David Sinclair

From Sunderland to Teesdale

David Sinclair was born in Sunderland in 1870. By 1901 he was living at 7 North Bridge Street with his wife Mary Ann Louise and their two young children, Ralph and Freda. He was working as a stationer's assistant, a trade which involved the sale of paper goods and other stationery, although photography was soon to become his main occupation.

The family suffered a sad loss in 1905 when their son Ralph Watson Williams Sinclair died in Sunderland, aged just six. Ralph had been born around 1899, and his death left Freda as David and Louie's only surviving child. The following year, David established his photographic business in Middleton-in-Teesdale, where he began producing postcards of the village and surrounding countryside.

By 1911, the family were living at 32 Market Place in Middleton. David was 41 and working for himself as a photographer, while Freda was now ten years old. The house was recorded as having just three rooms, so it wasn't a particularly large home for the family. Whether David carried out all his photographic work there or used other premises as well isn't known, but 32 Market Place was the address he gave on the census.

The Man Behind the Sinclair Postcards

David photographed a wide range of places around Teesdale, but some of his most recognisable pictures were taken during Middleton's annual horse fairs. The Horsemarket would fill with animals, carts and people, and Sinclair was there photographing it. His surviving postcards include fair days from 1907 onwards, with horses and people gathered outside the buildings that still line the street today.

His camera also took him further up the dale, photographing High Force, the Winch Bridge and the countryside around Langdon Beck. Some of his surviving photographs show enormous snow cuttings, including a horse and trap travelling between walls of snow near Langdon Beck Hotel. Another shows a horse pulling a sledge along a snowy lane at The Grove in Middleton.

One photograph in particular made the Teesdale Mercury. David had photographed High Force when the River Tees was in flood, with the rock in the middle of the falls almost completely covered by water. The photograph was described as showing possibly the largest flood ever captured at the falls, and David had taken out copyright on the picture. He clearly knew he had something worth selling.

His business extended beyond Middleton too. In April 1907 David sent a postcard to M. Pears & Co, the stationers on the Bank in Barnard Castle, arranging to call on them about an order. It was a straightforward piece of business correspondence, written on one of the very postcards he was trying to sell.

A Familiar Face Around Middleton

David was quite involved in the life of Middleton, particularly through the local Wesleyan chapel and its events. In October 1907, the Teesdale Mercury recorded him operating a magic lantern during an illustrated lecture at the new Wesleyan School. These lanterns projected pictures onto a screen, and they were a popular form of entertainment long before  cinemas became commonplace.

He appeared at other places too. At Harwood Methodist Chapel, a magic lantern show included local photographs, while David contributed two solos to the evening. Another Wesleyan gathering saw him giving an illustrated solo as well as operating the lantern. He was clearly happy enough to get up in front of an audience rather than spend all his time behind a camera.

His name also appeared in the reports of Middleton's Wesleyan Sunday school, where he presented an annual report on its activities, and he served as secretary of the Middleton Labour and Progressive Association. Between the chapel gatherings, lantern lectures, singing and photography, David had become a familiar part of village life.

Leaving Middleton-in-Teesdale

David's photographic work continued through the years leading up to the First World War, and photographs bearing his name also survive from the period around 1915 and 1916. By the time of the 1921 census, however, he and his family had left Middleton and were living at 241 Eastbourne Avenue in Gateshead.

David was now 51 years old and had changed occupations completely. He was working as a storekeeper handling raw materials for A. Reyrolle & Co., the electrical engineering company in Hebburn. His wife Mary Ann Louisa and their daughter Freda, now 21, were living with him.

His exact departure from Middleton and the reasons for giving up photography remain unknown, but his postcards continued to circulate long after he left. Today they can still be found in private collections and local archives, showing the streets, fairs and people of Teesdale during the early twentieth century.

We have an original postcard of Barnard Castle's Horse Market in our own collection, with Sinclair Series rubber-stamped on the back. More than a century after David was selling his photographs, his name is still turning up on old cards, and the places he photographed are still part of the Teesdale we know today.

Explore More of Teesdale's History

Middleton-in-Teesdale in 1870

Take a look around Middleton in 1870, the year David Sinclair was born. From the lead mines and railway to the shops, inns and people who lived here, we've followed the village through an entire year.

Elijah Yeoman: The Photographer Who Preserved Teesdale

While David Sinclair was photographing Middleton, Elijah Yeoman was recording life in Barnard Castle. Discover the story of the photographer whose studio stood on Galgate and whose pictures can still be found today.

Frank Shield: The Hermit of Barnard Castle

Long before David photographed the streets of Barnard Castle, Frank Shield was living inside the castle ruins. A rather unusual local character who later made his home at Egglestone Abbey.

Dr James Munro: The Doctor Who Lived at Barnard Castle Post Office

Discover the life of Dr James Munro, who spent more than forty years treating people across Teesdale and lived in the Galgate building we now know as Barnard Castle Post Office.

Discover Teesdale

Explore the places David Sinclair photographed, from Middleton's old streets to High Force and the countryside further up the dale. Our Discover Teesdale guides bring together walks, local history and places to visit today.