{"id":2594,"date":"2017-04-19T15:09:19","date_gmt":"2017-04-19T14:09:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sussex.ac.uk\/english\/dalziel\/?p=2594"},"modified":"2018-08-03T16:15:13","modified_gmt":"2018-08-03T15:15:13","slug":"a-personal-journey-of-discovery-by-douglas-downing-descendant-of-the-dalziels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sussex.ac.uk\/english\/dalziel\/2017\/04\/19\/a-personal-journey-of-discovery-by-douglas-downing-descendant-of-the-dalziels\/","title":{"rendered":"‘A Personal Journey of Discovery’, by Douglas Downing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Douglas Downing is a descendant of the Dalziel family. He has a passion for all things digital, including photography,\u00a0film and television production. \u00a0His early experiences working for ITV Anglia and the Natural History Museum, gave him the opportunity to indulge in his fascination of researching and rediscovering forgotten stories and exploring unknown places. Here, he reflects on\u00a0his family research into Dalziel Brothers, and a recent trip to find out more about his ancestors.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Personal Journey of Discovery<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Fig. 1: Unknown Photographer, Charles Dalziel with the Camden Press and Foundry, ‘Last Outing at Southend’, 1905.\u00a0Gilbert Dalziel is on the second row fifth from right, \u00a0Harvey and Charles Dalziel are the sixth and seventh from the right on the same row.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Image reproduced by permission of\u00a0Douglas Downing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When I was asked to write about my Dalziel family research, I jumped at the chance. For the past eleven years, I have been researching my family history and piecing together the Dalziel story, so by now I have plenty to write about!<\/p>\n

Much of my research has been carried out on the internet, a great resource for tracing family histories. However, there is only so much one can discover\u00a0sitting in front of a computer screen. Actually tracing the footsteps of the Dalziel Brothers, visiting landmarks or finding new\u00a0objects that they had a connection with, is the most inspiring part of my research. I have visited all the significant places, including Northumberland (where the family originates from), Newcastle upon Tyne, and most places in and around London, including Camden and Highgate. One location that has been\u00a0easy to visit is the Cambridgeshire Fens, where I live. Sometimes, these visits have been purposely arranged and, other times, only later have I serendipitously found out that the Dalziels had been there before.<\/p>\n

Recently I made a visit to the coastal town of Herne Bay, in Kent, where Thomas Dalziel and his family had moved to, from London, at the end of the nineteenth century.\u00a0I had been planning a visit to Herne Bay ever since I first came across a copy of a 1978 auction catalogue, containing the remnants of studio work by Herbert Dalziel (Thomas Dalziel\u2019s son), relating to the area.\u00a0The auction catalogue was the first time I had seen photographs of an elderly Thomas Dalziel, in a domestic setting with his adult children. Before my visit I\u2019d explored Herne Bay on the internet: the town had obviously been built up over time but still had some beautiful old Georgian and Victorian buildings with some beautiful architectural features. I noted the Reculver Towers, which perch precariously on the cliff edge, and the remains of the old pier, set adrift from the coast, with its wonderful air of mystery.<\/p>\n

During Thomas\u2019s lifetime, Herne Bay would have been a thriving tourist resort, as were most British seaside towns at the time. Herne Bay was the ideal destination for the Victorian workforce and their families to enjoy a well-earned half-day holiday away from the toil of everyday existence.<\/p>\n

My drive from East Anglia to Kent was a long one. \u00a0After driving for several hours, I finally arrived on the seafront. It was a typical early February morning \u2013 \u00a0wet and windy \u2013 but it was an exciting moment.<\/p>\n

Over the past few years, I have collected ephemera relating to the Dalziel family. One of my recent purchases was a collection of original photographs from the early 1900s. \u00a0This was a wonderful find, as it included a few interior shots of their offices at the Camden Press, set up by the Dalziels in 1857, and wonderfully detailed group shots of Charles Dalziel and his staff. \u00a0Unfortunately, the photographs had been cut out of a photograph album, so their context with one another had been lost, but when I saw them, I knew I just had to rescue what I could.\u00a0The group of images included a large group photograph which was titled \u20181905 Last Outing of Camden Press and Foundry, Southend\u2019. \u00a0My own visit to Herne Bay bought to mind this photograph, and I reflected on the day-trippers and holiday-makers that would have populated the town in the Dalziels\u2019 day.<\/p>\n

One of the main purposes of this research trip was to track down the homes of Thomas and Herbert (Thomas\u2019 son). \u00a0At one point I called into the library for a bit of local advice and to look at the street maps, as the street I was looking for didn’t seem to exist. Although the librarians were very helpful, the maps were not particularly illuminating.<\/p>\n

Next I wanted to track down the Antiquarian Bookshop in the high street. I knew this bookshop no longer existed and has become\u00a0a children’s toy shop, but I just wanted to see the site for myself. \u00a0It was at this location, in the 1970s, where most of Thomas Dalziel’s own personal library ended up, after being sold to the bookshop owner. \u00a0Throughout the Dalziel Brothers\u2019 careers, they documented each commission they worked on, collating proofs in volumes, now housed in the British Museum Prints and Drawings department. The brothers also kept a library of published works\u00a0that they had contributed illustrations to. One can identify to whom books belonged, as the brothers each had a book plate produced that featured the first letter of their names, entwined in an elaborate cipher. They would also have an occasional letter from the author tipped into the front of the book. \u00a0It seems it was important to them to record their achievements and acquaintances with colleagues and friends.<\/p>\n

I stood across the street, looking at the once brightly-painted shop fa\u00e7ade. \u00a0Was I looking for some noticeable signs of Dalziel inhabitants, perhaps a stray book in the window or a plaque on the wall? Unfortunately, nothing!<\/p>\n

Finally, I took a short drive along the coast to the Reculver Towers, leaving the faded grandeur of Herne Bay behind. \u00a0It was late afternoon by now, the sun was setting slowly and the waves were crashing against the sea defenses. Looking out to sea I could see why Herbert Dalziel had been inspired to paint this part of the Kentish coast. The sea stretched out for miles in a wonderful array of green, blue and purple hues.<\/p>\n

As my visit to Herne Bay was coming to a close, I asked myself: did I find what I was looking for? I certainly came away thinking I needed to follow up some new enquiries, such as the location of Thomas Dalziel\u2019s house.<\/p>\n

A couple of weeks later I received an email from the local museum to tell me about the street I was looking for. \u00a0I was told that during the past 50 years the name of the street had been changed, so I was never going to find it without the help of some local knowledge! One thing this trip to Herne Bay did do for me was enable me to piece together more of the Dalziel story.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Douglas Downing is a descendant of the Dalziel family. He has a passion for all things digital, including photography,\u00a0film and television production. \u00a0His early experiences working for ITV Anglia and the Natural History Museum, gave him the opportunity to indulge in his fascination of researching and rediscovering forgotten stories and exploring unknown places. Here, he… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3220,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sussex.ac.uk\/english\/dalziel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2594"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sussex.ac.uk\/english\/dalziel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sussex.ac.uk\/english\/dalziel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sussex.ac.uk\/english\/dalziel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sussex.ac.uk\/english\/dalziel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2594"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.sussex.ac.uk\/english\/dalziel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2594\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sussex.ac.uk\/english\/dalziel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sussex.ac.uk\/english\/dalziel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sussex.ac.uk\/english\/dalziel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sussex.ac.uk\/english\/dalziel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}