Quintographs

I took new photographs from approximately the same places as other photographers had stood over sixty years ago. Due to the constraints of differing lenses, (and the fact that the original photographers had stood in the middle of what are now lethally busy roads!), I have not always managed to match the original photograph with my own as perfectly as I would have liked to have done. However the desired result, that of showing the changes that have taken place between the taking of the photographs, has I feel been achieved.

To better illustrate the changing face of Stainforth I merged the old photograph into the new photograph, using three interim frames. (Obviously I could have used more frames, but this would have led to excessive file sizes and long download times) This gives a total of five frames for each animation which, for want of a better word, I have called "Quintographs"

Then

The building in the foreground, with the arched facade, was the Army Recruiting Office for many years. The shop called Mumby's became Josie's Arcade. It was burned to the ground around 1997. The next shop along was Fowler's Fish & Chip shop throughout the 60s and 70s. After the fish & chip shop is Selles Chemists. The small building in the centre of the picture, following on from the Chemists was the Salvation Army Hall. More recently, it has been used as Stainforth Town Council Office.

Bowling's Butchers, Field Road, Stainforth. The Bowling family has played a prominent role in Stainforth's history. From the days of this early photograph of Bowling's Butchers to more recent days when members of the Bowling family applied themselves to the politics of Stainforth's Council.

This is the approach to the canal bridge. The shop at the bottom of the bridge has since become a cafe, though the houses in the foreground have changed little. The large building in the centre of the picture, which was once a warehouse and was situated directly adjoining the canal itself, was demolished long ago.

The view from the canal bridge. This is the Stainforth & Keadby canal. When the canal was first constructed in 1793 it was used by traders who traveled from Thorne and The Isle of Axholme. Later the canal was used to take coal from Hatfield Main Colliery to the nearby Thorpe Marsh power station. At one time extremely polluted, the canal is now relatively clean and contains a healthy population of fish. The canal has recently seen a lot work performed on edging the banks and these days is used mainly as a pleasure waterway.

The cemetery has changed little in the time between the taking of these two photographs. Of note, one can see the Cenotaph and the morgue in the recent photograph which were absent at the time of the original photograph. The house, which has always been the residence of the gravedigger of the time, has also seen substantial work and renovation.

Church Road, with the Police Station on the left and the Market Place at the top right of the photographs. On the original picture the Market Hall, complete with clock and bell, can be seen. Long since demolished, the area where the hall stood is used as a wintering area for fairground machines and people. I particularly like how the bus shelter appears where there are people waiting for a bus in the black & white photograph.

Another area of Stainforth that has seen little change over the years. The area of interest in these photographs is the central buildings which in the original photograph were shops, but have been converted into houses in recent years.
As an aside; the cottages which are just showing on the right side of the pictures once belonged to my brother. During the 1984-85 miner's strike I helped with digging out for foundations on the extension and garage. Whilst digging, we found an area which had been used for many small camp fires. The surrounding area was littered with the remains of hundreds of clay pipes which had been used and discarded by their original owners long before the cottages were built.

Field Road, with the Market Place on the left and the Fox Inn in the centre. These houses were built in the early 1920's. St. Mary's Church is a much later addition to the scene, opened in 1934, and can be seen above the houses in the later photograph.

Stainforth Methodists Church Hall. The major difference between the hall we see today and the hall which existed in the original photograph is the disappearance of the main part of the building. This large section was demolished and the land sold almost thirty years ago.

Since the original photograph was taken this area of Stainforth has seen immense change. The shops in the first pair of photographs at the top of this page, (The Army Recruitment, Mumby's and Fowler's) is actually a view of the left side of this road. In the original picture this side is just open fields. After work began at Hatfield Main this area was developed for miner's houses, the square prefabricated blocks of concrete which were used to build Stanley Gardens being among the first. Even today, this area of Stainforth is referred to as "The New Village", in comparison to the area around Field Road and Silver Street which can still be heard being referred to as "The Old Village"

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