Rock & Sons Hastings

[charlotteCH]

Hullo again Chris 1909,
 If you know about carriage makers, maybe you can tell me what a charbanc[spelling?] looks like please.

Someone told me deacdes ago that my forebears  used to go off in one for picnics in 1890s in Yks dales... there were 9 kids so it must have been a capacious vehicle.

charlotte

[1909]

Hi Charlotte,

A charabanc was a sort of open-topped bus. I have attached a picture of one outside a hotel in TW in I guess about 1911. In the 1890's they would have been horse-drawn but I think that the concept was the same - rows of seats on an open cart.

Chris 1909

[charlotteCH]

Chris1909, Thanks.

Would it have been a public vehicle or would the family have hired it for the picnic? They were not short of money .

The one particular outing about which I know was from Ilkley to Bolton Abbey, so was it door to door or wait on the bus stop?

charlotte

[1909]

Hi Charlotte,

My feeling is that they were hired for excursions, though probably by a group larger than a family. A pub in Tunbridge Wells for example, hired one (possibly two) in Sept 1909 for a day's excursion through the hop fields to Maidstone. I also get the feeling that local church groups and societies did do things on a shared basis more than we do now, and picnics were popular.


Chris 1909

[charlotteCH]

Thanks Chris 1909,
 it would probably have been my father's family and perhaps another family of freinds  or two with appropriate baskets of food etc..

How I wish I'd asked when told about it... I just stood there at Bolton Abbey  like a dumb bunny and my old uncle didn't want to bore me so didn't elaborate.. the stupidity and the wasted opportunities. 

charlotte

[Chris in 1066Land]

Hi again Chris 1909

Thanks for that article on Rock & Sons - pretty interesting.

I would like to obtain a copy of that picture of their showroom as seen in the article - can you please advise your source.

Just one interesting comment - The Diorapha was invented just prior to the 1851 exhibition, but the date on that picture is c1830 with parts of the dioprah hanging from the rafters some 20 years before it was invented - how can that be?

Chris in 1066

[1909]

Hi Chris in 1066,

The picture came from a booklet issued by Rock, Thorpe & Co in 1922 to celebrate their centenary. The caption to the picture actually says 1830, but then I always explain to people that we know more about history than people did in the past, so it could just be an error.

Picture attached.

Chris 1909

[Chris in 1066Land]

Chris 1909

Thanks for that picture - now added it to my databse.

I think the caption should have read 1850 instaed of 1830 - but hey, never mind, its a great photo.

Took these two pictures when I was given an escorted tour of the building by the site foreman - Incidentally it is a listed building, so all these features had to remain and they just been covered up.
I think the showroom is still recognizable from your picture though

[Chris in 1066Land]

Hi again

Whilst doing the renovation / conversion to flats, the builders found the following which we think belongs to the 1930's time period.

Obviously in those days it was a 'Tea Room' with live music and the menu (not shown here) had the following price list

'Suggestion for Tea'
Toasted Teacake  4d
Toasted Scone     3d
Toasted Crumpet 4d
Sardines on Toast  1/-
Spaghetti on Toast 1/-
Welsh Rarebit 1/3d
Something with Chips 2/6d
Salad 1/6d

Wow - how the other half lived in those days