Live Local History ; original Victorian hearse still in use after restoration.

From my equestrian photograph archives I pulled this one for a Facebook Group which is associated with what it calls classic photographs of the City. I have a huge collection images taken around the City of Salford as I have a great, life long,  interest in Local History and a desire to preserve it through my camera for posterity.

This picture was actually one of the more unusual commissioned projects I have been booked to do. I am natrually documentary-minded and in fact photogrpahed this hearse in very fine detail as well as getting the marketing shots the client wanted to promote his funeral service , or rather the hire of this wonderful coach and shires. I did three  shoots as the owner and coachman here, Peter Whitter , had three classic horse drawn hearses, the other two were lighter , reproductions he imported from Poland, and pulled by pairs of Gelderlanders. This one is some three tons and it was carried to the funeral venue in a large van in tandem with the big horse box Peter drove. Once at the venue he would go through the quite complex routine of harnessing the shires to the coach.

In fact there were originally two coaches presented to the City of Salford by Cooks the Funeral directors when they began to use the early motorised hearses. One was destroyed by careless workers when pushed from a loft, the other moth-balled at Weaste bus depot until Peter rescued it. It was in a very sorry state but Pete spent a year lovingly restoring it. At the time we had our own horse stabled at Clifton House Farm and we rented stables from Peter.  That's where I discovered I had an affinity to horses and was the begining of ading horse portraiture to my repertoire.

He had been manager at the Farm when the Council owned it . They announced it would be sold off to save costs and Peter bought it on a negotiated lease to ensure the farm was not bulldozed and he ran it owth income from livery.  Peter's wife , sadly, became very ill and he was forced to sell the farm, retire ,  and move to a smaller house nearby. He spent a year or so trying to teach harnessing and coachmanhsip to the new owner but unsuccessfully and eventuially, the present owner sold the two reproduction hearses and the heavy horses. I am not entirely sure what happened to this coach as it was in trust to the council although Pete had done the restoration complelty self-funded.

I took this shot for Peter and a series at Rochdale Cemetry. Here, having harnessed the coach on a nearby car park , he is on the way to picky up the deceased  before the funeral and internment. I have also been asked on other occasions to cover funerals for Peter to help the berieved in the grieving process. This required great tact and sensitivity of course.

Fine detail of etched glass end panel of the Victorian hearse.