On the back of this portrait is written ‘James Arrighi 1877-1960’ and he was the youngest son of Louis Arrighi (see previous post). The portrait was taken by S. H. Greenway Studios, Northampton and Daventry, and probably dates to the late 1900s when James was around thirty years old. His beard and moustache resemble that worn by King George V and give him a very regal look!
Sometime between 1903 and 1905, James Arrighi took the position of Clerk of Works at Castle Ashby in Northamptonshire. He remained in the area even after retirement, eventually leaving in 1950 according to this entry in the Northampton Chronicle and Echo (25th April):
Image © Johnston Press plc. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.
Researching James’ family, I was intrigued by his daughter’s middle name, Amelia Compton Arrighi, who was born in 1905. She was presumably named after the Compton family who reside at Castle Ashby and have done so since the 1500s. I also found the following postcard of Castle Ashby House among the photographs. A souvenir of the Arrighi family’s time there, perhaps?
James Arrighi passed away in 1960 at the age of eighty-four. I have more photographs relating to his family that I plan to share, but will save them for future blog posts.
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Newspaper clippings/information courtesy of the British Newspaper Archive; The British Library Board. Further research carried out using Ancestry and Scotland’s People.
as ever, so interesting. thank you
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Thanks so much for reading a following!
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What did a clerk of works do? His beard took a lot of effort to maintain-impressive!
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Good question! As far as I understand it, he would have overseen all maintenance work, and much more I expect. Castle Ashby was/is a large estate so it would have been a full time job. I’ll add a link to the text for a fuller explanation. Yes, his beard is impressive, and no doubt very fashionable at the time!
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You are right! He was responsible for all the maintenance on the village houses and other buildings. He would also have overseen the works of the woodyard etc. and all the general runnning of the estate. He was also the captain of the village fire service and drove the horse drawn fire tender. He designed and superised the building of several village houses in the ’20s.
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Thanks Jenny, for your comment and for meeting me yesterday :). It was extremely satisfying to return the Arrighi photos to you, and to hear more about your family. I should probably mention for everyone’s benefit that James Arrighi was your grandfather! It’s such a small world, isn’t it?! I’m so happy you have your photos back.
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[…] might recognise the man on the right of the photograph from my previous blog post. It is James Arrighi, looking a little older but still as smartly dressed. His handsome family […]
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[…] 44 Merchiston Avenue. The address was first occupied by Louis John Arrighi b.1863 (brother of James Arrighi) and later by his son, Frederick Wilson Brown Arrighi b.1906. I think it likely that Mr Arrighi is […]
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He has beautiful feminine eyes.
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I think so too 🙂
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[…] to my inpromptu break. Jenny had instantly recognised them because she is the grand-daughter of James Arrighi. In fact, it is Jenny’s own hand-writing on the back of some of the photographs. They were in […]
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