Berkshire

Beauty Contests - Miss UK - Brighton

Miss UK contestants line up in Brighton ready for the final. Back row, from left; Gina Kerr (Bournemouth), Linda Gallagher (Scotland), Geraldine Fuller (Yorkshire), Lynn Combes (Isle of Wight), Jacqui Copland (North-East Scotland), Tracy Dodds (Manchester), Caroline Bell (Blackpool), Tracey Gunn (Miss Photogenic), Karen Cresswell (Tyne Tees) and Valerie Hopper (Brighton). Middle row, from left; Karen Stannard (Cardiff); Tanya Turnbull (Liverpool), Tracy Macmunn (Avon), Jayne Simpsom (Cumbria), Geraldine Mcgrory (Northern Ireland), Judith Hall (Newcastle), Diane Inglis (Walsall), May Monaghan (Glasgow), Susan Walker (Greater London) and Jennifer White (Berkshire). Front row, from left; Julie Duckworth (England), Anne Marie Woodhall (Birmingham), Lindsay Nuttall (Kent), Janet O'Shea (Cheshire), Joy Welsh (Plymouth), Denise Dicken (Wimbourne), Karen Gosling (Surrey), Kim Ashfield (Wales), Nikki Wright (Poole), and Amanda Juste (Buckinghamshire).

© PA Archive/Press Association Images

Surface buildings, possibly one of the Basset Mines, Illogan, Cornwall. Around 1906

Reginald Colwell James (1890-1974) of St Columb Major, with mine buildings in the background (thought to perhaps be one of the Basset Mines). Reginald was a student of Henderson's Mining School, Truro, and later became an associate member of the Institute of Mining Engineers. In 1919 and 1925 he is recorded as living at Hillside, Tregurrian, St Columb Minor. By 1936 he had moved to Kearsley Road, Reading, Berkshire. Reginald has written on the back of the photograph: 'This is a snapshot - I was pulling up my collar at the time. Reading from right to left - Graves, Webb, myself. Webb has adorned his hat with an old hoop from a pail. The little house marked with a cross is an "undressing place"; to the right of it and projecting is the survey office or Capt. Jenkin's Office. The big building is the smithy and in the extreme background is a nearer view of the pumping engine and tackle. Notice the miner's candles which Graves carries'. It is possible that Reginald is referencing Captain Thomas Jenkin, who held the position of Chief Underground Surveyor at Henderson's School of Mines. Captain Jenkin died in South Frances Mine, together with Captain William James Junior and Cecil Thomas, on 10th September 1906, following a fall of earth from the roof. Photographer: Unknown.

© From the collection of the RIC

Pewter Porringer, Reading, Berkshire, England

Pewter porringer with a bouged bowl and a single Old English type ear. The owners' initials of B over H I are struck on the top of the ear. Dating from around 1690-1720, the back of the ear bears the mark (M416) of Richard Allum I of Reading (PS174). Commonly said to have been used for holding soft foods such as broth or gruel, contemporary evidence records the use of porringers for preparing foods and medicines and also for serving sauces. It is therefore likely that they were general purpose vessels. The rim has a diameter of 12.38 cm.

© RIC, photographer Mike Searle