Photos of Old Wivenhoe

Back in September 2010 I published a couple of photos: one a scene taken from a book of pictures of Wivenhoe from the past and the second a recreation of how the same view looked today.

The first pic. shows the Park Hotel (left) with a horse-drawn wagonette or brake standing out front. The hotel was built in 1863, although the picture, looking down the High Street, was taken in 1905.

Above is how the same view looks today. The hotel became a pub which has now closed; out of shot just off to the left of the picture it is obvious that there has been some building work going on and the former bar has been converted into a coffee shop. We haven't been in yet, but it seems to be quite popular.

Since writing the above we have been into the "coffee shop" – actually a very nice little restaurant called Jardines. I also noticed that Google haven't updated their "street view" for years and this was the scene when their Google car came down the High Street in July 2009.

Anyway, I thought I'd try again with another scene. One of the pubs in the area has a number of old photos of Wivenhoe and I occasionally try to snap one. The photos are never perfect because they're behind glass and I've managed to get some light reflected. But hopefully it's good enough.

This scene is further down the High Street (the road in the above pics) towards the quay. In the foreground is a furniture shop and, a couple of doors further down, is the Greyhound pub. The road leading off to the left is Queens Road and, almost opposite the Greyhound, on the right, is Clifton Terrace, where Dave Wallis lived.

The third picture above is the eerily similar shot from July 2009. Just shows you how little changes over the years and how little damage Mel and I have caused since our arrival in July 2010. No craters, no angry mobs... we really need to try harder.

(* Google photos are © Google)