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Friday 5 July 2013

A Plague of Plaques - Sepia Saturday

My local town of  Yarm has a plethora of plaques, just right for the challenge Marilyn has set us for this week with this plaque of Pasteur treating a boy with a rabies.vaccine.


You may have seen a number of the photos in the post but not all at once.

Taking a tour of the town along West Street, travelling north, the first blue plaque you see is one on a building wall.

Blue Plaque - Hauxwell's
A modern photo but as you can surmise the building is much older, even though now it has been turned into flats.

Hauxwell's - in the morning sun.
Further down the street you come to an older site.

Hope House - 14th Century
And the house itself dwarfed by the arches.

Hope House - with viaduct above.
Across on the opposite is the church yard with this plaque on the wall.

Thomas Conyers Free Grammar School
When we moved to Yarm in the 1970s my elder son was to attend Yarm Grammar School in another part of the town which had replaced the one demolished. By the time my younger son reached the age to attend. The PC brigade had had the Yarm Grammar closed and replaced by a comprehensive school - named Conyers. Later Yarm Independent School took over the Old Grammar School and built new premises in the grounds of a former engineering firm's headquarters, which further back had once been a friarage. My daughter became one of the first six girls to attend Yarm School in the Sixth Form.

I've mentioned the viaduct already and you will have noticed it in both the Hauxwell and Hope House shots. The viaduct has a plaque of its own.

Leeds & Northern Railway Company's Viaduct
I won't ask you to count the bricks; it's easier to count the arches

Yarm Viaduct
At the left of the picture you can also see a bridge crossing the River Tees - it has a plaque of its own.

Yarm Bridge Plaque
And the bridge brickwork itself - 

Yarm Bridge (west side)
I could go on but it's time for a drink and where better to stop than at the: 

George & Dragon
It has some plaques, of course.

Stockton & Darlington Railway and Coaching House Plaques.
Unfortunately you cannot catch a train or a coach to take you to other venues on Sepia-Saturday-184.

21 comments:

Unknown said...

Jeez -- we think that a building from 1640 in Boston is old -- you guys have REALLY old stuff! I'm assuming that a Blue Placque is historical....right? That aquaduct is amazing...good post!

Jackie van Bergen said...

Love how all plaques led you to the pub!
That viaduct is amazing.

Jo said...

Full of old places and yet before I 'met' you I had never heard of Yarm. Is the viaduct still in use? I like the George and Dragon, make mine a scotch please.

Kristin said...

That would be quite something to have the train going by right over your head. There are lots of plaques around Atlanta about battles during the Civil War. Nothing as old as yours are.

Brett Payne said...

Nice to see so many very old buildings surviving in Yarm. I particularly like the charming Hope House, but the railway viaduct is very impressive.

Any idea what the magnet on the George & Dragon's sign means? A photographer in nineteenth century Leicester called his business the Magnet Studio, with a similar logo on his cartes de visite, and I've always wondered why. Was there some significance in Victorian times, perhaps?

Bruno Laliberté said...

I love this viaduct!!
Nice show!!
:)~
HUGZ

Bob Scotney said...

Brett - The magnet is the trade mark for John Smiths Brewery adopted in 1911. They have (had?)a range of beer called Magnet Ales and sponsor a horse race formerly called the Magnet Cup. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Smith's_Brewery

Bob Scotney said...

Jo - the railway viaduct is still in use for goods and passenger trains linking Newcastle and York. Yarm has its own station to the southern end of the viaduct.

Brett Payne said...

Thanks Bob - no connection to the Magent Studio then.

Anonymous said...

I thoroughly enjoyed the stroll down West Street! What a lovely town and fine old buildings.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy said...

I like how they remember the spot, even when the original building has been destroyed.

Thanks for the wonderful tour, Bob.

Kathy M.

Mike Brubaker said...

A grand tour and exactly on theme, Bob. The Yarm viaduct begs for the Marx Brothers' "Why a Duck?" skit. And I now have an image of Bishop Skirlaw with his vestments rolled up, wielding a trowel.

ScotSue said...

A fascinating local history which without the plaques could so easily be lost. I liked your title - I always go for alliteration!

Little Nell said...

I was hoping someone would go down this route, and you haven't disappointed with this string of blue plaques.

Postcardy said...

The Viaduct looks awfully close to the Hope House. I would probably lose my place if I tried to count the arches--their certainly are a lot of them.

21 Wits said...

Yes, I do recall some of these, but I could see them again and again. They are quite lovely, and it's always a treat to see a bit of your country as well!

Joan said...

Loved the tour of Yarm. I dinna even know where Yarm was located, but with Google Maps I not only found Yarm, but also could follow along with your tour. However, I did get sidetracked with the True Lovers Walk.

Hazel said...

Indeed so many plaques. My favorite is the one with the cobweb. Very charming. Nice collection.

Hazel

Tattered and Lost said...

A friend from England, who upon returning home from a trip to Los Angeles, wrote to say that after seeing LA she really did understand how much England looked like beautiful movie sets.

It's always so hard to imagine such old buildings when you live in California. A structure that goes back to the mid-19th century gets a plaque around here.

North County Film Club said...

I'm always jealous of the history of England. Our U.S. history is so new. It's hard to even conceive of a house from the 1400s still being around.
That aqueduct is so amazing.
Nancy

Wendy said...

I'm glad the town thought enough of the buildings to put plaques on them. It makes a good guide for a walking tour.