The Postcard
A postcard bearing no studio name.
The Chatfield Drinking Fountain and Obelisk in the photograph is Grade II Listed. The monument was presented to the town in 1871 by Frederick Chatfield for both human and animal use.
It is made of granite. The circular base is divided into two broad segments, originally drinking troughs for animals, and two narrow segments which give access to two raised drinking basins for humans. These basins are visible in the photograph.
Above this rises the needle of the obelisk which was formerly surmounted by a decorative wrought iron spire.
Also missing is the large south side heraldic bronze shield that stated:
"This fountain was erected and presented
to the town by Frederick Chatfield Esq. 1871."
Carved into the stone underneath the bronze shield is the following:
"All beasts of the field
drink thereof.
Psalm CIV."
There was also a large bronze heraldic shield on the north side (visible in the photograph). This stated:
"Richard Mallam Webb Esq: Mayor of Brighton.
Robert Keirle Esq: Architect."
Bronze is a valuable metal, and after being in place for over a century, both plaques were stolen during the late 1990's. The police detained and questioned two suspects, but let them off with a warning, and the plaques were not returned.
The card was posted in Brighton on Wednesday the 3rd. October 1906 to:
Mr. Monk,
106, Marlowes,
Hemel Hempstead,
Herts.
The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:
"Thanks for P.C.
I would like some of
your pen and ink
sketchings.
Kind regards,
N. S."
George Osborne Barratt
So what else happened on the day that the card was posted?
Well, the 3rd. October 1906 was not a good day for George Osborne Barratt, because he died on that day.
George Osborne Barratt, who was born in 1827, was a confectioner who, at the age of 21, set up what was to become Barratt & Co. Ltd., using premises at 32, Shepherdess Walk, Hoxton.
Several of his siblings and children became involved in the business, aiding its growth and development. By the time of Barratt's death, the firm had become the largest confectionery manufacturer in the world.
The company was taken over by Bassett's in 1966, then by Cadbury Schweppes in 1989 and, since 2008, has been part of the Tangerine Confectionery portfolio. The Barratt brand name was brought back in 2018.
The Life of George Osborne Barratt
George was the tenth of fifteen children of William Barratt and Caroline Jane Harriskine. The Barratts were law bookbinders based at 21 Portugal Street, near Lincoln's Inn in London.
George married Sarah Peterson on the 18th. February 1849, at St. Clement Danes, Westminster. They had six girls and five boys, all born in Hoxton. The couple celebrated their golden wedding over the course of three days in February 1899, beginning with:
"An excellently-prepared banquet,
to which ample justice was done."
The meal was provided by Messrs. Spiers and Pond, well known for their catering establishments. On the second day some 200 male employees were entertained at a banquet in the company's main show room. This was followed the next day, by a similar celebration with 250 female staff.
After many years of illness and several operations, Barratt died from jaundice at his home at Holly Mount, Crouch Hill, leaving an estate worth nearly £154,000. He was laid to rest at Highgate Cemetery on the 5 October 1906 alongside his wife, who had been interred on the 7th. September 1905.
George Osborne Barratt's Business Career
Barratt was a very hard worker, and passionate about his endeavour. He acknowledged, though, that he was not a practical confectioner. He couldn't make sweets but he could "think" them. The press called George:
"The King of Confectioners".
George did not follow the family trade. After leaving school he entered a lawyer's office where he remained for some years. After his marriage he went into short-lived business as a pastry cook with his brother James.
He then started a sugar confectionery business employing one sugar boiler at 32, Shepherdess Walk, Hoxton. The enterprise was successful: it grew rapidly and neighbouring properties were bought up to allow for the expansion.
Barratt himself travelled, in his pony and trap, to deliver and promote his products in and around London. Then, his eldest son George (1852-1928), when he was 17, took over these journeys, and Barratt senior worked large parts of the country for the next 20 years.
Part of the company's success was attributable to a product sold as 'stickjaw' toffee – said to have been made accidentally – that was very popular with children.
When the company outgrew its Hoxton site it moved to a former piano factory, owned by a Mr Ivory, in Mayes Road, Wood Green. The first building was ready in 1882. By 1904 eight buildings were in use on nearly 5 acres, despite the setback of a serious fire on the 18th. October 1899 in which five buildings were destroyed.
Two years later there were around 2,000 employees producing 350 tonnes of sweets a week, making Barratts the largest confectionery manufacturer in the world.
HMS Dreadnought (1906)
Also on that day,the newly-built HMS Dreadnought went to sea for the first time for two days of trials at Devonport.
HMS Dreadnought was a Royal Navy battleship whose design revolutionised naval power. The ship's entry into service in 1906 represented such an advance in naval technology that her name came to be associated with an entire generation of battleships, the "Dreadnoughts."
The generation of ships she made obsolete became known as "Pre-Dreadnoughts".
Admiral Sir John "Jacky" Fisher, First Sea Lord of the Board of Admiralty, is credited as the father of Dreadnought. Shortly after he assumed office, he ordered design studies for a battleship armed solely with 12 inch (305 mm) guns and a speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). He convened a committee in order to evaluate alternative designs.
Dreadnought was the first battleship of her era to have a uniform main battery, rather than having a few large guns complemented by a heavy secondary armament of smaller guns. She was also the first capital ship to be powered by steam turbines, making her the fastest battleship in the world at the time of her completion.
Her launch sparked a naval arms race as navies around the world, particularly the Imperial German Navy, rushed to match it in the build-up to the Great War.
Dreadnought's Naval Career
Ironically for a vessel designed to engage enemy battleships, her only significant action was the ramming and sinking of German submarine SM U-29, becoming the only battleship confirmed to have sunk a submarine.
Dreadnought did not participate in the Battle of Jutland in 1916 as she was being refitted. Nor did she participate in any of the other Great War naval battles.
In May 1916 she was relegated to coastal defence duties in the English Channel, not rejoining the Grand Fleet until 1918. The ship was reduced to reserve in 1919, and sold for scrap in 1921.
