Apley archives photo, 1901

1901 Apley Hall group

During the summer holidays, I was looking at some of the Apley Estate archives & came across this fabulous photo taken in 1901 in front of Apley Hall. Mr & Mrs WH Foster are in the centre, with his mother (looking a bit like Queen Victoria) Mrs WO Foster on his left. Their son, AW Foster (the last Foster to live at Apley) is standing behind & between them. I already know a little about a few characters but need to do more research about the others. In the meantime, here’s the full list of names:

Back row, left to right (10)

Mr Corbishley (Grindle Farm), Mr Harding (Norton Farm), T Wilson (Leavenhall Farm), T Wainwright (Crowgreaves), Hinton (butler), W O Wilson (agent), R Jones (Newton Farm), H V Dawes (headmaster, grammar school), Head boy (grammar school), C Turnbull

Middle row, left to right (17 in the photo but only 15 are named !)

H Deighton (Auctioneer), J H Cooksey (town clerk), Miss M Atkinson, Nora Christie-Miller, Miss Foster (Woodcote), Captain Foster (Woodcote), Major AW Foster, Reverend W Gilbanks (Woollaston), Colonel Wakeman (Coton Hall), W Grazebrook, Mr Nesbitt (Cotsbrook), Edmund Vaughan, Howard Pearce (private secretary), Lee George (grocer), T Whitefoot (wine shop & tanners)

Front row, left to right (12)

Alderman W Burton (grocer & pork pie maker), Alderman Lloyd (boot shop), Alderman Anderson (boot shop), Alderman Morrall (Harp Hotel), Mrs Goulburn, Mrs W H Foster, Mr W H Foster, Mrs W O Foster, Mrs Trevor Wood, Colonel Kenyon-Slaney, Mrs Atkinson, Charles Pearce (manager, Madeley colliery)

Apley Walled Garden, now supplying Apley Farm Shop, was in full production at the time this photo was taken & Apley Farm Shop was just Stockton [farm] Buildings. Just across the fields from the shop is Astol farm where the Pigg family lived for approx. 60 years. We named Pigg’s Playbarn at Apley Farm Shop after John Pigg & his father Mr Pigg senior, who were both Apley farm managers. John Pigg junior has just given me some fabulous archive farming photos which I’ll share once I’ve heard the stories & history behind them.

This photo will definitely feature in my forthcoming [fourth] Apley Archive Exhibition which I’m currently compiling, in the Creamery Café at Apley Farm Shop (launch date tbc), along with the beginning of the Apley Archive website where my large collection of photos, newspaper articles, maps, documents & interviews, can be shared (with permission from original sources of course).