Work

English Heritage, paperback, £9.99

Reviewed by Colin Serjent

This lovingly produced paperback of black & white photographs covers the many diverse aspects of working traditions in Britain dating back to the Victorian era (the earliest picture dates back to the mid-nineteenth century).

It is particularly poignant to see images of people producing types of craft work which sadly have disappeared in this country due to the introduction of mass produced goods.

Among the many idustries, trades and professions covered in the book are shipbuilding, textile making, engineering, farming, pottery, science and technology, the railways, mining, nursing, the fire service, the police, open air markets, corner shops and many, many more.

My particular favourite photographs in the book include a baker making deliveries of bread up a very steep street in Chipping Camden in Gloucestershire; a farrier at work in Branscome in Devon; a farmer and his sheepdog sitting on a tractor near Glastonbury in Somerset; the painting of a hull of a ship in a dry dock in Tilbury, Essex; and a post lady emptying a post box in Kerrier, Cornwall.

Read the review of the accompanying book Leisure

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