Photographs of Shere - Past and Present (1850 onwards)Please contact me if you have any old photographs of Shere, so that we can all enjoy looking back over the ages. The following photo's, Copyright remains with the photographer, all rights reserved. Quick Link to Years:
1850 - 1899 | 1900 - 1949 | 1950 - 1999 | 2000
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Photographs in chronological date order (1850 - 1899):
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1850
Earliest photo of Shere Village - Taken by Sir Henry Cole View SIR HENRY COLE webpage
Sir Henry Cole was also a keen photographer and the above photo taken in Shere in 1850 is one of the earliest photographs available of the village.
1850 - Gomshall Lane
Another Sir Henry Cole photo entering Shere down Gomshall Lane - Note: this was before the Village Hall and Working Mens Club (now Museum) were built on the right hand side. You can see 'Manor Cottage' on the end.
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1861
Shiere Church - 1861 - Note the spelling of 'Shere'
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1870
Shere Church - 1870 Pre-The Lychgate |
1879 - October 16th
Street scene, Shere, Surrey - Three children posing for their photograph in the heart of Shere.
Vintage photograph - 4" x 3" (10cm x 7.5cm) Huge thanks to Andrew Dally in Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys who specialises in Vintage photographs and ephemera from the 19th & 20th Century. click image to view more detail |
late 1870s/early 1880s
Various shop traders pose on the bridge in Middle Street Dated late 1870s as the 'Old Fire Station' is yet to be built |
late 1880s
View across the garden of Vine Cottage - Manor Cottage on the far right. You can see a lot of detail, when zooming in on various parts of the photo.
Two penny farthings propped up against the wall of Manor Cottage Dated pre-1885 as the 'Old Fire Station' is yet to be built |
1889
1889 - This rare 129 year old photo has been uncovered by NI Books in East Sussex of Lower Street looking towards The Square and the Tillingbourne Bridge.
Its a lovely glimpse into Victorian life in Shere with a lady pushing her pram, observed by two villagers and a cart parked on the corner of the Lavender Ladye - Click on the photo's above to view more detail Found and purchased photo at NI Books, East Sussex. BN2 8FR. |
1890 - Lower Street
Lower Street looking towards The Square and the Tillingbourne Bridge in Middle Street - above photo © Shere Museum |
1890 - White Horse Pub
White Horse Pub - Note the Pub sign and the second door (right) positions
Note the missing 'White Horse' sign, although the wooden structure to hold it is there - Not sure if this pre-dates the photo above? both above photo's © Shere Museum |
Shere - pre-1892
What an amazing find, and huge thank you to Matthew Bestwick for contacting me. Matthew and his brother purchased an old photo album containing private photographs by Raphael Mendola for Mr and Mrs Evershed (both were famous scientists of their time). There are also some photographs of Lord and Lady Arthur Russell (In 1875 Lady Arthur Russell had the swimming pool built in the middle of Shere so that her six sons could learn to swim - in 1899, the pool was handed over to the Parish Council which continues to be responsible for it to the present day. It was then used as a public pool, said to be the first public open air pool in Britain - Read More). I have dated the photo book to be pre-1892 as Lord Arthur Russell died in 1892, although some photos are dated 1899. So probably built up over time). There is also a photo of Dr Edward Capron nd a photo of Charles Darwin but this has yet to be confirmed. Interesting for us are the photos of 'Shere village' as well as the following local locations: Huge thank you to Matthew, all photos are ©2021 owned
These and more photos can be viewed on a dedicated webpage, click HERE to view.
Thanks again to Matthew Bestwick 17th June 2021 |
August - September 1892 - Shere Photo album
Click on the album above to view the photographs from August / September 1892 - Read the story below |
Aug/September 1892 - Photo album
Exciting Social History findAn original small photo album dating from 1892 and containing 30 views taken in and around our village of Shere. Photo captions, "Next Door", "Opposite", "Cottage on the Hill" etc. offer a fascinating glimpse into the past. One photo that gives us a clue as to where the owner of the album once belonged to is a photo titled 'Headquarters'', which is 'Burrow Down' house (next to the garage) in Upper Street.
In addition, a sheet of paper was tucked in the album: "Origin, Hilda Few Brown - Married Capt R A Angier, served WW1-WW2"... - VIEW
This is a wonderful social history item with so many images of a single English village of this era, not only for Shere but also for Surrey - all photos taken in August and September 1892.
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1894 - East Lodge
TQ 0647-0747 SHERE CP UPPER STREET The above photo is taken from the 'Manor House Drive' looking bck towards Upper Street - Unsure as to the date that the photo was taken. VIEW LARGER PHOTO | © Listing text - British Listed Buildings Sir Edwin Lutyens (famous for designing the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London and The Thiepval Memorial which records the names of over 72,000 soldiers who died in the Battles of the Somme of the First World War between 1915 and 1918, with no known grave. More details on The Thiepval Memorial). Sir Edwin Lutyens was well know here in Shere as he designed various buildings in our village: |
1896 - Middle Street
Middle Street, Shere - Note the striped pole to indicate the barbers shop |
1898
Vine Cottage |
1899
The White Horse Pub looking up towards Shere Lane |
White Horse Pub, Shere
THE INGLE-NOOK, “WHITE HORSE” INN, SHERE. "One of the finest of these surviving examples is that of the “White Horse” at Shere, an old-world inn in midst of an equally old-world village. Shere is the most picturesque of those rural villages—Wotton, Abinger Hatch, Gomshall, Shere, Albury and Shalford—strung along the road that runs, lovely, under the southern shoulders of the bold South Downs, between Reigate and Guildford. Modern times have passed it by, and the grey Norman church, a huge and ancient tree, and the old “White Horse,” have a very special quiet nook to themselves. One would not like to hazard too close a guess as to the antiquity of the “White Horse,” whose sign is perhaps the only new thing about it—and that is a picturesque acquisition. The inn is, of course, not of the Norman and early English antiquity of the church, but it was built, let us say, “once upon a time”; which sounds vaguely impressive, and in doing so begins to do justice to the old-world air of the inn. The fine ingle-nook pictured here is to be found in the parlour, and is furnished, as usual in such hospitable contrivances, with a seat on either side and recesses for mugs and glasses. A fine array of copper kettles and brass pots, candlesticks and apothecaries’ mortars, together with an old sampler, runs along the wide beam, and on the hearth are a beautiful pair of fire-dogs and an elaborate cast-iron fireback" Taken from The Old Inns of Old England
The White Horse Pub The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Old Inns of Old England,SOURCE |
Special Thanks......to Eric Thornton, acting Chairman at Shere Museum for access and permission to publish some of the older photographs from their archives - Please visit and support the Shere Village Museum on Gomshall Lane, Shere, Surrey, GU5 9HE. 2018 UPDATE: NEW SHERE MUSEUM WEBSITE and CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone 01483 202769 |
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