Archer Cowley early 20th-century work page.

Early 20th century vintage stuff on this page. If we number the shots starting top-left as No.1, and work clockwise from it, there are shots 1 to 5, plus the middle-of-the-page shot as No.6.

Shot No.1 (top LHS) is looking at Christ Church college front entrance from St Aldates street, the direction being from west to east through and under Tom Tower, except that the entrance is blocked by the Archer & Co (or is it 'Archer Cowley’? at this date) Foden steam wagon passing under the tower into St Aldates street. This location was very familiar to me from about September 1949, as I went to daily church services in Christ Church cathedral (in the Latin chapel) from my school in Brewer Street, Monday to Saturday, little knowing that the family transport vehicles had done much work at the college in decades gone by. I do remember doing summer holiday work at Archer Cowley & Co in my student days, and finding myself sent to work on packing up the books of ‘Canon xxxxx (the name has gone from my memory), in whose lodgings in ’Tom'  quadrangle, we found books everywhere, including all the way up the long stairways, on every step of the way. 

Anyway, shot No.1 shows, I think, one of Archer Cowley’s Foden steam wagons passing under Tom Tower. Perhaps it is the wagon seen in shot No.3, which is taken in Christ Church’s main quadrangle.

Shot No.2 (top middle) shows a 15 ton Fowler steam tractor bought new on 28th June 1907 for £690.00 and which was sold 16 years later, after working right through The Great War of 1914 - 1918, on 12th May 1923 for £351.5.0d (£351.25). It was obviously used for pulling up to three (or more?) of the road-and-rail-going pantechnicon vans, with one of which it can be seen in this shot, at a customer’s home. 

Shot No.3 (top RHS) shows, I think, a view diagonally (south-westward) across the main Christ Church quadrangle from near the Mercury pond towards the dark doorway seen in the far corner in this view, which leads (or did in my young days) amongst other places, to the Chapter House, where our school had its prize-givings. Presumably the job-in-hand is moving a resident don or cleric into or out of the accommodation on the west side of the quad, adjacent which the Foden steam wagon and trailer are parked.  A job much like the one in which I played a very minor part, some forty-or-so summers later in the 1950s, but then we used Dennis diesel vans. And now, here am I in 2016 looking back on that, about 60 years later, and around 100 years since the Foden was getting up steam for the journey to the GWR station from Tom quad. 

qaa© Philip B Archer 2014