Thousands of Worcester images restored
- Published
An archive of more than 6,500 images of Worcester has been restored and digitised in a five-year project. The images have been collected over a 50-year period by brothers Clive and Malcolm Haynes and date back to the 19th Century. This photo thought to date from about 1899 shows the North Quay road into Worcester and The Old Rectifying House pub, which is still there
The brothers previously organised Changing Face of Worcester, an audio/visual display shown to 80,000 people over 20 years. One image is of Broad Street in Worcester in about 1910 showing The Bell Hotel [centre left] which was demolished two years later to make way for what was to become Angel Place - now a market area
The Barbourne tram is seen in one image of The Cross from the centre of Worcester from about 1912. Trams stopped running in the area in the mid 1920s
Volunteers from Tudor House Museum have restored original slides, prints and glass negatives before depositing them at The Hive in the city for storage. A photo of Friar Street in about 1915 shows the former Cross Keys Inn [left] which is now the museum. The Cross Keys Inn closed as a pub in 1912 before becoming a coffee house in the 1920s and 1930s and a schools' health department including a schools' dentist in the 1940s and 1950s
The Cornmarket area of Worcester is seen in about 1919. The Public Hall [left] was demolished to make way for a car park. Worcester Heritage and Amenity Trust, which runs the museum, said not all of the original images had been in particularly good condition and the handover of the final ones was a "tribute" to the volunteers. Trust chairman Jim Panter said: "The sheer scale of work put in behind the scenes has been phenomenal and the team is understandably exhausted."
One image from 1919, showing The Cross in the centre of Worcester and Foregate Street, is dominated by St Nicholas Church - now The Slug and Lettuce bar. Copies of photos are set to feature in planned exhibitions at Tudor House Museum and some images are available on its website. Copies can also be made available for educational use
- Published2 July 2012
- Published31 January 2012