Bray Now and Then

poldebruin

Hi,

Hope people don't mind me posting these outside of the dedicated photo thread.

I had posted some similar shots from Greystones a while ago here


Men chat at Statue



Bray Town Hall



Looking up Main Street



Looking down Quinsborough Road



The International Hotel/Bowling Alley



Church Street

They're great! Thanks

LEIN

Brilliant!

bogtreader

Thanks for posting:) around what year were they taken.

poldebruin

Not 100% sure, I took the old photos from the national online archive:

National Archive Photos of Bray

most of the photos don't have an exact date, but the range seems to be 1840 to 1910

pixbyjohn

Excellent, thank you for sharing.

Pablo Sanchez

Excellent thank you!

The Bray Bowl is a poor subsitute for the old Hotel, the planners of the day should be ashamed:mad:

The Real B-man

Pablo Sanchez wrote: »

Excellent thank you!

The Bray Bowl is a poor subsitute for the old Hotel, the planners of the day should be ashamed:mad:

Yes and the Turkish Baths should of never being demolished!

shofukan

It's amazing how little the major landmarks have changed...
Looks to have been a beautiful place back in the day.. A far cry from what it is now...
Bring back the old town!

BlueSmoker

Brilliantly lined up shoots there poldebruin, excellent work. I'm really finding the threads here in the Wicklow Forum on old Bray, fasinating. The Arcadia Festival Bray Now and Then was also brilliant this year, hopefully it will continue again next year.

zoobizoo

There's a great facebook page to have a look at:

https://www.facebook.com/braydidyouknow

They;ve lots of old pics on it.

I always wondered who gave permission to build that horrendous building on Florence Road which houses Smyth's toys.....

It was built within the last 10 years - knowing what we knew then, surely they could have seen that it didn't fit in anywhere other than an industrial estate.

Maudi

zoobizoo wrote: »

There's a great facebook page to have a look at:

https://www.facebook.com/braydidyouknow

They;ve lots of old pics on it.

I always wondered who gave permission to build that horrendous building on Florence Road which houses Smyth's toys.....

It was built within the last 10 years - knowing what we knew then, surely they could have seen that it didn't fit in anywhere other than an industrial estate.

i agree...but theres lots of new builds in the last decade that are a disgrace around the town....and when you think someone went to college..and was trained in architecture and planning for years...submitted that particular plan AND somebody else excepted it! the mind boggles..

amtw

Maudi wrote: »

i agree...but theres lots of new builds in the last decade that are a disgrace around the town....and when you think someone went to college..and was trained in architecture and planning for years...submitted that particular plan AND somebody else excepted it! the mind boggles..

Yeah I totally agree. There should be a new quango set up the "good taste" quango. Before any planning application is passed they should be able to veto any decision where the building detracts from it's surroundings. There are buildings such as the Coilte HQ in Newtown that positvely enhance an area and then there are others like the aforementioned Smyths that would disgrace even the most modern town centre let alone one as old as Bray. I vote for the Good Taste Police.

Witcher

The Smyths building used to be a supermarket so it was there anyway, Smyths just added a new front onto it, it's better than the state it was in before.

gerbilgranny

These are wonderful! Thanks for posting.

Bubblefett

Brilliant photos.
Just wondering if anyone happens to see any old photos of the building that is now Dunnes on Quinnsburough road before it was dunnes could they let me know?
It belonged to my great grand uncle and I'd love to see an image of it. It was a grocery shop called Pembroke Stores.

Judgement Day

bubblefett wrote: »

Brilliant photos.
Just wondering if anyone happens to see any old photos of the building that is now Dunnes on Quinnsburough road before it was dunnes could they let me know?
It belonged to my great grand uncle and I'd love to see an image of it. It was a grocery shop called Pembroke Stores.

Before it was Dunnes Stores it was Lees Drapery - I remember they used to have a great Santa - way back in the mid 1960s. There was also a large deer's head on one of the back walls with a storeroom behind it. I was always fascinated by it and one day persuaded a staff member to let me into the storeroom to see the rest of the deer - it wasn't there!

Bubblefett

Judgement Day wrote: »

Before it was Dunnes Stores it was Lees Drapery - I remember they used to have a great Santa - way back in the mid 1960s. There was also a large deer's head on one of the back walls with a storeroom behind it. I was always fascinated by it and one day persuaded a staff member to let me into the storeroom to see the rest of the deer - it wasn't there!

Ah that's really cool, thanks for sharing
All I know of it is that my great grand uncle opened the store around the 1880s and named it Pembroke Stores after Lord Pembroke who was one of the main landlords in Bray.
Hopefully I'll come across some pictures some day

Setun

Anyone know what happened the International Hotel? It looks like a great building, shame they had to knock it down and build grim Bray Bowl.

Alun

Daddio wrote: »

Anyone know what happened the International Hotel? It looks like a great building, shame they had to knock it down and build grim Bray Bowl.

It burnt down in 1974.

Setun

Alun wrote:

It burnt down in 1974.

Ah I thought it must have been something like that. Shame

Annasopra

zoobizoo wrote: »

There's a great facebook page to have a look at:

https://www.facebook.com/braydidyouknow

They;ve lots of old pics on it.

It's a great page. They update stuff all the time.

StonedParadoX

what website did you use to get these photos?

Judgement Day

Can't see a general Bray thread so I'm posting this in here - hope that's okay.
Naylor's Cove more popularly known as 'The Cove' as captured for a late 1950s/early 1960s postcard. I have unhappy memories of being regularly frog marched here from Aravon School in the mid-1960s and forced to try and learn to swim amongst the rocks and crabs! However, I think it must have been later than when this postcard was taken as by then the place was in a more decrepit state. There's little enough left of the Cove today and even the luxurious concrete changing rooms have largely disappeared.

Sunbeam61

Love the old photos - thanks for sharing :-)

tdv123

Blay wrote: »

The Smyths building used to be a supermarket so it was there anyway, Smyths just added a new front onto it, it's better than the state it was in before.

Crazy Prices - Used to be my favorite supermarket.

Judgement Day

tdv123 wrote: »

Crazy Prices - Used to be my favorite supermarket.

I seem to remember that Smyths was Quinnsworth - in old God's time and before that Powers Supermarket. You're talking late 1960's/early 1970s when the only other Supermarket in the town was Lipton's on Main Street.

pixbyjohn

Judgement Day wrote: »

I seem to remember that Smyths was Quinnsworth - in old God's time and before that Powers Supermarket. You're talking late 1960's/early 1970s when the only other Supermarket in the town was Lipton's on Main Street.

Smyths used to be Crazy Prices ( which was Quinnsworth owned).
Do you remember Findlaters, that was the forerunner to the supermarkets too.

Judgement Day

I do remember Findlater's. It was somewhere between Woolworth's and Ledwidge's if memory serves me correctly. Lipton's used to be on Quinnsboro' Road near the Mellifont Hotel before they moved to the Main Street. Bray was a good place to shop back then.

Annasopra

I just came across this flickr page with lots of great photos

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brayphotoarchive/

Judgement Day

Was Bray ever this attractive?

Imhof Tank

Judgement Day wrote: »

Was Bray ever this attractive?

"L&NWR" - what is that?

Lancashire and North West Railway maybe? Blackpool, Preston, Bolton, Blackburn etc - that area of England was the big target market I believe.

Alun

Imhof Tank wrote: »

"L&NWR" - what is that?

Lancashire and North West Railway maybe? Blackpool, Preston, Bolton, Blackburn etc - that area of England was the big target market I believe.

London and North Western Railway

mjcb

Anybody got photos of shop on main street 'pay and carry' about 1960s 70s???

Judgement Day

mjcb wrote: »

Anybody got photos of shop on main street 'pay and carry' about 1960s 70s???

Nope, but I remember 'Pay & Take'/'Pay & Carry' - corner of Florence Road and Main Street (?) - it was Bray's first self service type shop run by Mr.Starkey (?). There was a checkout or two (?) and a baskets - perhaps even a trolley. It was a long time ago - pre Liptons on Quinnsboro Road and later on the Main Street. Back then we even had a branch of Findlaters on Main Street.

poldebruin

I did one of these a while ago, it's further down the pages here.

Looking at my old pix.ie account I had a couple more that I didn't put up so I'll throw them up here too.


Old International Hotel. Now the Bray Bowl




Promenade with Bandstand looking to Bray Head




Esplanade Hotel - Not much change here!




Marine Station Hotel (I think) replaced with Social Welfare Offices.




The Bray Head Hotel looks identical too.




Town Hall looks as good as ever 100 years later!




Men talking at Statue

Judgement Day

The Promenade pics really show the sad appearance it presents today - seats gone and horrific new lighting.

poldebruin

Judgement Day wrote: »

The Promenade pics really show the sad appearance it presents today - seats gone and horrific new lighting.

I think they have done quite a good job on the Prom recently. I like the new lighting. The place was the busiest I've ever seen it all summer - and for some months after.

Compared to how it looked in the late eighties!

I wish they would have left this as it's own thread. It's not like I'm jamming the Wicklow forum with threads with pictures of Bray. Now the new pictures, instead of being the first post seen when entering the thread, are going to be buried mid way down a 3 year old thread.

marty_crane

Great photos. Whatever folk may think of the current tenant the old Town Hall is a really beautiful building.

loyatemu

Judgement Day wrote: »

The Promenade pics really show the sad appearance it presents today - seats gone and horrific new lighting.

the lights are OK, they're modern but the boat has already sailed on keeping the prom as authentically Victorian.

Didn't realise there was another large hotel where the SW offices are now - serious reduction in architectural quality with that building and the Bray Bowl replacing the 2 old hotels.

Calibos

The Boulevard (Tesco Express building) replacing the magnificent Turkish Baths.

Worst of all though was that Smyths Toy shop monstrosity replacing the elegant Crazy Prices building....

We've indeed lost some landmark buildings in Bray in the last century alright.

Maudi

Calibos wrote: »

The Boulevard (Tesco Express building) replacing the magnificent Turkish Baths.

Worst of all though was that Smyths Toy shop monstrosity replacing the elegant Crazy Prices building....

We've indeed lost some landmark buildings in Bray in the last century alright.

Imagine you go to school /college /whatever. .train in your chosen architectural line of work..and the best you can do is a square pile of horrendous red brick..that housed the welfare offices and replaced a beautiful building..go you....

marty_crane

Calibos wrote: »

Worst of all though was that Smyths Toy shop monstrosity replacing the elegant Crazy Prices building....

It says it all when Smyth's, ugly though it is, is actually easier on the eye than that horrendous sight that was Crazy Prices

keano_afc

Great photos. I must say, Bray is fantastic if you're a history buff. I love living here.

Annasopra

loyatemu wrote: »

the lights are OK, they're modern but the boat has already sailed on keeping the prom as authentically Victorian.

Didn't realise there was another large hotel where the SW offices are now - serious reduction in architectural quality with that building and the Bray Bowl replacing the 2 old hotels.

Thats all either apartments or offices or Ocean/Platform pizza bar now not Social Welfare for about 7 or 8 years

loyatemu

same location in use as a canteen for railway workers (courtesy off JD in the Train forum):
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=92887620&postcount=16

Edit - actually, maybe not just for railway workers, probably a cafe run by the railway company.

L1011

loyatemu wrote: »

Edit - actually, maybe not just for railway workers, probably a cafe run by the railway company.

It was - I believe there were two 'refreshment rooms' in Bray due to the amount of tourist traffic it once saw!

Zebbedee

loyatemu wrote: »

same location in use as a canteen for railway workers (courtesy off JD in the Train forum):
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=92887620&postcount=16

Edit - actually, maybe not just for railway workers, probably a cafe run by the railway company.

That building looks remarkably similar to what stands there today. The other interesting thing about that photo is the railings in the foreground that stand up on a 4 or 5 foot granite wall. I don't remember that wall, only the railings. That means the ground has been built up to meet the wall at some time.
Can anybody put a date on that photo?

Judgement Day

Zebbedee wrote: »

That building looks remarkably similar to what stands there today. The other interesting thing about that photo is the railings in the foreground that stand up on a 4 or 5 foot granite wall. I don't remember that wall, only the railings. That means the ground has been built up to meet the wall at some time.
Can anybody put a date on that photo?

The GSR (Great Southern Railways) operated from 1925-1945 and the building was probably built during this period as it is classic Art Deco in style.

poldebruin

Not sure if anyone has seen the photos of Bray over at the Irish Photo archive

What make them interesting imo is the fact that they look like they could have been taken yesterday, the quality is so impressive.

A couple of my favourites:

Carlisle Grounds, 1956, hasn't aged a day!

Winning Dog in dogshow, bandstand, 1952

Strike at Ardmore Studios, 1967

Of course you can enter any search term, it seems a bit hit and miss as to what might return in the results though. If you like old photos of Ireland, there's plenty of browsing to be done here.

General photos of Wicklow area too.