Impressions of a college student John William Allen, London 1872

[ruthruss]

Hi everyone, hope this is ok to post. I'm just curious to see what a knowledgeable person could tell about this 20-year-old man at the Borough Road College in London in 1872. Does he look poor, is his fashion behind the times? Are there any insights that could be gleaned from his hair or clothing, or anything else in the photo?

His name is John William Allen, born 1853 in Yarmouth, Norfolk, although he lived in Pembrokeshire prior to attending the college.

[Gadget]

Hello Ruth 

I think he is dressed in clothing that fits the time period and doesn't seem poor.  Was he at the college on one of their teacher training courses?

The image that you have put up appears to be from a larger group photo. Is it possible for you to scan the whole of the photo and the back so that we can get more clues.

Gadget

[Gadget]

I've found him i n1861 and 1871 (as a Teacher,  British School) but not yet found on the 1881. Have you found him on that census.

[ruthruss]

I've found him i n1861 and 1871 (as a Teacher,  British School) but not yet found on the 1881. Have you found him on that census.

Hi Gadget, sorry to cause you work  I have found him in every census. Just was interested to know what people's impressions of him were without knowing his background as he was from a very poor family living in Pembrokeshire and was only at the teacher training college due to his headmaster helping him raise funds to pay the entry fee. The larger photo is from the BFSS archives. Here is a link (you'll need to open it in a new window to view).

https://archivesearch.brunel.ac.uk/calmview/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=BFSS%2f2%2f9%2f1%2f6

[Gadget]

It's a super photo 

Many of them are wearing similar outfits. I'd think that it was fairly standard for young men of that age and background - one good outfit.  As I hinted in my first post, I did look up the college to find out about the scholarships. Maybe the money raised was enough to pay for a suit.

Where did he go after qualifying?

[ruthruss]

It's a super photo 

Many of them are wearing similar outfits. I'd think that it was fairly standard for young men of that age and background - one good outfit.  As I hinted in my first post, I did look up the college to find out about the scholarships. Maybe the money raised was enough to pay for a suit.

Where did he go after qualifying?

That's a good point, perhaps that's how he got a nice suit. After training I think he went to Cardiff (although I can't confirm the years from 1874 to 1876), but then he went to Stony Stratford, Liverpool, and finally ended up in London working for Longmans, Green and Co where he did very well for himself (professionally, anyway).