The Parish Magazine March 2021

from page 19
feature — 7
Claude's loft
The Parish Magazine - March 2021 21
grandfather’s sisters. They were born
in 1868 and 1869 — the latter being
the year that this magazine was also
born!
Looking through the album
(above) I could not help wondering
what was in the mind of the people
being photographed. Dressing
formally in their smartest clothes
and going to a studio to have their
portrait taken would have been a
significant event.
They would have witnessed the
photographer making adjustments to
his big plate camera on a tripod and
hiding under a black sheet so that he
could see their images on the ground
glass plate.
He would tell them how and
where to pose and, when he was
happy with the image, replace the
ground glass with a photographic
plate, get out from under the hood,
tell the subjects to stay unblinking
and as still as a statue, then take
the lens cap off the camera lens for a
couple of seconds to expose the plate.
No wonder, after all that
rigmarole, they took the whole
business very seriously and stared
unsmiling at the camera.
GREAT EXHIBITION
Apart from being my forbearers
on the maternal side, I have no idea
who most of those in the album
are, or what was their station in life.
Nobody very important that’s for sure!
They were, however, probably
some of the six million people that
attended the Great Exhibition in
1851. It was staged in a huge glass
conservatory three times the size
of St Paul’s cathedral which came
The Crystal Palace destroyed by fire in 1936
to be known as the Crystal Palace
and which housed 5,000 exhibitors
from all over the world, including
some fully grown elm trees which
otherwise would have been felled.
To help with ventilation the
wooden floor was not close boarded
but slatted and it never needed to
be swept as the long skirts of the
Victorian ladies did that. The rubbish
was swept up on the floor below.
UP IN SMOKE
The exhibition ran from 1 May
to the middle of October and the
money raised was sufficient to fund
the Victoria and Albert Museum, the
Science Museum and the Natural
History Museum which were built
on the site after the Crystal Palace
was moved to Sydenham in south
London where it had became a major
exhibition centre until it caught fire
on the 30 November 1936.
It must have burned for some
time as crowds were attracted to
witness the event. My dad went on
his motor bike from Reading!
By the beginning of the 19th
Century the British Empire was well
established and with all its colonies
and protectorates was the largest in
history. It held sway over 23% of the
world's population and had the most
powerful navy.
This dominance was not without
cost as there were no less than 27
military conflicts during Queen
Victoria’s reign so it would not have
been the happiest time for the young
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men of the country but, no doubt,
they would have been proud to be
soldiers of the Queen.
Despite this, the 19th Century
was a period of invention and
development and we have the
Victorians to thank for many of the
things we take for granted today.
This includes, of course, much of the
St Andrew's Church building in
Sonning which was completely
rebuilt in the mid-1800's under the
guidance of the Vicar of Sonning,
Rev Canon Hugh Pearson (pictured
below). He was a true Victorian
parish priest who not only rode
around his parish on horseback
but founded this magazine in 1869
primarily to record what life was
like in the 19th Century for future
generations to enjoy.