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Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Looking through my Grandad's old photos I spotted the below - which must have been taken circa 1910s.

They lived in Liverpool Road, Islington so this makes me think this could possibly be Alexandra Palace?

Additionally, I've seen some photos from the time and they are wooden fences like those in the below.

Thoughts?

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By 1910, what was going to be built up around Ally Pally was built up. So any Ally Pally ground showing in a photo of that date would still be there. 

I have one photo which is perhaps the one you've seen, but I know neither the viewpoint (whilst I've always assumed it's from the north east, I've never really checked that), nor the date (but I suspect 1880-90).

Your best bet might be to ask the Palace. Try archives@alexandrapalace.com (but it's an old email address. You'll only find out of it's working by writing to it). 

Hugh, your photo could be somewhere in Crouch End playing fields, assuming that we are looking at the south face of the Palace.

I think you're probably right. Do the towers align with the main part of the south face, whereas they're set back a bit from the main part of the north face? 

I've straightened out and processed the photo a bit. I'm not sure whether the white objects are litter or blemishes on the image.

Was there such a thing as "litter" back then John....???    All these old photos that turn up without written details on.  Such a pity.  We can learn so much about our forebears through just a few words.

Unfortunately there was. Many of the white marks in the photo are the result of damage, I'm sure, but the larger ones are all on the grass, and not as sharp as the smaller ones. In a couple of cases the 'litter' is partly obscured by someone in front (e.g. the woman on the right). The one in front of the group is definitely out-of-focus, matching the blurred grass where the camera couldn't cope with the depth of field. It's difficult to be sure, though, because the original is small and blurred, and my sharpening process will probably have exaggerated these marks. It would be good to have a better scan of the original for comparison.

Definitely damage to the photo.

Here's a rough go at what I think it looked like originally. A high def copy could be easily restored to a good quality image.

Hugh, I don’t think the towers are set back differently on the north and south faces. However, the light on that tree suggests it’s daytime sunlight from the west, making it the south face of the Palace that is in view.

Agreed. Also the land doesn't fall away so steeply on the north side.

I don't think Alexandra Park had woodland of the size and maturity visible in the background until decades later. This aerial from 1935 shows the lack of woodland.

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