Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Allee Pallee C'est Comme Ca, c1905

The illumination tower on the lake in Alexandra Park. I've no idea what the huge but temporary looking shed on the lakeside is.

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Comment by Richard Woods on June 3, 2016 at 16:03: I think its was for the dirigible airship - see here http://www.harringayonline.com/photo/airship

Comment by Hugh on June 3, 2016 at 16:36: That sounds like a sensible suggestion.

Comment by Richard Woods on June 3, 2016 at 17:25: But a second thought - was the tower also used to tie the airship to? They used masts for that widely.

And found this too:

Comment by Maria Huybens on June 3, 2016 at 19:19: Thanks for another great Ally Pally image, Hugh!

I've done a bit of research recently for the Alexandra Park History Tours, and there are many links with early aviators of various kinds, including Thomas Scott Baldwin and Dolly Shepherd the parachutists, Samuel F Cody with his giant kites, Auguste Gaudron the balloonist and of course Mr Rawson and his airship. If I can dig up enough information we may stage a small exhibition on the Ally Pally Aviation Pioneers :)

Comment by Richard Woods on June 3, 2016 at 19:40: I think Cody was at Ally Pally performing in his alter ego of wild west showman - but he seems to have met the kite man Gaudron there and the hill would have been fairly handy for kite flying. Who knows Cody's activities at 'Farnborough' may have stemmed from the meeting with Gaudron?

Comment by Hugh on June 3, 2016 at 20:25: We've got a little on Cody already on the site. A discussion here and an image here. Do let us know all about your aviator research. It sounds fascinating.

Comment by Maria Huybens on June 3, 2016 at 21:01: You're right, Richard, Cody did perform his Wild West show at Ally Pally, and went on to assemble his man-bearing kites in the Banqueting Hall (which became known in later years as Blandford Hall). There are some terrific images on the Drachen Foundation website: http://www.drachen.org/ and on Wikimedia Commons; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Cody_kites.

He was the first man to fly a controlled, powered, heavier-than-air craft in Great Britain, in 1908, and crossed the Channel in a collapsible lifeboat, towed by one of his kites. What a character he must have been!

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