Wednesday 25 January 2012

Fountain in Pearson Conservatory, St. Georges Park, South Africa, Made By Andrew Handyside about 1882.

Andrew Handyside who made Friar Gate bridge also made lots of decorative fountains. These fountains were made right here in Derby at the Duke Street Foundry "Britannia Iron Works". Andrew Handyside exported many decorative fountains around the world during the Victorian era.  The Britannia Foundry's work was well known for its fine quality so these fountains can be found all over the globe but where exactly they are located is difficult to find out.

Here is one I found last year but decided now was a good time to post about it due to the fact that I've just seen it in the background of a TV Advert !!!
This Handyside fountain is located inside the Pearson Conservatory, St. Georges Park, South Africa. It was made in Derby around 1882.

This particular design of fountain is listed as Design Number 15 on Page 30 of the 1879 publication "An Illustrated book of Designs for Fountains and Vases, costing from £1 to £1200 manufactured by Andrew Handyside".  Its the same design as the one at Prince Alfred College, Adelaide, Australia. and the one at Sarmiento School Fountain in San Miguel de Tucuman, Argentina, South America.

Photograph of the Handyside fountain :


The TV Advert for Truvia sweetener that features this fountain.


The advert was filmed in St. Georges Park, South Africa, the advert is set in a greenhouse originally brought from Scotland in 1882. Filled with hundreds of locally grown Stevia plants, the scene brought beauty and nature together in perfect syngery. In the advert Ebony Buckle, a classically trained singer takes centre stage as she sings ‘Truvia® Scrumptious’ to the tune of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’s iconic ‘Truly Scrumptious’.

Map Location:
View my Andrew Handyside World Map to see the exact location of this fountain on the world map.
My world map is the result of hundreds of hours of research into the company, plotting out each item as I find it.

Can you help find more Andrew Handyside stuff ?
If anyone out there knows of any other Fountains around the world bearing the Handyside badge that I have not mentioned yet then please get in touch with details, location, photographs etc.

Thanks
Andy

Friday 6 January 2012

Former New Brighton Tower, Wallasey, Merseyside, UK Built by Andrew Handyside in 1896 (now Demolished).

NOTE : This no longer exists! It was completely demolished in 1919.

Update : October 2022, Darren of the YouTube channel AdventureMe has made a really interesting and details video about this wonderful structure, highly recommend you watch it :

You may have seen this on Episode 7 of the BBC2 TV Series "Britain's First Photo Album - Liverpool to Blackpool" shown on Tuesday 20th March 2012.

Did you know that Andrew Handyside who made Friar Gate bridge in Derby also made the Structural steelwork and cast-ironwork for many buildings around the world and they were made right here in Derby at the Britannia Ironworks.

The New Brighton Tower was inspired by the Eiffel Tower (Paris, 1889) and built as the centre of a popular amusement park and pleasure garden. Located near Liverpool in Wallasey, Merseyside.

At the time, this was the highest structure in England !

It was begun in 1896, finished about 1900 at a cost of £120,000. The architects were Maxwell and Turk of Manchester

According to my 1904 guide published by Andrew Handyside the tower was 574 Foot high (From the ground to the top of the Cooper Ball on the flag-staff) and the base was 143 foot wide.

The weight of Steel used in the Tower is 1,760 Tons
The weight of Steel in the buildings surrounding the tower is 650 Tons.
Handyside designed it with an octagonal cross-sectional design unlike the simple square plan used on Blackpool Tower (518 feet, built 1894).

In the building which surrounded the base of the tower was a ballroom and other popular assembly spaces.

The tower had four lifts to take sightseers to the top of the structure at a cost of 6d.
From there you could see for miles around including the Isle of Man, part of the Lake District and the Welsh Mountains. The Tower attracted a half a million people in its opening year.
During the first world war the steel structure was neglected and became rusty through lack of maintenance and the cost of renovating was more than the owner could afford.

The top portion of the structure commenced to be dismantled on 7th May 1919 and was completed by June 1921 (see the photographs below)
The brick portion comprising of the Ballroom and Theatre remained, together with the turrets. During the Second World War the basement was used as a communal air-raid shelter.
The remaining parts of the surrounding buildings were destroyed by fire in 1969, the entire area was redeveloped as River View Park. Nothing remains of this site.


Photographs of this Victorian Tower built by Andrew Handyside.

new brighton tower - tallest building in england in 1897
Photograph by Noctorum.

Photograph by Andrew Handyside at the time of construction of the lower section of the tower from 1897 :





1912 Souvenir Guide for the New Brighton Tower and Amusement Park.
New Brighton Tower Guide page 1
Photograph by Noctorum.

New Brighton Tower Guide Cover.
New Brighton Tower Guide
Photograph by Noctorum.

Photograph showing the tower during its demolition 1919-1921.
New Brighton Tower Wallasey, dismantled between 1919-1921-03
Photograph by Les Ward.

A video "Wallasey - New Brighton Tower's Rise & Fall"
From 1897 to 1969, when the Tower met its final demise. This short pictoral history video captures what has gone and in many ways been forgotten.

Video by Parapiranha.

Learn more about New Brighton Tower here :
http://www.liberator31.co.uk/wallasey/towergrounds/index.html


My Reference :
Page 38 of Steel & Iron Structures Made and erected by Andrew Handyside & Co Ltd of Derby and London. Published 1904.

Map Location:
View my Andrew Handyside World Map to see the original exact location of this tower on my world map.
My world map is the result of hundreds of hours of research into the company, plotting out each item as I find it.

Can you help find more Andrew Handyside stuff ?
If anyone out there knows of any other items around the world bearing the Handyside badge that I have not mentioned yet then please get in touch with details, location, photographs etc.

Thanks
Andy

Sunday 1 January 2012

Drinking fountain in St Pancras Old Church Gardens built by Andrew Handyside in 1877.

Andrew Handyside who made Friar Gate bridge also made lots of decorative fountains. These fountains were made right here in Derby at the Duke Street Foundry "Britannia Iron Works".

Andrew Handyside exported many decorative fountains around the world during the Victorian era.
The Britannia Foundry's work was well known for its fine quality so these fountains can be found all over the globe but where exactly they are located is difficult to find out.
Thankfully because of my research here people are beginning to contact me with details of Handyside work, I am then able to add it to my world map. It really helps my research being able to use Flickr to see these items for myself and share these finds with the world.

This drinking fountain is located in the gardens of St Pancras Old Church, London.
Dated 1877 on plaque. Manufactured by Andrew Handyside and Co of Derby for William Thornton, a
senior Church Warden who presented it to the church.

This particular design of fountain is listed as Design Number 48 on Page 40 of the 1879 publication "An Illustrated book of Designs for Fountains and Vases, costing from £1 to £1200 manufactured by Andrew Handyside".

There is another of these fountains and in much better condition in Australia.
See my post : Belcher Drinking Fountain in Geelong, Victoria, Australia.

Photographs of this fountain.

View of the fountain in the Church gardens.
Handyside drinking fountain at St Pancras Old Church, London

View of the top of the fountain.
Handyside drinking fountain at St Pancras Old Church, London

The makers badge on the base of the fountain.
Handyside drinking fountain at St Pancras Old Church, London

Showing the location of the fountain within the church gardens


Handyside drinking fountain at St Pancras Old Church, London


Google Streetview of this fountain.

Map Location:
View my Andrew Handyside World Map to see the exact location of this fountain on the world map.
My world map is the result of hundreds of hours of research into the company, plotting out each item as I find it.

Can you help find more Andrew Handyside stuff ?
If anyone out there knows of any other Fountains around the world bearing the Handyside badge that I have not mentioned yet then please get in touch with details, location, photographs etc.

Thanks
Andy