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Irving, Washington Irving (Rip Van Winkle)

postie

postie

The buck stops here
Staff member
Washington Irving, an American, spent a lot of his time with his brother in law, Henry Van Wart, at his home in the jewellery quarter during the 1800s.
Now who was Washington Irving I hear you ask. Well I will tell you without further delay.
He was the man who wrote “Rip Van Winkle” and he wrote it while he was staying in Birmingham.

Another first for Brum. O0
 
Fantastic bit of Brum history Postie, O0 post script did he fall asleep :2funny:
 
Rip van Winkle, was written in Birmingham by Washington Irving on a prolonged visit to his brother in law, Henry van Wart, who lied in a house at the corner of Graham Street and Fredrick Street. Irving called van Wart's house his "English Home" and it is fairly certain that Aston Hall was the original of "Bracebridge Hall". (1890-69)
 
Hi loisand, yes I have heard that Washington Irvin's Bracebridge Hall was based on Aston Hall. I have the book. I am trying to make a link to the illustator of the book (and many others) Randolph Caldecott my mother's maiden name was Caldecott the family were from Chester the same town as Randolph. I think Randolph illustrated Rip Van Winkle but I have not seen the book
 
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:angel: I had a teacher in the 1950's named Mr Caldecott, sorry never knew his first name (we often didn't back then did we?) I think it was when I attended Priestly Smith in Perry Common Rd. If not it was at Georgr Auden Highgate.
 
The problem with this family is the spelling there are a lot of Caldicotts in Birmingham but my Caldecotts came from Chester. My grandfather had a couple of butchers shops where his two son's worked another son was in manufacturing. Sadley no teachers then although there are now!
 
loisand said:
Rip van Winkle, was written in Birmingham by Washington Irving on a prolonged visit to his brother in law, Henry van Wart, who lied in a house at the corner of Graham Street and Fredrick Street. Irving called van Wart's house his "English Home" and it is fairly certain that Aston Hall was the original of "Bracebridge Hall". (1890-69)
Click to expand...
In Peter Leather's 'A Guide to the Buildings of Birmingham', 2002, the Argent Centre, on the corner of Legge Lane and Frederick Street, stands on the site where Irving's sister and brother-in-law lived and was where Irving wrote Rip Van Winkle. Graham Street is on the other side of Frederick Street from Legge Lane.

Are there any other sources that support either the Frederick Street/Legge Lane or Frederick Street/Graham Street hypotheses for the location of Irving sister's house?
 
I was in Peter Leather's course of Re-writing the History of Birmingham and my subject was The Argent Centre. In it I wrote 'In 1818 an American born business man named Henry Van Wart lived in a large house on Newhall Hill. It had a big garden with a drive entrance facing onto what is now known as Graham Street. In 1862/3 work started on W E Wiley's new pen factory on the corner of Graham and Frederick Street incorporating Van Wart's old house'.
 
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