This is a pictorial history of the village of Welford, some of its people and events spanning the period 1856 to 1980. From the middle of the 19th Century, amateur and professional photographers have been recording life in our towns and villages, leaving Welford in particular with a wealth of pictures. This book reprints a selection from the many hundreds of photographs and postcards featuring local scenes. Many of the photographs have never been published before, and the selection is biased towards the 20th Century to allow a wide range of subjects to be covered.
There are ten chapters in the book, each covering different aspects of local life. Chapter 1, 'Gateways to Welford', focuses on the three approaches to the village. Next, 'Inns and Pubs' covers seven of the inns in existence during the period the book covers, plus the Cross Keys, which was de-licensed before 1847. The most outstanding pictures in Chapter 3, 'Church, Chapel and School', are the two very early photographs of St Mary's Church, taken in 1855 or 1856 by pioneering photographer the Rev. William Law. There were once numerous shops in the village, and most are included in Chapter 4, 'Open all Hours'. A charming photograph of George William Bird standing in front of his grocery shop in 1922 is of particular interest. Chapter 5, 'On the Move', features various forms of transport in and around the village before the use of the motor car became widespread. The core of the book is devoted to people. Chapter 6, 'Work and Play', looks at some of the business folk and tradesmen, carnivals and fetes, clubs, institutions and societies in Welford. Fine architecture is the theme of Chapter 7, 'Rural Retreats', with Sulby Hall featuring prominently. Many changes occurred in the village after 1967, when Wakefield Drive was built, and through the 1970s, when many buildings were demolished. Chapter 8, 'The Changing Village', sets out to illustrate this. Chapter 9, 'Waterways', features the reservoir, River Avon and canal. Finally, 'Welford in Colour' is devoted to 12 hand-coloured postcards, all commissioned by Arthur Goodfellow, postmaster and stationer, between 1904 and around 1920.
Out of Print
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