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Striking images from Historic England archive in book and exhibition | Striking images from Historic England archive in book and exhibition |
(1 day later) | |
After 20 years working in the Historic England archive, Mike Evans, co-author of a new book drawn from the collection of an estimated 9 million photographs, still regularly comes upon new discoveries. | After 20 years working in the Historic England archive, Mike Evans, co-author of a new book drawn from the collection of an estimated 9 million photographs, still regularly comes upon new discoveries. |
Related: Picturing England: photographs of English life | Related: Picturing England: photographs of English life |
“Embarrassingly, one of those I’d never seen before has made the cover of our book, an early photograph of Bristol – a platinum print, so the silvery tones and the detail are really marvellous,” Evans says. | |
The photograph shows the junction of two medieval streets, Steep Street and Trenchard Street, photographed in 1866 by John Hill Morgan – a few years before the scene was swept away in roadworks. | The photograph shows the junction of two medieval streets, Steep Street and Trenchard Street, photographed in 1866 by John Hill Morgan – a few years before the scene was swept away in roadworks. |
“What fascinates me, because the detail is so pin-sharp,” Evans says, “is the sign in the shop window, ‘hair bought’ – that must so often have been a last resort for people who were really poor in Bristol.” | |
The book, Picturing England, traces the importance of photography in documenting the built environment: the photographers often captured startling collisions of old and new, including a beautiful Tudor house in Suffolk loaded onto a wheeled platform ready to be moved to a new site, and a West Country farmer in 1900 bringing in the harvest with a team of shire horses – a timeless scene, except for the Marconi signal station in the background and the new hotel built to house its workers. | The book, Picturing England, traces the importance of photography in documenting the built environment: the photographers often captured startling collisions of old and new, including a beautiful Tudor house in Suffolk loaded onto a wheeled platform ready to be moved to a new site, and a West Country farmer in 1900 bringing in the harvest with a team of shire horses – a timeless scene, except for the Marconi signal station in the background and the new hotel built to house its workers. |
A selection of the images is also on display outside Birmingham’s new public library, until 21 September. | A selection of the images is also on display outside Birmingham’s new public library, until 21 September. |
The photographers included a wealth of social and political history as well as the buildings, such as a miller in Nottinghamshire looking almost as battered as his soon-to-be-demolished windmill, or a row of immaculately uniformed lift attendants in Selfridges. | The photographers included a wealth of social and political history as well as the buildings, such as a miller in Nottinghamshire looking almost as battered as his soon-to-be-demolished windmill, or a row of immaculately uniformed lift attendants in Selfridges. |
Many buildings were recorded just in time, including Beaupré Hall, a Tudor mansion with a magnificent 16th-century gatehouse which was occupied by the RAF in the second world war, and was photographed in 1963 with a row of bungalows almost touching its walls – within three years the hall had vanished. The Oxford Arms, a Tudor coaching inn in the heart of the City of London, looked ready to collapse before the photographer had done his work in 1875, but lasted a few years longer. | Many buildings were recorded just in time, including Beaupré Hall, a Tudor mansion with a magnificent 16th-century gatehouse which was occupied by the RAF in the second world war, and was photographed in 1963 with a row of bungalows almost touching its walls – within three years the hall had vanished. The Oxford Arms, a Tudor coaching inn in the heart of the City of London, looked ready to collapse before the photographer had done his work in 1875, but lasted a few years longer. |
The archive is still growing, through occasional purchases and frequent donations. A recent acquisition was the photographic archive of the John Laing construction company, which includes a spectacular view of the now obsolete cement works at Shoreham in West Sussex under construction in 1950. | The archive is still growing, through occasional purchases and frequent donations. A recent acquisition was the photographic archive of the John Laing construction company, which includes a spectacular view of the now obsolete cement works at Shoreham in West Sussex under construction in 1950. |
“I was a bit dubious about that one,” Evans said, “I thought it would be hundreds of photographs of cement drying, but in fact there are wonderful things in it.” | “I was a bit dubious about that one,” Evans said, “I thought it would be hundreds of photographs of cement drying, but in fact there are wonderful things in it.” |
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