London Bridge

A card to Mrs Waring from Charlie. The message seems to indicate that Mrs Waring was staying at the Povey's house in George Street while on holiday in Brighton. The 1881 census record shows that the Poveys were taking in lodgers at that time. That was the only census that lodgers are recorded and as Jane and Matthew Povey were both 79 years old in 1906 it is likely that Mrs Waring was a friend or relative.

August 14th 1906 was a Tuesday.

Fish Market, Brighton

John was going to the Brighton Hippodrome and Edith had a cold in February 1905. John told his second wife late in his life that he went to the Hippo regularly with his cousin William.

February 15th 1905 was a Wednesday.

School Hill, Lewes

An intriguing message on this card. It was written by Edith, John's sister, signed by Janie, his cousin and added to by Ettie (unknown). John was staying with his aunts, Sarah and Fanny at 36, Gladstone Road and Janie who was Harry and Emily Goodridge's daughter, was staying with Percy and Edith King. In 1903 Janie would have been 6 years old.

August 25th 1903 was a Tuesday.

Palmer Park, Reading

A card from Elizabeth Povey to her Aunt Jane confirming that she would be arriving late in the afternoon the following day.

July 6th 1905 was a Thursday.

Rural Lie: In the Hayfield

A card from Edith with a picture of haymaking. Both she and John wrote cards about haymaking at their Uncle William's Hawkesbourne Farm in Horsham. She wrote this reminds me of you, "Standfast", did John hold the horse like this while the cart was loaded?

Edith also wrote on this card about John and their cousin Willie meeting up at Brighton Station and being met at Lewes. Could they have been making arrangements about going to the Lewes Bonfire Night celebrations the following week?

October 30th 1903 was a Friday.

Fisher Row

Pat reveals that she had visited Fisher Row in Musselburgh, "a very gay place".

August 16th 1905 was a Wednesday.

Pier at Long Beach, California

A post card sent to Keith Charles when he at the Convent in Southampton. The card that had been produced by a publisher in Los Angeles appears to have been posted in the UK, but the stamp has been removed. What remains of the postmark suggests that the card was posted in 1906.

The sender his Auntie Rose was pleased to hear that he enjoyed himself at Kells. Did Keith know the Barnewall children and how did this card get into John's post card collection?

St Mary's Butts, Reading

A post card to Miss L. Povey from Nan, please send some Lily of the Valley.

The postage stamp has been canceled/obliterated by crayon so the is no way of dating this card.

Caversham view from Bridge, Reading

A post card from Annie to her aunty, Miss Povey. Elizabeth was a regular visitor to her own aunt and uncle, Jane and Matthew at 51, George Street, Brighton. (More Povey family research needed)

April 6th 1905 was a Thursday.

This image is from the bottom right-hand corner of the post card photograph and shows an eel trap.

Throwing into Covert

A post card to John & Emma Goodridge from their sister-in-law, Mary. It is also to her nephew Johnie.  'Hoping you are all well'.

April 27th 1909 was a Friday.

Another message to Kells

This is the second post card to the Barnwell children. While it is impossible to know how these cards came to be in John's collection, it could be that Charlie Barnewell and his sister had connections with Brighton. The 1911 Census suggests that Charles was a student at Ampleforth and his sister, Maggie was at Convent Of The Sacret Heart in Brighton.

August 26th 1906 was a Sunday.

Miss Isabel Jay

Edith enjoyed the joint of beef supplied from the Goodridge Butchers shop in April 1905 and ordered another, but a little smaller.

Miss Isabel Jay sang with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in the first half of her career and then performed in musicals in West End productions. It is known that John enjoyed visiting the theatre in Brighton, particularly Variety. On one visit to the Hippodrome with his cousin William he had part of a pig carcass in a sack. When he picked the sack up at the end of the entertainment they noticed that there was a pool of blood on the floor.

April 25th 1905 was a Tuesday.

Ponte di Rialto, Venice

A post card of Venice posted in Sinapore to person in Southampton. One wonders how it became part of John's collection.

June 4th 1903 was a Thursday.

Auf dem Marsche

A post card from Aachen from an unknown sender. A somewhat chilling image considering that 10 years after this card was sent the Great War had begun.

August 15th 1904 was a Monday.

Main Guard Malta

A card to Mrs Hurst from Dolly. Had Dolly been to Malta as the address side indicates that this was not intended for sale on the British domestic market.

July 29th 1905 was a Saturday.

The Beach, St Leonards-on-Sea

A message from Edith to say that she was in Horsham for a few days and was haymaking on the day she wrote the card. It is likely that she was helping her Uncle William at Hornbrook Farm.

June 25th 1904 was a Saturday.

On the far left of this photograph is St Leonard's Pier, opened in October 1891 and lost in 1951.

High Street, Cliffe

A meat order from Edith, veal or half a shoulder or leg of mutton.

From the poor postmark, it looks like the card was probably sent on July 26th 1904, a Tuesday.

Sharpham on the Dart

New Year greetings for 1904 from Edith and Percy to Jane and Matthew Povey. Matthew was Jane's second husband and was Edith's step-grandad. 

December 31st 1903 was a Thursday.

Model of Salisbury Kettle

An unwritten post card of a souvenir of Torquay. For the final 5 years of John's long life, he lived in Torquay after living for more than 40 years in Exeter.

River Thames near Isleworth

Edith had hoped to see her brother on May 8th 1905, a Monday and asked him to call by the next time he was in Lewes.

Christmas Greetings

A post card that would be recognisable today as a modern Christmas Card, but taking advantage of the ½d postage rate for post cards. This one was sent to Mrs Povey from Alf and Jem. There is no evidence as to who they were.

December 22nd 1905 was a Friday.

Saturday Night at the Inn

A card from Lily Tidy with no message. It is from the same series as this one from John's half-sister, Edith.

March 5th 1904 was a Saturday.

Life in our Village

A card from Edith who was expecting the tails the next day. Would they have been oxtails?

February 16th 1904 was a Tuesday.

Hampton Court Palace

May Tidy became choosy about which post cards she would collect in October 1903.

May was John's cousin who lived in Horsham nearly all of her life. She was born in Southwater in 1883 and lived to the age of 102.

St Mary's Church, Bettws-y-Coed

A post card from Mick to Mrs. Hurst from Harrogate. Her son-in-law to be Mark Mitchell was a photographer, could this Mick have been a colleague?

August 1st 1905 was a Tuesday.