Local People

Frank Downing must have been a local celebrity – well-known as perhaps the only photographer for miles around. It was a novelty at the time to have your photograph taken, as not many people owned a camera and it was a skilled technical operation.

Downing’s photographs were taken on a plate camera using dry plates. Most were taken outside, with the local countryside forming the backdrop.

Many are photographs of individuals leaning on a chair outside the door to their cottage; some are shots of couples on their wedding day; others are group portraits – a few lads outside a pub with a jug of ale, a large family group with a new-born baby, the local cricket team.