What kind of building is this and where??

[martianuk]

Hi,

Found this glass negative and wondered if anyone could guess what kind of building this room is in and where it is?!! I believe it could be in West Sussex, because that's where the negative was found - Worthing to be precise - or an alternative could be Whitehall. But the set-up of the room and it's strange artifacts intrigues me.

What do you make of the leaning figure in the glass case, the stuffed bird, the many photo frames and the architecture of the room?

Regards, Kirsty

[Ykskiwi]

It look as though it was originally a church or maybe a private chapel.  There are crosses on the doors and what I think was the sanctuary rail still in place. At first I thought it has been converted to a museum but on second thoughts it does give the appearance of being lived in.  Looking at the roof, wonder if it could have been in a crypt, though that doesn't fit with the idea of being lived in.  No idea where it is, but it's certainly an intriguing photo

Joan

[martianuk]

Mmmm... interesting. When you look at the left hand railings, there seem to be two sets, implying that there could be stairs leading down out of the room - do you think? My initial reaction to the photo was that it was a church too - it looked to me that the far end wall should bear an inscription, yet when scanned at really high resolution, I can see it's blank.
The idea of private chapel is an interesting thought.

Thanks for looking. 

[cazza59]

Certainly looks like a chapel cum bedsit.  An awesome photo.  I would love to get my hands on the toy puppet in the cabinet to the left of the photo (there's probably a proper name for them but it escapes me)...wonder what it would be worth today!!!

Caz

[PrueM]

There are lots of photos set up on a table in the foreground, and all the rest of the rather odd paraphernalia makes me wonder if this is not a "test piece" by a (perhaps amateur) photographer?  Probably mid-late victorian - 1870s or 1880s - and someone trying out the kind of setting that was popular then.  Photographs of interiors were fairly common at that time, coinciding with developments in interior design (heavy furnishings, mock-gothic, lots of natural history specimens and travel souvenirs etc.). 

SO in summary, after all that rambling, I reckon this is not a realistic representation of a room.  I think it's a mock-up specifically to try out settings and placements for a photographer.  having said that, it's in a pretty interesting place - obviously a religious building of some kind, that does look like a sanctuary rail in the background.


It also looks like the neg is a photo of a photo - the original picture seems to have been pinned onto something and then photographed again, which is the picture you have.  Odd! 

Prue

[PrueM]

I took the liberty of tweaking it a bit, to see what details could be brought out.  You can see now that on the dresser at far left, there is a row of photos.  There is another row and some framed photos on the centre table, along with some photo albums.  On the dresser at far right is a larger framed photo and a little stuffed owl (cute!).

At the back of the room is another dresser (left) and a dressing table with mirror and seats (centre).  I am a bit spooked by what appears to be materialising by the pillar thing at far right, just behind the bedhead - is that a headless woman in a white dress?? 

[wheeldon]

I wonder if it could be something from a film set?

[PrueM]

Could be, wheeldon...

The other thing is that all the photos and ornaments are arranged to be facing the photographer, rather than into the room where an inhabitant of the room might be able to see them.  All points to this being an artificial setup of some kind or other.

Prue

[goggy]

The crosse,s on the door are just decorative I think,another bar at the bottom is too low for the' Lorraine' cross. Rail,s,needed for an invalid or similar to negotiate differing floor level,s?
Room look,s to be an older person,s bedsit type of accomodation,souvenir,s and such scattered about.It does look lived in.
The Eagle/wing,s in the rear wall are puzzling,plus the large blank space below.
Perhap,s a defunct one time meeting hall?That ceiling is a work of art isn't it,won't get many of them in a pound!
               Goggy.