-  Image Collection

Coast Road West Mersea in the snow. Orleans Coach House. Prominent in the centre is Garden Cottage, next to the Monkey Steps. It was originally built for the gardener at Orleans. 
 The Coastguard Station is on the right. c1960. Photo: Collins / Botham negatives via Brian Jay
Wild fowling. 
Fair Haven Temperance Resort brochure. Page 14. 1900s.
Charles Cook, known as 'Tuddy' or 'Gunner') winkling off the Monkey Beach. He is resting on the tendle used to hold the winkles. 
Coast Road, Coastguard mast and the church in the background. Another copy of this was mailed June 1905. Before June 1905. Photo: Hardy Weaver Collection
This is heavy land. Fowler VF crawler tractor and an Allis Chalmers All-crop 60, an early combine harvester. It belonged to Victor Gray, New Hall Farm, Little Wigborough.
</p><p>
Bernard sent the photograph to Old Tractor Magazine, Sept 2005, with the caption:
Following a very wet harvest in 1958, an attempt was made to gather in the crop at New Hall Farm, Little Wigborough, in October using an Allis-Chalmers All-Crop 60 combine pulled by a Fowler VF crawler. Bernard tells us that it was so soft that a sledge had to be made to set the combine on. Note the spade, which was used to dig out the mud so that the starting handle could be inserted, and the fuse-holder laying on the left-hand track.
</p> October 1958. Photo: Bernard Ratcliffe
Tankers laid up in River Blackwater. POLAR MAID on the right, arrived with a cargo of whale oil 26 May 1954 and stayed waiting for the value of the cargo to improve. She left 20 April 1955
</p><p>The tanker in the foreground is thought to be the MARACAIBO, laid up in the Blackwater 27 April 1954 to 1 December 1954. cAugust 1954. Photo: Wendy Brady
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Mersea Museum has a large collection of images, mainly of Mersea Island and the surrounding area. Those shown here are a small sample.
The images are divided into categories - click on a Category to view a selection.
Each year, a selection of the images with an accompanying audiocommentary form an audio-visual display that is run when the Museum is open.
If you can add to the information we have about an image, such as the names of the people, the place or the date, please Email us.
The collection is always increasing thanks to the kindness of may individuals. If you have photographs that are suitable for our collection, we would be pleased to hear from you. We can just take a digital copy of a photograph and return the original to you.
The images above are copyright Mersea Island Museum unless otherwise stated.


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