Description:This photograph is thought to show William Whatkiss who was the publican of the Bridge Tavern between about 1901 and 1915. William and his family are seated on the front row near the centre of the group along with customers and two uniformed soldiers all posed in front of the Tavern in Upper St. John Street, Lichfield.
The building is decorated with floral branches, possibly for the Whitsuntide Lichfield Bower. Nearby in Sandford Street there was a tradition of decorating the street and their houses with boughs for the Bower. It is also recorded that branches were used in the Cathedral Close to decorate buildings on Ascension Day for the annual Beating of the Bounds. If you can provide any relevant information on this, please contact us.
In this scene the landlord has placed his cap on the floor between his feet. The young girl has a dog on her lap. There is a banner emerging from an upstairs window and a seated man, pipe in hand, tops up his neighbour's glass from a jug. With the exception of the landlord all of the males wear headgear.