Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: Streetlife Museum

  • Hull – Streetlife Museum (1818 Hobby Horse Bicycle)

    Hull – Streetlife Museum (1818 Hobby Horse Bicycle)

    The museum was given this bicycle in 1905 by a Mr. Mayfield who said that this father had merrily cycled around the Yorkshire Wolds on it, having originally bought it in Scarborough. When I write “cycled”, what I really mean is that Mr. Mayfield’s father had to push himself along as the bloody thing didn’t have any pedals. Now, by chance, this is also how I primarily ride a bike, by just pushing myself along using my feet, since the pedalling bit tires me out.

    I bet these owners were the envy of the local area…. Actually, owners of the bikes were sometimes known as ‘dandyhorses’ in a mocking way because of their riders, and I can think of a few people that I know who would probably buy one of these given half a chance. What is perhaps the most incredible about this is that it took 40 years for anyone to add pedals, as in the meantime there was a production of three-wheeled bikes, which didn’t require the rider to balance.

  • Hull – Streetlife Museum (Lanchester Open Tourer)

    Hull – Streetlife Museum (Lanchester Open Tourer)

    There’s something quite romantic about old cars, as it must have been an exciting time to have one. Not perhaps those drivers who toured the cities getting irritated by pedestrians and driving over horse deposits, but to explore the country road with few obstacles. Although, back then of course there were no Greggs drive-thrus, so it’s important to remember that the grass isn’t always greener.

    Anyway, I don’t know anything about old cars, so I have to read the information panel in a bid to understand the heap of metal in front of me. This is a Lanchester Open Tourer from around 1906, a car manufacturer from Birmingham which later moved to the romantic dreamlands of Coventry, where apparently they were “Coventry’s answer to Rolls Royce”. The company had a little issue in 1930 when they went a bit bankrupt, but the transport angels of Birmingham Small Arms Company (which sounds like a gang) bought them out.

    Birmingham Small Arms Company sold their business to Jaguar in 1960, alongside the Daimler brand which they also owned. It was all a bit over for Lanchester by then, as their last car had been made into a prototype in 1956, but it was never produced.

  • Hull – Streetlife Museum (Ryde Pier Tramcar)

    Hull – Streetlife Museum (Ryde Pier Tramcar)

    This is the oldest surviving tramcar in the country, having once plied the tramway network of Ryde Pier (I’ve been there). When I say network, I really mean the 681 metres along the pier itself, but that meant it saw a lot of the sea. It was constructed in 1867 from mahogany and teak, and it remained in use until 1935, by then the oldest working tramcar in the country.

    Inside the tramcar, which has been restored to its original state, with seating for 22 people. Later on in its lifetime, seats were added on the roof, but there was a little incident in September 1935 when it quite literally hit the buffers, meaning that it was damaged beyond repair. Fortunately (although not for them), there were only two passengers on board, with one of them being taken to hospital.

    There’s a bit of the Trigger’s Broom about this, as I wonder just how much of the original 1867 tramcar still remains, but it’s a nice thought to imagine this meandering up and down the pier full of happy holidaymakers going on their holidays.