Mom, and finally to me

Sometime after 1890, Henry retired from the Birmingham House Inn and just carried on as a farmer with the family living at the Gorway Farm premises until around 1905, when he sold up moving his family to Birmingham Street, Walsall; however he still kept the Dairy Farm which was run by his eldest son William. Henry Cartwright died in Walsall in 1911 aged 81; he left a detailed will in which the Dairy Farm was handed over to his son William who continued farming it until his health deteriorated. The Birmingham House Inn is no longer standing, it was knocked down around the late 1930’s. Walsall Local History Centre has a very good photograph of it; I think it was probably taken not long before the Inn was demolished.

Although Henry’s Glass is not the most attractive piece of glassware, fine cut glass it is NOT, but to me it is very special because I know that it would have been well used by Henry himself in his day to day life over 140 years ago. It therefore has pride of place in my display cabinet.

Pam Turner April 2021

The ring Auntie Em gave me

There are so many questions that will never be answered. Things that I wish I had asked when the opportunity presented itself. There are very few heirlooms that have been passed down through my family. I have just one. And I know very little about it. All because I did not ask the right questions at the right time.

Keith Stanley 

But where did my fascination for African art begin? Well, and let us not beat around the bush here, it was my Dad’s fault!! In the early 1950s, my father was Cleansing Superintendent for the London borough of Kensington, and we lived on the job, in a house that was surrounded by the vehicles, workshops and offices of the cleansing depot. Notting Hill Gate and Portobello Market were part of my father’s patch and his site visits would sometimes result in strange and interesting objects finding their way into our house. In school holidays, I would go with him occasionally in our Hillman Minx, and it was always my joy if we had time to pop into the Record Exchange at Notting Hill Gate. My Dad’s preference was mainly for classical music, but occasionally he would try something unusual. The early folk music of Pete Seeger, the blues of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, and the jazz records of Cleo Laine with the Johnny Dankworth Seven, all spring to mind. Is it any wonder that I also developed an eclectic musical palate – and a record collection to match. “Turn that racket down” has ever been my wife’s war cry! Like African art, playing music with the volume turned up loud is another legacy of my father. Mind you, try as I might, I could not dissuade him from bringing home records by Nina & Frederick and Shirley Bassey – and boy did I try!!