John Oram's photos with the keyword: Plymouth

Messenger (2016-18) by Joseph Hillier, bronze. Theatre Royal, Plymouth. Installed in 2019, Messenger, depicts a momentary pose in rehearsal by a female actor. 200_3_P1120108R

Messenger (2016-18) by Joseph Hillier, bronze. Theatre Royal, Plymouth. Installed in 2019, Messenger, depicts a momentary pose in rehearsal by a female actor. TZ70_P1010642CE

A highlight of a Sunday drive round Plymouth was coming across this Beetle at the offices of Student Choice at 60 North Road East. TZ70_P1010634

A highlight of a Sunday drive round Plymouth was coming across this Beetle at the offices of Student Choice at 60 North Road East. TZ70_P1010635R

A highlight of a Sunday drive round Plymouth was coming across this Beetle at the offices of Student Choice at 60 North Road East. TZ70_P1010633CE

There are some attractive parts of Plymouth. Derry's Cross is not one of them, its ugliness being typified by the ghastly Theatre Royal Car Park (left). Stranded somewhat incongruously amongst all this misjudged modernity is Derry's Clock. In 1862, then Mayor of Plymouth, William Derry commissioned the clock as a personal gift to the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) and Princess Alexandra and persuaded the local Board of Health (of which he was chairman) to pay for the base and tower. The structure was meant to incorporate public drinking fountains for the benefit of the local population but these, reportedly, never worked. Historical photographs show how much this area has changed - literally beyond recognition, the one constant being the clock tower which, rather tackily, now has painted clock faces. 200_3_P1120099CE_M

There are some attractive parts of Plymouth. Derry's Cross is not one of them, its ugliness being typified by the ghastly Theatre Royal Car Park (left). Stranded somewhat incongruously amongst all this misjudged modernity is Derry's Clock. In 1862, then Mayor of Plymouth, William Derry commissioned the clock as a personal gift to the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) and Princess Alexandra and persuaded the local Board of Health (of which he was chairman) to pay for the base and tower. The structure was meant to incorporate public drinking fountains for the benefit of the local population but these, reportedly, never worked. Historical photographs show how much this area has changed - literally beyond recognition, the one constant being the clock tower which, rather tackily, now has painted clock faces. 200_3_P1120099CE

Plymouth Citybus Alexander Dennis Enviro400 City 576/WA69CYZ in Nancy Astor vinyls standing at Royal Parade/Theatre Royal, Plymouth. I was at first puzzled that this bus was officially unveiled on 28 November 2019 as that seemed late in the year to mark a centenary but the date is, in fact, the anniversary of the Plymouth Sutton by-election in which Lady Astor won her seat after the elevation of her husband to the House of Lords. TZ70_P1010639CE

I photographed these three fast-food outlets at 52-54 Notte Street, Plymouth not for themselves but because of the lettering in relief above Barbican Kebab & Pizza at no. 54. At the time of posting, I can find out no more about the Hoe Gate Dairy. This area of Plymouth has changed considerably over the years but these properties are opposite the junction with Hoegate Street. TZ70_P1010603CE

Norris (Of The North) at the National Marine Aquarium, Plymouth. I would not normally capitalise 'Of The' but that is how it reads on the placard. 200_3_P1120088E

It was the architecture of this branch of The Edinburgh Woollen Mill at 20 The Barbican, Plymouth which caused me to photograph it on a damp Friday morning. There is a distinct railway flavour to the building and it is close to the former South Western Railway Offices. However, the link is not quite that obvious. Sir (then Mr) James Inglis designed the Fish Market which opened in 1896. His associations as a civil engineer were primarily with railways including the Great Western Railway. The Fish Market closed in 1995 and the property was converted and occupied by Dartington Glass. TZ70_P1010594R

Plymouth was heavily bombed in the Second World War and developers destroyed a lot of what the conflict had not but there still survive many buildings and areas of great interest. Without a local guide, each produces questions which I have only partially answered. This short road, wide in the present day, is called Basket Ope. The buildings in this view, the east side of the Ope, are the backs and sides of properties in the narrow Barbican Court. According to one account, Ope is a word in street naming unique in Devon to Plymouth itself. The city has many Opes and the word is thought to be nothing other than a contraction of 'open' or 'opening' and would have applied to a narrow street or alley giving into a wider thoroughfare. In this picture, Vauxhall Street is on the left. TZ70_P1010600CE

The National Marine Aquarium, Plymouth is pretty dull by the standards set elsewhere but I was taken by the intriguing, almost ethereal, Cleaner shrimp. 200_3_P1120091

Adjacent to the Admiral MacBride pub at 1 The Barbican, Plymouth, the former Boatmens Shelter has affixed to its wall a number of memorial plaques to lost seamen. The sign above the door refers to the nearby Harbourside Fish & Chips (35 Southside Street) and its support for The Fishermen's Mission. At the top of the steps are drums of cooking oil. The property also used to be, according to a local, the RNLI Gift Shop. TZ70_P1010580CE

Affixed to a wall on Commercial Road, Plymouth, just south of the Admiral MacBride pub, are four plaques marking the connections of the city with Australia and New Zealand. They make interesting reading. Plaques

Decades before the South Western Railway name was revived to replace the South West Trains franchise, the London and South Western Railway had a long reach which included the quay areas of Plymouth. The signs on their former office building have been sympathetically restored and, although the ground floor is occupied by modern retail business, the beautiful building survives at 6 The Barbican. Photograph by John Oram Photoshop (blur) by Gregory Halse TZ70_P1010577R_PS

A walk round Plymouth Barbican brings one across all sorts of history and unexpected things. Tucked away at 23 New Street is Soperfect Images, the self-described Classic Camera Shop. Behind its banner 'Living the Analogue Dream' are film cameras from 35mm to large format and a range of film and associated services. Personally, I have no intention of returning to film photography but I wish the venture well. Ironically, Google Images will help you not at all with this shop as its imperfect image is of the property immediately in front which appears later in my photostream. TZ70_P1010591

Merchant's House, 33 St Andrew Street, Plymouth. Now a museum (closed for conservation work at the time of posting), the Merchant's House dates to the 16th and 17th century. It has some unsympathetic alterations to the upper level and the rear elevation where a grim fire escape scars the building. Typically for Plymouth, a city which is as much victim as beneficiary of architecture, Merchant's House finds itself flanked by modern horrors such as that on the left in this picture. I am not sure if this is new construction or a refurbishment. 200_3_P1070352E