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Beginners => Family History Beginners Board => Topic started by: Henryclyde on Wednesday 28 April 21 11:00 BST (UK)
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Looking for any information on J Tall who around 1880's lived at: 81 Blackman Street, Borough, London.
I think he may have invented things, one of which I have a photo, which I am trying to date etc.
Also looking for old maps, street indexes of the area.
Any help or ideas welcome.
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No 81 was uninhabited at time of 1881 census. I wonder if it might have been a 'postal address', shared by various businesses.
Any more clues? What do you think J Tall invented? What suggests he lived on Blackman Street?
There was an Architect, Joseph Tall and family, living in Belvoir Road at 1891. He, or more likely his then 29yr old son, Joseph Tall, concrete builder, was possibly the same chap of "Tall's Patent Apparatus" of timescale, with some connection to its use in concrete instead of building with bricks.
A few other J Tall entries in London area at 1891, but none claiming to be an Inventor.
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Picture of Blackman Street mid 1880s : https://www.wikiart.org/en/john-atkinson-grimshaw/blackman-street-london-1885.
Blackman Street later changed name to Borough High Street.
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Here we go......
concrete moulding machine
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/776105/advert-for-joseph-talls-patent/
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Mention in 1870 newspaper of Joseph Tall's patent moulding machine being used in erection of a new vicarage at Mountnessing.
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London Gazette, May 14th 1869:
. To Joseph Tall, of Falstaff-yard, in the borough of Southwark, Engineer, and Alfred Williams (?), of Great George-street, Westminster,Civil Engineer for the invention of an im-proved method of, and apparatus for, bending,curving, straightening, and flattening metallicsheets, plates, or bands, and also round, flat,square, angular, and other bars of iron or other metals.
https://www.rootschat.com/links/01qk8/
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Burghclere
. Concrete Cottages (1870), in the former Long Piddle, Burghclere Bottom, Scouses Corner, on the north side of the Kingsclere and Sydmonton road. Rare and pioneering (because such use of concrete was only patented in 1864-1868). They were put up using Tall's patent shuttering, Tall's Concrete Moulding Machine or General Builder, aka Joseph Tall's Patent Concrete Machine, of Falstaff Yard, Kent street, Southwark
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Interesting and informative 1923 article about Joseph Tall:
The Literary Digest for June 16, 1923, p. 44
INVENTOR OF REINFORCED CONCRETE NOW A PAUPER
https://crowd.loc.gov/campaigns/blackwells-extraordinary-family/alice-stone-blackwell-subject-file/mss1288000809/mss1288000809-24/
So the son in the 1881 census for Joseph Tall, architect, seems to be right chap:
Joseph M Tall Son Married Male 29 1852 Concrete Builder London, Middlesex, England
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Likely marriage:
Marriages Dec quarter 1871
Fundall Ellen Sarah St. Saviour 1d 34
Tall Joseph Mingay St. Saviour 1d 34
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I have a device which bears the name and address. Not sure if we are looking at the same person
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Well, hopefully someone, someday might be thankful for the info on Joseph the concrete chap, so at least my time wasn't entirely wasted.
As for your chap, you have given very limited info, firstly saying you have a photo of something you think they invented, then saying you have a device bearing their name. Maybe if you share the photo and/or describe the device and what purpose it may have been for, someone will be able to better direct you.
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Long article in Sporting Gazette 3rd of Aug re J M Tall and his concrete making machine has the following addresses...
"J M Tall Belvour Road, Lordship Lane, Dulwich SE
Post Office orders made payable to Blackman Street, Borough, London."
Cathy
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His father was possibly an inventor too...
1857 mention of "Joseph Tall, Blackfriars Road, patent telescope blind roller manufacturer"
Cathy
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Item patented by J Tall.
Trying to upload a photo.
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Hello. I came across this forum by chance. I am the great granddaughter of Joseph Tall. The information I have read seems to be correct. He did indeed invent shuttering for buildings and was affiliated to Portland cement although I am having trouble verifying that. At 15 years of age he opened his factory in what is now known as Borough in London. According to my mother he invented various things including a whistling kettle which he never patented. It appears that he was naive about such things. I would be very interested to receive any further information on him as my elderly mother is now having difficulty in remembering. She has passed to me a copy of his medal that he was awarded at the Science Exhibition in 1874. He pawned the original !
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I know I've come late to this but I have a longstanding interest in the work of the Talls; father and son, both inventors.
Joseph Mingay Tall, son of Joseph Tall had 'Blackman Street' as an address for postal orders in the late 1877 & 1878 for his business in the arches at Borough Road Station.
See Northwich Guardian 3 November 1877 & Sporting Gazette 3 August 1878.
He seems to have moved to Mark Lane by the 1880s.
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Mention in 1870 newspaper of Joseph Tall's patent moulding machine being used in erection of a new vicarage at Mountnessing.
This Mountnessing project sounds familiar but I can't find the 1870 news story in my cuttings. Could you share the source?
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Hello. I came across this forum by chance. I am the great granddaughter of Joseph Tall. The information I have read seems to be correct. He did indeed invent shuttering for buildings and was affiliated to Portland cement although I am having trouble verifying that. At 15 years of age he opened his factory in what is now known as Borough in London. According to my mother he invented various things including a whistling kettle which he never patented. It appears that he was naive about such things. I would be very interested to receive any further information on him as my elderly mother is now having difficulty in remembering. She has passed to me a copy of his medal that he was awarded at the Science Exhibition in 1874. He pawned the original !
It is wonderful to know you are there Quandery. I would be pleased to share what I know of Joseph and Joseph Mingay and keen to learn more. I will send you a pm
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It's in the September 2nd and 30th, 1870, editions of the Chelmsford Chronicle.
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It's in the September 2nd and 30th, 1870, editions of the Chelmsford Chronicle.
Thanks Scotmum, that's splendid of you.
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I am new to looking into my family history. How do you discover these newspaper articles ? What is your interest in Joseph Tall. I would love to share any knowledge about him.
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I am new to looking into my family history. How do you discover these newspaper articles ? What is your interest in Joseph Tall. I would love to share any knowledge about him.
Welcome to family history and RootsChat. I find that a good and expanding resource for British and its empire's newspaper articles is BNA, British Newspaper Archive. It is an online resouce that needs a subscription. Your public library may subscribe and allow you free access. I am not uncritical of it but it is the best British newspaper service with 43 million pages.
My interest in Joseph Tall is not a family connection but an interest in early Portland cement base concrete buildings. The Talls were very significant figures in the 1860s and 1870s.
I have sent you a pm (private message), please let me know if you can't see it.
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Thank you Deskman. I have not been able to open a private message. I do know he had contacts with Portland cement and lectured in various countries about his building methods. He built a pair of semi detached houses in Kent which I believe are listed. He was also invited to the opening of the Empire State Building in America but did not attend.
My family commitments will not allow me the time to delve into archives at this present time but I am interested to receive any snippets of information on Joseph and his family.
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Hi, just found this post on Joseph Tall. I came across him whilst researching my house and discovered his connection to Charles Drake of the Concrete House fame. Samuel Enoch Adams built the terrace in Belvoir Road in 1881 choosing the larger end house as his own, and living next door was Joseph Tall. All of the interior walls in the terrace are constructed using Tall's concrete method, and as he didn't use any sand, mostly brick rubble and cement, they are solid! I am assuming Joseph, being an architect, designed the terrace. It would be good to have this confirmed. Samuel Adams was made bankrupt just after completion of the building and ended up running a coffee shop on nearby Peckham Rye. It would be good to find out what happened to the rest of the Adams family. And if anyone can tell me more about the Talls, that would be appreciated. Jim
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"Grace's Guide to British Industry" is a leading online source.
https://gracesguide.co.uk/Main_Page
I didn't see a listing for Tall in the section on cement.