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Davenport History
Index to History featuresCorrespondence from readers about our reference to Bullock's and their postcards of Davenport in another of my article has inspired me to research the history of their photography operation.
I hope this article is of interest - if anyone can fill in more of the story I'd be very pleased to hear from you. - Charlie Hulme
The dynasty can be traced back to two brothers, Edward and Thomas Bullock.
Edward Bullock, born 1808 in Bolton, Lancashire, whom the 1851 census records as a widower and 'artist, portrait painter' living in Charles Street, Cheadle, Staffordshire, with his children Mary (16), William (15), Elizabeth (14), James (12), and Edward (10) plus Edward's sister Martha (28) acting as housekeeper. By 1861 he had re-located to the popular Victorian resort of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, with William, James and Martha, as well as his niece Elizabeth. Like many portrait painters of the time, he would have realised that photography offered a quick way to produce portraits, and James and Edward joined him in a photographic enterprise based at 20, Lower Parade in Leamington, a fashionable address not far from the Pump Room where visitors would 'take the waters.'
The Leamington Bullocks were innovators: in 1865 they patented a process for reproducing copies of photographs by lithography.
Thomas Bullock, born in 1811 Cauldon, Staffordshire, between Macclesfield and Leek, was in business in 1851 as a 'Photographic Artist' in Brunswick Street, Macclesfield, Cheshire where he lived with his wife Mary and children Hannah (10), Joseph (9), William (7), Thomas H.(5), Elizabeth (3) and Daniel (10 months). By 1861 two further sons, Ezra and David had been born, and the three eldest, Hannah, Joseph, and William were working as assistants in the business, by then operating at 2 Hibel Road, Macclesfield where it was to stay for many years, with Daniel, Ezra and David later joining the team as the elder children left home. By the turn of the century, Ezra presided over the Macclesfield studio, with paid assistants.
Stockport portraits
Here are two examples of the many portrait 'cartes de visite' produced by the Bullocks. We are grateful to John Chard for providing these from his family collection. Actual size is about 5 inches high.
This one (above and below) is from the 108 Wellington Road South studio. The subject is James Arthur Penny, born 1864, probably photographed to commemorate his 21st birthday in 1885. He was the son of Belfast-born John Penny (1816-1891), a Stockport paper merchant, and his second wife Ellen.
The ornate design of back used in the Wellington Road days.
This one is from Greek Street, and is believed to one of James Arthur Penny's sisters, either Clara (b.1863), or Hannah (b.1865.) Hannah tragically died in 1891, the same year as her father.
A much simpler design on the reverse of this later card.
Picturesque Cheshire
A small selection of postcards (probably) produced by the Macclesfield Bullocks. Above, the '180 steps' in Macclesfield, leading to the Parish Church.
Park Green, Macclesfield, with the church and the classical portico of the Town Hall.
Knutsford.
The packhorse bridge over the River Goyt near the Buxton - Macclesfield road. This area has been submerged under a reservoir since the picture was made, and the bridge reconstructed further upstream.
Special thanks to David Bullock, John Chard and the staff of Stockport Local Studies Library for assistance with this article.
Bullock Brothers, Photographers
The postcard above, showing the view towards Davenport station from somewhere near Clutha Road, dates from c. 1902-3 and bears the imprint of 'Bullock Bros', as do many other cards that can be found traded on eBay and elsewhere. However, the Bullock family were making and selling photographs well before the era of picture postcards began.
Daniel Bullock, son of Thomas, and founder of Bullock Brothers in Stockport, spent some time in Leamington Spa helping his cousin James with the business there (Edward Bullock died in 1876) and is recorded living with him in the 1881 census. Soon afterwards, however, he moved to Stockport: the first Bullock Brothers studio here was at a house (which no longer exists) known as 'Woodland Bank', 108 Wellington Road South - portrait cards exist with that address and dated 1882.
The Wellington Road studio was a little outside the town, and the accommodation was perhaps inadequate, especially after Daniel married local girl Susan Matilda Braddock in December 1883, and in February 1885 Daniel purchased a leasehold property, 26 Greek Street, Stockport, one of a row of houses built in the late 1830s as part of what was the beginning of 'fashionable' suburban expansion of the town. By the summer of 1885 the new studio was ready, as announced in the Stockport Advertiser of 3 July:
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Removal! Removal! Removal! NEW LIGHTED STUDIO IS NOW COMPLETED and well adapted for ALL STYLES OF PHOTOGRAPHY It will be found replete with every comfort to suit their patrons 26 GREEK-STREET (late of Wellington Road South) STOCKPORT |
Daniel and Susan had at least three children, Ernest, Ada and Sydney, and by 1891 they were prosperous enough to employ a domestic servant, Mary Hoe. Susan, Ernest and Ada helped with the photographic work, and after Daniel died tragically young in 1900, they carried on the business.
From the 1890s, and especially after 1902 when postcard were permitted by the Post Office, to have a 'split back' with the address and message both on the back of the picture, the Bullocks at all three sites added postcard publication to their portrait and general photography.
Photographs included Stockport and Macclesfield town scenes, and tourist sights in the Peak District and east Cheshire can also be found. Most have a rather rough-and-ready look to them, and some, especially Stockport examples, seem to have faded badly over the years.
Some of those shown here have been digitally enhanced to make them more visible. No doubt they were cheap, but they cannot compete for attractiveness with the colour cards printed in Germany sold by competitors.
Daniel's widow Susan died, aged just 42, at the beginning of 1907, and the business,along with the house, was sold to the firm of Scott and Frisby. William George Frisby, photographer, moved into 26 Greek Street with his wife Catherine, and daughters Violet, Ruby and Ivy. Violet joined the business: in the 1911 census her occupation is 'photographer's retoucher.' Frisby and his wife were born in London, and at some time lived in Yorkshire, but they had been in Stockport before, as their youngest daughter was born here.
Ernest and Sydney went to live with Susan's father, John Braddock in Crosby Street, Stockport - Ernest Braddock is listed as 'photographer's assistant' in 1911, which suggests that Scott and Frisby employed him. The business continued under Frisby's auspices for many years, although electoral registers show that in the 1920s he had rented out the living accommodation at 26 Greek Street and moved to a house at 23 Fair View Avenue, Levenshulme, Manchester.
The building at 26 Greek Street still exists, in good condition, in 2012, as offices for a firm of estate agents and surveyors. I've yet to discover when the photography business ceased - possibly when R Frisby retired. There is no evidence at all that Scott and Frisby produced any postcards, unless they were connected with the somewhat enigmatic 'Grenville Series' postcards (Grenville Street is in Edgeley not far from Greek Street) produced in Stockport in considerable numbers at the period.
Grenville Series cards, such as the one above, although still monochrome, have a more professional look that the Bullock ones, and have generally suffered less with time, but carry no clue to the name of the publisher except the 'Granville Series' logo in the corner. Some coloured cards were apparently also produced under this imprint. Any thoughts on this question would be very welcome.
This advert appeared in a Stockport street directory of 1887.
Written by Charlie Hulme, January 2012.
Comments welcome at info@davenportstation.org.uk