Brett Payne's Victorian & Edwardian
Home / Studio Index / England / Derbyshire / Church Gresley, Swadlincote & Woodville / Charles Tyler & Albert Charles Tyler
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Charles Tyler was born in the small village of Wymeswold, Leicestershire in 1837, son of a confectioner and publican John Tyler (1802-1874) and Ann Yeomans (1803-1881). From at least 1861, it appears that Charles and his father started travelling, selling confectionery at markets and fairs. In April that year they were in a caravan at Morledge, Derby St Peter, while the rest of the family remained in Wymeswold. Three years later, Charles married Alice Suett, daughter of a fellow traveller.
Charles Tyler probably left the confectionery trade and set up as a travelling photographer in the late 1860s. By April 1871, he and Alice and their three sons were living in a caravan, parked in the yard of the Blue Lion in Grantham, Lincolnshire. Between then and the early 1890s they travelled to many towns and villages in Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Cheshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire and Lincolnshire.
From around 1880-1881, Charles Tyler's two eldest sons Albert Charles and Arthur William began assisting with the photographic business, and younger son Edwin joined them a few years later. By 1891 Albert Charles Tyler was operating a separate travelling photographic van, assisted by another younger brother Charles. It appears that Charles senior ceased travelling shortly after this, becoming the landlord of the Engineer's Arms in Coalville by August 1894. A carte de visite portrait from the late 1890s (see below) bears the name "A.C. Tyler," rather than the "C. Tyler & Son" of the early 1890s.
Albert Charles Tyler married Lucy Smedley in 1894. They were in Pleasley in 1901, he working as a travelling photographer, and he is shown by Adamson (1997) as being at Somercotes, near Alfreton in 1904. By 1908 Albert Charles described himself as an amusement caterer.
LIST OF SIGHTINGS
| April 1861: | confectioner, in van at Morledge, Derby |
| 1864 : | marriage at Leicester |
| 1865 : | first son Albert Charles born at Wymeswold, Leicestershire |
| 1867: | second son Arthur William born at Wymeswold, Leicestershire |
| 1869: | third son Harry Gladsone born at Long Eaton, Derbyshire |
| April 1871: | travelling photographer, in caravan at Blue Lion Yard, Grantham, Lincolnshire |
| 1871: | fourth son Frank born at Hinckley, Leicestershire |
| 1873: | fifth son Edwin born at Bollington, Cheshire |
| 1877: | sixth son Charles born at Burslem, Staffordshire |
| 1879: | seventh son Fred born at Grantham, Lincolnshire |
| April 1881: | photographer, in caravan at Blue Lion Yard, Grantham, Lincolnshire |
| 1881: | first daughter Alice Emily born at Nottingham |
| 1882: | second daughter Florence "Florrie" Minnie born at Wymeswold, Leicestershire |
| 1884: | third daughter Maud born at Wymeswold, Leicestershire |
| April 1891: | photographer, in caravan at Morledge, Derby St Peter; son Albert Charles is photographer in caravan at Mantle Lane, Whitwick, Leicestershire |
| 1895: | publican, Engineers' Arms, Belvoir road, Coalville, Leicestershire; son Charles is photographer in High street, Swadlincote, Derbyshire |
| 1899: | publican, Engineers' Arms, Belvoir road, Coalville, Leicestershire |
| April 1901: | retired publican, London road, Coalville, Leicestershire; son Albert Charles is travelling photographer in Pleasley (Derbyshire) |
| 1904: | son Albert Charles is photographer in Somercotes, near Alfreton (Derbyshire) |
| 1908: | private resident, Durban house, London road, Coalville, Leicestershire |
Charles Tyler died at Coalville on 22 June 1908. His son Albert Charles Tyler died in the Ashby registration district, aged 71, in 1937.
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| Type I Mr C. Tyler Used c. 1870s Decorated rect frame Name/address o/printed |
Type II Charles Tyler Used c. 1880s Setting sun & ribbon & other motifs |
Type III C. Tyler & Son Used early to mid-1890s Classical columns, motifs etc. & country landscape |
Type IV A.C. Tyler Used mid- to late 1890s Gold ink/d.green glossy card blank verso |
| PORTFOLIO | Contribute a Photo |
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ID #: ctyler01 Source: Collection of Judith Brennan Artist: C. Tyler of Market Place, Whitwick Negative No. - Size: Carte de visite (Mount 65.5 x 108.5 mm; Photo 58.5 x 98 mm) Card Type: Type I Card Thickness: - Date: Undated, probably taken c.1868-1874 Notes: Thin card. Square corners. Subject: Tentatively identified as William Hall (c1820-), his wife Sarah (1817-) and daughter Eliza (b. 1861) of Swanwick, Derbyshire, full length seated/standing portrait with curtains and table. |
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ID #: ctyler04 Source: Collection of Judith Brennan Artist: C. Tyler of Market Place, Whitwick Negative No. - Size: Carte de visite (Mount 65.5 x 108 mm; Photo 58.5 x 99 mm) Card Type: Type I Card Thickness: - Date: Undated, probably taken c.1872-1876 Notes: Thin card. Square corners. Subject: Unidentified young woman, possibly Mary Hall (born 1840) of Swanwick, Derbyshire, full length standing portrait with curtain, pedestal and patterned carpet. |
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ID #: ctyler01 Source: Collection of Frances Quinn Artist: Charles Tyler, here and at Wymeswold Negative No. - Size: Carte de visite (Fragment: Mount 63 x 66 mm; Photo 59 x 63 mm) Card Type: Type II Card Thickness: - Date: Undated, probably taken c.1885-1890 Notes: Torn in half, and with trimmed corners. Subject: Group of four unidentified young men, one holding a small dog, possibly acquaintances of Catherine Quinn of Bollington (Cheshire), full length seated/standing portrait with curtains, chairs, and fur-covered table. |
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ID #: ctyler03 Source: Collection of Gillian Jones Artist: Charles Tyler, here and at Swadlincote & Coalville Negative No. - Size: Carte de visite Card Type: Type III Card Thickness: - Date: Undated, probably taken c.1894-1896 Notes: Rounded corners. Subject: Unidentified woman, probably in her 20s or early 30s, full length standing portrait with plain backdrop, chair and patterned carpet. |
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ID #: actyler01 Source: Collection of Brett Payne Artist: A.C. Tyler of Coalville Negative No. - Size: Carte de visite (Mount 63 x 104.5 mm; Photo 58.5 x 90.5 mm) Card Type: Type IV Card Thickness: - Date: Undated, probably taken c.1895-1900 Notes: Thick card with rounded corners and beveled and gilded edges. "A.C. Tyler, Photographer, Coalville." in gold ink on recto, blank on verso. Subject: Group of three unidentified young women with large hats and umbrellas, probably in their late teens or early 20s, full length seated/standing portrait with painted backdrop, chairs, and table with flower-patterned tablecloth. |
Indexed 1841- 1901 UK Census from Ancestry
Partial Transcript of the GRO Index from FreeBMD
International Genealogical Index (IGI) by FamilySearch
White, F. & Co. (1857) History, Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Derby, Transcribed by Neil Wilson.
Historical Directories from the University of Leicester
- Anon (1854) Melville & Co.'s Directory & Gazetteer of Leicestershire.
- Harrison, Harrod & Co. (1860) Directory and Gazetteer of Derbyshire, London.
- Anon (1870) Street, Alphabetical & Trade Directory of Leicester.
- Anon (1870) Harrod & Co.'s Postal & Commercial Directory of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland & Staffordshire.
- Wright C.N. (1874) Directory of South Derbyshire, Third Edition, October 1874, Derby.
- Anon (1881) Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire, Kelly & Co., London.
- Anon (1891) Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland & Nottinghamshire, Kelly & Co., London.
- Anon (1892) Wright's Directory of Leicestershire.
- Anon (1895) Kelly's Directory of Leicestershire & Rutland.
- Anon (1899) Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland & Nottinghamshire, Kelly & Co., London.
- Anon (1908) Kelly's Directory of Leicestershire & Rutland.
- Anon (1912) Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire 1912, Kelly's Directories Ltd., London.
Anon (1895) Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire, Kelly & Co. Limited, London.
Anon (1887) Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire, Kelly & Co., London.
Anon (1895) History, Topography, and Directory of Derbyshire, T. Bulmer & Co. - by kind courtesy of Sonia Addis-Smith
Adamson, Keith I.P. (1997) Professional Photographers in Derbyshire 1843 - 1914, The PhotoHistorian, No. 118 Supplement, September 1997, ISSN 0957-0209. Courtesy of John Bradley.
Craven, Maxwell (ed.) (1993) Keene's Derby, Breedon Books, Derby, pp. 200-202. - by kind courtesy of Sonia Addis-Smith
Many thanks to Gillian Jones, Frances Quinn and Judith Brennan for kind contributions of images and information.