The Duke's Head was one of the longest running pubs in Harwich, operating for well over 200 years before closing in 1971, but who was the Duke who lent his head to the sign? Dukes have had a long association with the history of Harwich, particularly when it comes to public houses. There was the … Continue reading The Duke of the Duke’s Head
Update: The Ship
In March, I wrote a post discussing the Ship, and its connection to the Swan. I suggested that the Ship re-opened in its new location in 1847 as a combined venture of James Haylett and Thomas Ennels. This appears not to have been the case. An auction in the Suffolk Chronicle, dated August 6 1842, … Continue reading Update: The Ship
A Hanover Tale, In Three Parts
PRIZEWINNING "NUTSHELLS"The following are the awards in our "Nutshells" Contest No. 62:-FIRST PRIZE £500, AND A FORD V.8 TOURING SALOON DE LUXE.Ernest Richardson, 4, Harbour-cres., Harwich.Example: In The Dock.Nutshell: "Wind Out Of Sails."Sunday Pictorial, February 7 1937, P31 PRIZE WINNER“Nutshells” prize cheque for £500, won by Mr. E. Richardson, of Harwich, Essex, was presented to … Continue reading A Hanover Tale, In Three Parts
The Three Cups in the Early Stuart Period
The Three Cups website, run by owner Brett Hammond, is a fantastic resource on one of the oldest and best-known buildings in Harwich. Among the wealth of information is a comprehensive list of landlords and residents, complete with numerous sources (gold dust for any historian). What will be seen in the early part of the … Continue reading The Three Cups in the Early Stuart Period
Summer Plans
With this set to be one of the more unusual summers of recent times, it seems like a good moment to re-focus and decide what content is going to be put on here in the next couple of months. Firstly, I imagine the posts centred on Harwich & Parkeston FC will have been quite polarising, … Continue reading Summer Plans
Summer Resorts On The Essex Coast
An "On This Day" of sorts - in 1881 the Chelmsford Chronicle featured an article by this name, detailing goings-on in Southend, Harwich, Dovercourt, and Clacton-on-Sea. Here is the section on Harwich, printed in full: The Great Eastern Railway Company now issues hotel tickets from London to Harwich for 30s. first-class return with board and … Continue reading Summer Resorts On The Essex Coast
Save Our Shrimpers
As the reader may have noticed, the focus of this blog has lately swung towards Harwich and Parkeston FC. This is not just due to personal preference - there are a number of good stories through history relating to the club and its players - but also as an attempt to preserve, and promote, the … Continue reading Save Our Shrimpers
The Ubiquity Of Political Bias
Politics has really come to the fore in the last decade or so, with people becoming more aware of bias in the media, and the role of the influencer as opposed to the informer. One common talking point that crops up is how the media never used to be quite as bad as they are … Continue reading The Ubiquity Of Political Bias
Frank Garton: A Brief Sketch
As a prominent port town, Harwich has dealt with its fair share of imports in its time, and perhaps one of its finest imports in the Victorian era was Francis Henry Garton, an amiable footballer and publican. Francis Garton, better known as Frank, was born in Clay Cross, Derbyshire, in 1870, and grew up in … Continue reading Frank Garton: A Brief Sketch
A Leopard Never Changes Her Spots
To Dovercourt today, with William and Elizabeth Leopard, who settled there in the early 19th century. William was a victualler by trade, and by the 1820s had established himself as landlord of the King's Arms, a pub which would become one of the longest lived in the borough. William himself was one of its longest … Continue reading A Leopard Never Changes Her Spots
Harwicensis 