A History of Algarve Expats – Part 5

Immigrants and Expats in Lagos from 1897 to 1972

The book Livro de registo de bilhetes de residência de estrangeiros (Registration book for foreigners’ residence permits 1897–1972), held by the Arquivo Municipal de Lagos (Municipal Archive), takes us once again on a journey. This time we will focus on people with occupations linked to hotelaria (hospitality).

The book provides us with information regarding occupations dating back to 1916, but the first record we find with occupation linked to hotelaria was recorded on 30 January 1947: Francisco Martinez Graña, 56 years old, married, from Nespereira, Pontevedra, Spain, son of Daniele Martins and Maria Domingas Graña. His occupation of camarero (waiter) is recorded in Spanish (the word in Portuguese being empregado de mesa). This could reveal a lack of familiarity with foreign terms on the part of the person that made the record. Similarly, the record for Francisco Martins uses ‘Martins’ (a Portuguese name) and also ‘Martinez’, the correct Spanish spelling (pp.26–27). Francisco Martinez Graña requested a licence for the years 1948 to 1951 (pp.26–27). No further information was included in the book from 1952 onwards.

On 25 July 1967, we discovered a record for Roger Poole, chefe de cozinha (chef), from Canterbury, England, single, and 21 years old (p. 35). He requested a licence for the years 1967 and 1968 (pp.35 and 36). 

The location recorded in the documento de residência (residence document) field is the restaurant Os Arcos. This restaurant located on the Rua 25 de Abril, in Lagos, is today known as Lacus. It’s still located in the same place occupying the numbers 32 to 36. The street was previously named Dr. Oliveira Salazar. Military intervention ended Portugal’s dictatorial period on 25 April 1974 and, as a consequence, many Portuguese streets, previously named after the dictator, changed and were instead named for the date on which the military intervention took place. 

The restaurant Os Arcos began as an English restaurant and bar owned or managed by expats: Douglas William Borley, David Stoneham Hankem, Darcy Glover and, more recently, by the company Rosemary & Neville, Lda. Douglas Borley is also mentioned in the book Livro de registo de bilhetes de residência de estrangeiros (1897–1972). He requested a licence for the years 1966 to 1971 (pp.26–27). Besides the restaurant Os Arcos, he also owned a fresh food factory at 16 Marreiros Neto Street, in Lagos. His wife, Winifred Blanche Borley, requested a licence for the years 1966 to 1970. In 1971, the marital status of Douglas Borley had changed to widower so we know that Winifred Borley had died. The couple had at least one daughter, Elizabeth Borley, who asked for a residence licence in 1967 (p.33). 

In the seventies, advertisements for Os Arcos placed around the city read “Os Arcos, English Tavern Bar. Customers could eat the steak Arcos style, apple pie and cream and poached pears Portuguese style”. The name of the restaurant was undoubtedly inspired by the interior arches (arcos). But how did the original restaurant look in the olden days? A rare photo from the records of the Municipal Archives, more precisely from the series Anúncios e Reclames Publicitários, allows us to take a look at the facade of the building in 1969. In the photo, we can see the plan to display a front door awning.

The facade remains almost identical today. From the photo, we can see part of the calçada Portuguesa pavement (also known as Portuguese mosaic) and part of the road. This detail suggests that, in that year, cars were still circulating in the now pedestrianised street. And what about the inside? How was the atmosphere of the restaurant? Due to the lack of images, or private records of the old restaurant, it’s not possible to compare the inside of the original restaurant with the modern-day version, although the arches remain. We have tried to find more information but we were not successful, despite the efforts of Sandra Oliveira (city ​​councilor at Lagos Municipality) and Cristina Costa (head of the organisational development division at Lagos municipality).

In the sixties, there were other establishments such as the snack bar O Charco at number 3 (still open), the Cervejaria Jotta (number 13, previously the Típica), the Shaker Bar (number 68, still open) and the restaurant Cataplana (number 85). The Farmácia Silva, (number 9, still operating) was next to the building where the Casa dos Pescadores de Lagos (at number 7) was located. We found this information by analysing the records of the Farmácia Silva in Anúncios e Reclames Publicitários (one record has a photograph of the entrance, but also from the identification plate/nameplate, the number 7). This was confirmed in the correspondence exchanged between Lagos council and the Casa dos Pescadores de Lagos. 

Located in this street was also the residential premises Mar Azul (number 13, still active as a hotel) and the Pensão Caravela (number 8, still active). A lot of establishments endure from those years, or are even older! To know more about their history, the series Anúncios e Reclames Publicitários offer a unique insight, not only in terms of the history of the local economy of Lagos but also in terms of local design and urban advertising. It would be amazing to have a full photographic history of Lagos’ commercial places during the forties, fifties and so on as their stories would definitely enrich the history of Lagos.

A further study of the record reveals Ernest Harvey Dodd, 58 years old, hoteleiro reformado (retired from hospitality activity) and his wife, Edith May Dodd, 52 years old, also hoteleira reformada, (p.41). The location identified in the residence document is Estrada Burgau, Luz. Both requested licences for the years 1970 to 1972 (pp.41–47). Unfortunately, the book concludes in 1972, so we have no further information about Ernest Harvey Dodd or his wife. However, we have managed to discover more information about the couple using the website of the Family search project: Ernest was born on 8 September 1911 and married Edith May Taylor on 2 September 1939, in Liverpool, England. Ernest died on 6 August 1991, in Faro, Portugal, at the age of 79. Edith was born on 27 March 1917, in Accrington, Lancashire, England and died on 26 December 2000, in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, at the age of 83. 

On 3 January 1972, we notice the final record that falls within the occupation linked with hospitality: Eric John Ring Fernando, hoteleiro, 55 years old, from London, widowed. The location listed in the licence is Caliças. The book concludes in 1972 so we have no further information about him.

During our research of the archive, we noticed that the year of 1966 was a turning point in the number of expats coming to Lagos. The book records an upwards increase in the number of licences: a total of 40 compared to the previous years of 7, 8 and 9 licences each year. The classification of turista (tourist) starts to appear and reformado (retired) also increases. This data definitely seems to reflect the development of the tourism industry in Lagos during the seventies and is likely to be linked to the opening of Faro airport in 1965. 

The book Livro de registo de bilhetes de residência de estrangeiros still has some more stories that deserve to be discovered. If you have any more information or photos in relation to the above we would be delighted to hear from you.

It’s interesting to watch some of the old programmes from the sixties available online at the website of RTP Archives: Arquivos RTP arquivos.rtp.pt: A Década de 1960 em Portugal and Da Década de 1960 até ao 25 de Abril de 1974. The website also has some old documentaries about Lagos and the Algarve. 

Part 6 – to continue

Marta Nogueira – Arquivo Municipal de Lagos – Câmara Municipal de Lagos

Main image: Rua 25 de Abril, Lagos date unknown. Courtesy of xrx.pt/foto-arquivo

List of references:

Arquivo Municipal de Lagos (AMLGS) – Fundo da Administração do Concelho – Livro de registo de bilhetes de residência de estrangeiros (1897-1972), (AMLGS – E122/P6/301/1).

AMLGS – Fundo da Câmara Municipal de Lagos – Anúncios e reclames publicitários (1960- 1986), (AMLGS – E143).

AMLGS – Fundo da Câmara Municipal de Lagos – Casa dos Pescadores de Lagos (1955- 1970), (AMLGS – E57/P4/3).

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – Family search project – https://ancestors.familysearch.org