Though run as a commercial enterprise, the Francis Frith collection is a major resource for family historians interested in English genealogy. This collection now provides access online to over 120,000 images of villages and towns throughout England and almost certainly has recorded some of your important places.
History
Francis Frith was an early photographer who quickly understood the potential of the new technology. Starting in 1860 he commenced the monumental task of photographing every city, town, and village in England. The company he formed became the major postcard company of its day and soon many employees were out taking the photos as well. After the company was sold in the 1960s the importance of the archive of some 365,000 images of more than 7,000 places in England was recognized and eventually the current Francis Frith Collection company was created.
Access to Early English Photography
The index page of the site (Fig. 1) provides a search facility to look for your particular village which gives an overall view of the resources available. My search for Tacolneston in Norfolk (Fig. 2) did not have any photos but it did have a set of maps. Close by in Banham there were photos (Fig. 3) and Figure 4 gives an idea of what the images look like. Interestingly, though only three small versions of the Banham photos can be seen, they illustrate some of the value of the collection. The same spot has been photographed in five-year periods from 1955 to 1965, and it can be seen that changes are taking place. This was part of Frith’s plan and some locations have photographs stretching from the 1860s forward. The maps and photos can be ordered from the company at reasonable rates and could be a major addition to any family history.
The Memory Bank
The site offers a range of products (Fig. 5) including photo books of many places in England using the extensive collection. Just as important is the Memory Bank (Fig. 6), which is a volunteer contributor archive that combines a Frith photograph with an early memory of a contributor like the Garstang example in Figure 7. Though these will generally be from relatively modern times they are a valuable insight and are often entertaining. Currently the site reports almost 20,000 memories have been added on over 5,000 towns, it may be that one of the contributors is your cousin.
An Opportunity for Family Websites
An interesting feature of the Frith Collection’s approach to family history is their Frith Partners Network which is offering to partner with website owners in order to increase the sales of their photographs. The website owner mounts the images that they are interested in for free, in logical places for their display (and remember these are excellent quality and of key locations), in return for providing referrals to the Frith Collection. When sales result the website receives a healthy commission on the sale. Though it is not often a good idea to encumber a family history website with ads and commercial pitches, this offer may well be worth considering, especially if the Frith Collection has a large number of images of your village of interest in England.
The Changing Landscape
The importance of the Francis Frith collection comes largely from its historical recording of the changes that have taken place over a century. It is a visual record of how a largely rural landscape changed coming into the modern world. Even just browsing the collection is a fascinating glimpse into a past that comes alive.
Bill Atkinson - Bill Atkinson, with an Masters degree and 40 years of teaching adults and teenagers, shares his passion for history, science and ...
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