SEPTEMBER 2021
HERITAGE PHOTOGRAPHY
CONTENTS HERITAGE PHOTOGRAPHY Journal of the Archaeology and Heritage Group September 2021 Editor David Bryson heritage.editor@rps.org Advisory Editor Eric Houlder LRPS Advertising enquiries David Bryson heritage.editor@rps.org Archaeology & Heritage Group Committee Members David Bryson FRPS Chair heritage.editor@rps.org Mike Glyde Secretary heritagesec@rps.org George Backshall, LRPS Treasurer heritagetreasurer@rps.org David Bryson FRPS Heritage Photography editor heritage.editor@rps.org R. Keith Evans FRPS Roger Lewis ARPS
EDITORIAL 3
Perspective: on Cultural Heritage DAVID BRYSON FRPS
FEATURES 4-10 Fatehpur Sikri,
India’s abandoned city
R. KEITH EVANS FRPS
A look at the one-time imperial capital of India’s great 16th-century emperor Akbar.
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11-13
Railways Project MICHELLE YATES ARPS
The remains of disused tracks and signal boxes reminding us of the heritage that has been and gone or returning to nature.
14-25 Greenham and
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Crookham Commons: Part 2 Cruise missiles and the Peace movement 1980 1991 ROBERT CARPENTER LRPS
Shaun Parkes Colin Murrell Published by the Archaeology and Heritage Group of the Royal Photographic Society, September 2021. Copyright in all text and photographs is held by the credited authors, or as otherwise stated. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted or stored in any form without prior written permission of the Publisher. Print ISSN 0958-0565 Online ISSN 2632-3346 Front cover photograph The Buland Darwaza, ‘Gate of Victory’, leading to Fatehpur Sikri’s mosque, commemorating the emperor Akbar’s victorious battles in Gujarat, R. Keith Evans FRPS. Back cover photograph Inverness Cathedral George The Bishops Seat at the end of The Choir, Backshall LRPS.
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26-29 Then and Now Randolph Caldecott’s Places and Faces in Brittany ERIC HOULDER LRPS
30-33 The Angelic
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Pardons of Morbihan ERIC HOULDER LRPS
34-36 Inverness Cathedral George Backshall LRPS
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EDITORIAL
Perspective: on Cultural Heritage DAVID BRYSON FRPS
V
ery often we see what is left as the almost ghostly remains or imprint on our landscape after the use of the countryside or a site has receded into history. This issue starts with Keith Evans’ photographs and commentary on cultural heritage of the former capital city of India’s Emperor Akbar from the 16th century, then Michelle Yates’s remains after the trains demonstrates the juxtaposition of abandoned remains we can visit more easily in Nottinghamshire. Following is The second part of Rob Carpenter’s history of Greenham Common looking at the remaining cultural heritage from the era of Cruise Missiles and the Peace Movement then we look at the living traditions that can still be seen as in Eric Houlder’s 2 examples of religious cultural heritage from Brittany and Morbihan part of the everyday lives of people living in France and other parts of Europe for example the image on this page from the market in Porto Pollenca in Mallorca on Palm Sunday. It is often the rarest of objects now in museums or art galleries or preserved in some other way that show the actual cultural artefacts; this is seen in the selection of images by Shaun Parkes taken in and around Cranwell’s Parish Church.
Ideas for themes for future issues The theme of the next issue is hopefully Family Heritage though this will depend as always on submissions. The aim is that you can include personal as well as family stories or photographs with back stories very much the heritage of the future for examples and ideas go to the video from the last face-to-face showcase from October 2018 https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/335690942 ‘Where family heritage becomes heritage for everyone’. For anyone who watches the Antiques Roadshow it is the stories especially linked to family photographs that stand out as the text on their lorries says “What story will you bring?” The more material or ideas for current or future themes the better so I have as wider choice as possible for future issues. As always I can only publish from the work that is submitted to me. If you would like to get feedback and submit stories/ ideas of photographs for the journal please contact
me. heritage.editor@rps.org
Introducing the By Degrees project The aim is to photograph all of the 45 locations where lines of latitude and longitude intersect over Britain and Ireland. The project has support from, among others Simon Hill, president of the RPS and Nigel Clifford, president of the Royal Geographical Society. Palm Leaf Crosses being sold in the market, Porto Pollenca in Mallorca ready for Easter and Palm Sunday
When the project is completed there will be exhibitions featuring selected images and all images will be featured on the RPS website. For further information about By Degrees please the project web page at https://rps.org/ groups/landscape/projects/by-degrees-home-page/
E-mail Reminder Do add your e-mail details to your RPS profile as this is the only way, other than the journal that the A&H Group and RPS can let you know what is happening and give you advance notice of online events.
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FEATURE
Fatehpur Sikri, India’s abandoned city Abandoned settlements, even once-important cities, have featured in our pages in previous issues – Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, Tel el Amarna in the Nile Valley, for example – and here we look at Fatehpur Sikri, the one-time imperial capital of India’s great 16th-century emperor Akbar. R. KEITH EVANS FRPS
A
rocky ridge high above the plains of Uttar Pradesh in northern India would seem an unlikely site for a great city, but here, acting on the guidance of a Sufi holy man in the village below, the Muslim emperor Akbar decided to build his new capital. The time was the mid-16th century – Akbar had inherited the throne in 1556 – and construction began in1565. The largest building in the city, the Jami Masjid or imperial mosque, was completed in 1575, just ten years later. The mosque’s great entrance gate, the Buland Darwaza (Gate of Victory) still dominates the surrounding plains; once able to accommodate 10,000 worshippers, the mosque itself is over 130ft high and is reached by a broad 34ft flight of steps. Beyond the mosque, within once-massive walls over six miles in circumference and pierced by nine entrance gates, there today lies abandoned a wide variety of red sandstone buildings both public and private. Akbar’s Seat of Judgment is the centrepiece of the Diwan-i-Am, or Hall of Public Audience, 350ft long. Nearby is its counterpart the
interior courtyard and Mogul domes rising above. One upper room, walled with a sandstone screen, is named “Palace of the Winds’’, where ladies of the court could watch passers-by without being seen. Akbar himself, meanwhile, could perhaps be found entertaining his harem in the nearby Ankh Micauli, decorated with stone monsters supposedly guarding the imperial jewels and other treasures.
... and a short-lived dream Numerous other preserved sandstone buildings still surround this regal complex – stables, barracks, watchtowers, a once-vast caravanserai for visitors or traders. But the entire city was abandoned in 1585, when Akbar decided to move his court and capital north to Lahore, either because the water supply failed, or more likely for military and strategic reasons. In the dry desert air the abandoned city has survived largely intact for over four centuries, and relatively little erosion has occurred to the sandstone buildings and their ornate decoration. In the past decade the State government and the
Diwan-i-Khas, Hall of Private Audience, where Akbar would receive ambassadors and other dignitaries while seated on a lofty marble throne; thus was he able to greet visitors without having to mingle with them. Though Muslim himself, Akbar was impressed by the local Hindus’ trust in astrology, and he consulted his personal astrologer daily; the Astrologer’s Seat resembles a small stone summerhouse adjacent to the Diwan-i-Khas.
The feminine touch ... For his Hindu empress wife, Akbar built the Jodh Bai palace. In the southwest corner of the complex, this is a delicate mix of Muslim and Hindu architecture, with living quarters facing a large 4
Stonework combines Hindi and Mogul decoration – here in the Panch Mahal.
Archaeological Survey of India have developed a management plan to improve access to this remote site.
seem that one sensed its former inhabitants could reappear at any moment ...
My pictures were taken on two visits, in 1998 and 2012. On both occasions I was almost the only visitor, and so untouched by time did the city
The Birbal Bahan, and beyond it a view over the plains to the west.
The Pachisi Court, overlooked by the Diwan-i-Khas; here slave girls acted as ‘living pieces’ in the game of Parcheesi. 5
The 5-storey Panch Mahal, home of the ladies of the palace.
The vast Diwan-i-Am, Hall of Public Audience.
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The Ankh Michauli – supposedly the repository for the imperial jewels and other treasures.
The Diwan-i-Khas, Hall of Private Audience. 7
View northwest over the Uttar Pradesh plains, with the Hiram Minar (Deer Tower) on the hillside below the city walls.
A corner of the Astrologer’s Seat, with the Diwan-i-Khas beyond.
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Elaborate facade in the galleries of the Diwan-i-Am. 9
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Central column in the Diwan-i-Khas.
FEATURE
Railways Project Thoresby Colliery disused line, which now runs into a new housing development in Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire. MICHELLE
YATES ARPS
A view towards the road bridge where the disused route shows tell tail signs it once ran here but is beinging retaken by nature.
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he track no longer remains but the track bed does with other evidence along the way with bridges. It is accessible from a public footway once the main track that still remains is reached. Turn right from the path if coming from the direction of the new housing development. Whilst crossing and follow the track bed that still remains which begins to take you along its route. If coming from a path with the signal box on your left cross over the main track and turn left down the disused line.
Edwinstowe Station and platforms intact as a reminder of its passenger days.
The track bed of the disused line still connects with a main railway that appears to still be in use with signals. Each photograph shows part of the disused line and where it connects with remaining track. There is a tell tail sign of the third trackway on the walkway which can be seen in some of the photographs taken from two different viewpoints. Thoresby Signal Box features also in some of the photographs with it being a piece of heritage which still remains that can connect the viewer, audience or people experiencing it physically to a connection with history.
Main track with Thoresby Signal box remaining in place with signals down each side. Each of these images were taken to show the main track that is still intact that connects the disused part of the line on the left of some of the images. In one part there is a clear sign that track was once layed here as the walkway contains part of the track that once ran side by side of the other two track ways. It then branched off to form the route that ran up to the colliery site.
The shoot of the railway can act as an extension to my pre-existing self-directed project Pathways Through History in the last issue which keeps to its Monocrome theme throughout. Black and white I believe supports the person’s experience of the photographs by developing atmosphere and revealing detail that colour would perhaps not show. An extension of the story of the project comes out in Black and White photography.
Old Edwinstowe Station features with track that still remains as a reminder of its passenger train days that have long since gone. The station building is intact, but it is now used for something else in the present age. Platforms still remain but are in ruin and unpreserved as nature has reclaimed them in places.
It also, continues with being phone photography that has taken the imagery with what is available through the phone to set up photographs and ensure they are focused.
Thoresby Colliery disused line was photographed to document an experience of the remains of the route. The experience aims to act as a reminder of what once ran here not that long ago when the railway was decommissioned. For a while on the disused route track lay here and could be seen from the road bridge which features in some of the photographs. It has since been taken up with the development of a new housing estate on the colliery site.
Heritage and disused places, spaces or things like buildings and architecture have fascinated me for long while by being able to explore them and reveal their stories through the medium. Ruins or locations like the disused railway where nature has reclaimed the spaces are other places I like to investigate as they tell their own stories by being unpreserved. Decay has a beauty in a way that can documented through art mediums to have its stories told in locations that are unpreserved and in ruin. 11
Main track with signal box remaining.
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A close up of the Thoresby Collirery Signal Box.
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FEATURE
A photographic study of Greenham and Crookham Commons: Part 2 Cruise missiles and the Peace movement 1980 - 1991 ROBERT C CARPENTER LRPS My first article (Part 1 The wartime and Cold War years 1941 – 1980s) illustrated some historical legacies from this era and this second part continues the story into the Cruise Missile years.
H
owever, from the 1970s into the 1980s (during a dormant period), it is worth noting that the airbase was used for certain non-military activities. For completeness, these are briefly outlined in the Final Comments section. It is worth noting that the airbase was used for certain non[1] military activities
The decision for cruise missile deployments. In the spring of 1979, the NATO Nuclear Planning Group agreed to formulate a response to the growing Soviet military might: “In their consideration of NATO’s requirements, as part of the Long-Term Defence Programme, to modernize theatre nuclear forces, Ministers reaffirmed that NATO could not rely on conventional forces alone for credible deterrence in Europe; and that, without increasing dependence on nuclear weapons or prejudicing long-term defence improvements in conventional forces, it would be necessary to maintain and modernize theatre nuclear forces”. This response included negotiations with the Soviets to reverse their deployments of SS-20 intermediate range ballistic missiles equipped with nuclear warheads. If these negotiations failed, then NATO would proceed with the deployment of missiles to NATO members. All subsequent negotiations failed - and on December 12th 1979 the decision was made by NATO to deploy Ground Launched nuclear Cruise Missiles (GLCMs) to Britain 14
and other European countries. This announcement was made by Sir Francis Pym (Secretary of State for Defence) on December 13th and in June 1980 he stated that Greenham Common would house 96 nuclear armed Tomahawk cruise missiles, the warhead of each of which had the explosive force of up to 10 Hiroshima bombs (64 cruise missiles were also to be deployed to RAF Molesworth).
Airfield operations to prepare for cruise missile deployments. In 1981, a major construction programme, within the Greenham Common airfield area, was started to support the missile deployments. Six hardened shelters were constructed to protect the GLCMs from possible nuclear and conventional attack. Each shelter was designed to withstand the blast of any nuclear air explosion above the base or any direct hit from a 2500lb conventional bomb. It is believed that the shelters, that stand around 10 metres high and 30 metres long, were built with a reinforced concrete ceiling about two metres thick, below a steel plate, around three metres of sand, a further reinforced concrete slab and all covered with tonnes of soil. Each of these housed 4 launch vehicles and 2 launch control vehicles. The vehicles were contained by 6 30-inch-thick steel doors each weighing 42 tons. Other infrastructure such as the Entry Control Point, the Wing Headquarters, armoury, and maintenance hangar buildings were also required. The site was surrounded by multiple fences (some fitted with razor wire), a perimeter road and an advanced
One of the six cruise missile bunkers.
The steel bunker doors (showing the original warning signs) photographed through the three fence lines.
One of the original access gates to the GAMA site.
The roadway between the inner two fence lines at a different location on the perimeter of the GAMA A view of the triple fence line surrounding the bunkers from the main pathway.
movement detection system monitored from a Watchtower. The site also retained the 1950s bomb stores or “igloos” where the Strategic Air 15
Figure 1. Aerial photograph showing the GAMA site in January 2021. The 6 cruise missile bunkers, the Entry Control Point (behind bunkers)
16
) and a length of perimeter fencing are clearly visible.
(Photograph courtesy of Matthew Prior).
17
A more distant view of the bunkers.
Figure 10. The Wing Headquarters Building looking from the West.
18
Blast door to the decontamination suite.
19
Wall art relating to one of the cruise missile flights (Courtesy of RAF Welford museum). 20
The vehicle maintenance Smurfs (Courtesy of RAF Welford museum).
The GLCMs would only have been launched from Greenham Common following receipt of a genuine war alert from the Command Centre, when the QRA crew would have driven the TELs out of their bunkers and elevated the launch tubes prior to receiving the Presidential order to fire. More routinely, and once or twice a month, operational convoy dispersals typically headed for Salisbury Plain or RAF Lyneham to carry out field exercises from possible launch locations. Three sides of the GAMA site are in wooded areas, but pathways follow most of the fences so the
perimeter can be mostly walked around. Apart from the Main Gate (Green) which is currently in frequent use (see Final comments) most of the gates are overgrown. Some of the fence areas show evidence of repair following cutting of the fence (it is unclear when this occurred, but the Peace women frequently cut the fences to gain access) or, in some areas, they have been damaged by tree growth. Approximately 500 metres to the East of the GAMA site can be found the original Wing Headquarters 21
The Combat Support building.
Command’s nuclear bombs were originally stored with one being adapted to store the cruise missile warheads. Thus, the Ground Launched Cruise Missile Alert and Maintenance Area (GAMA) was born. On the 1st of October 1982, the flag of the 501st Tactical Missile Wing was raised at Greenham Common and the first cruise missiles were delivered in November 1983. By 1986 there were 96 missiles and five spares made up into six mobile cruise missile flights housed at GAMA. The GAMA site and Cruise missiles.
Repairs to the fence line.
Figure 1. Aerial photograph showing the GAMA site in January 2021. The 6 cruise missile bunkers, the Entry Control Point (behind bunkers) and a length of perimeter fencing are clearly visible. (Photo courtesy of Matthew Prior). At the core of the GAMA site are the six bunkers, each of which housed a tractor unit for towing, two Launch Control Vehicles (LCVs) and four Transporter Erector Launchers (TELs - each of which held four missiles), giving a total of 16 missiles per bunker. One of the bunkers was also a Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) shelter, with an attached crew room that was permanently manned and totally self-contained. Within minutes of an alert, these crews would travel in convoys to predesignated dispersal sites for launch of the missiles. During bunker operations, massive hydraulic pistons at both ends raised and lowered the thick steel plated bay doors over a moat-like trench, and movement between the bays would have been through passages with steel isolating doors. When closed, the bay doors would sit against steel plates with specialized rubber seals to create an air-tight environment, and each bunker contained an extensive air filtration system to ensure survivability in the event of an attack or accident. The bay doors are still in place in the closed position together with their original warning signs “Warning keep clear of pit. Door may open without warning. Stand clear when klaxon sounds”.
Tree growth damage to the fence. 22
An outline map of the site (in the 1980s) showing the locations of the bunkers and the entrance gates (identified by colour).
Building (Bld. 274) which is now a Grade 2 listed building. This building was the Command-andControl centre for the Greenham Common base and was reinforced against first strike conventional, biological, and chemical attack. It was used to control the operations of the cruise missile forces at Greenham Common; receiving instruction from higher command to deploy and launch missiles, and
The building is now equipped as a modern, commercial computer suite for data transfer and storage. Close by is the Combat Support Building (Bld. 273) which is also Grade 2 listed. This building’s purpose was to provide protected accommodation for about 100 military personnel who could be immediately available, even after a conventional, biological, or chemical attack, to defend the base against enemy infiltration. Its colloquial name of ‘The Armoury’ reflects the fact that weaponry for the soldiers would also have been stored here. In common with the Headquarters building, this has a blast proof construction of reinforced concrete and heavy steel doors. Other buildings associated with the site included a vehicle maintenance unit and a hanger (Bld. 302). These buildings have been demolished but before
A recent photograph (2020) showing the main entrance gate (Green) to the GAMA site.
then relaying them to its mobile forces. The blast proof building housed a decontamination suite (for chemical and biological weapons), a briefing room, telecommunications, and plant rooms. The structure reflected NATO’s policy of hardened and camouflaged specialist buildings and, of note, is the decontamination suite which is one of the two best preserved in the country. This suite is entered via the terracotta-coloured concrete entrance through a turnstile and a blast door.
One of the camp areas at the Green gate showing the decorated posts. 23
Detail of symbols on one of the posts.
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this happened, many artefacts and examples of wall art were carefully removed and are now in the RAF Welford museum. Workers in the vehicle maintenance area were known as the Smurfs and some of their wall art has been preserved.
The Peace Movement Greenham Common was the earliest site to be commissioned of the six European bases to house cruise missiles and hence provided a national focus for the peace movement. In 1981 a group called “Women for Life on Earth” marched from Cardiff to Greenham Common and set up the first peace camp. The Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp (GCWPC) itself evolved to consist of nine smaller peace camps, each separately identified. The yellow gate, at the main entrance to the base, was the first to be established following the march from Cardiff. The actions of the women were to disrupt preparations for the arrival of the cruise missiles and to observe and monitor activities inside the base. Many protests occurred over the next few years including regular illegal site break-ins and encircling the base. In 1983, in a joint action with CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament), a human chain involving 70,000 protesters linked hands from Greenham Common to the AWRE (Atomic Weapons Research Establishment) Aldermaston and on to the Ordnance factory at Burghfield near Reading. Most Newbury residents did not welcome the peace women for many reasons including the repeated illegal activities with the costs of policing and legal action, the insanitary conditions of the camps, and the women’s apparent rejection of family values. Local groups including Women and Families for Defence and Ratepayers Against Greenham Encampments (RAGE) organised local marches and lobbied Parliament to get their voices heard. There were peace camps at most of the entrances, with the original camp shown at the main (yellow) gate. (Photo courtesy of smudgyguide.net). The peace camps were constructed from a variety of materials, for example, the “Benders” used saplings and plastic sheeting, and these were seen together with other wood and metal constructions and tents. No evidence remains of any of the actual camps themselves at Greenham Common, however, an original tent and many other artifacts and clothing etc. are held by the West Berkshire Museum in Newbury (and by many other Museums). The original location of the Yellow camp is remembered by the construction of a Peace Garden in 2000 and this will be covered in the last article of this series. The main vehicular entrance and exit for the GAMA site were via the Green gate (see Figures 16 and 17) and this is one area where the location of the original peace camp is marked.
The locations for this camp area were marked with concrete posts in an attempt (it is believed) to contain the camp and keep the vital access road clear. Some of these concrete marker posts are still in place and were decorated with symbols from the camp; it is possible that these symbols have been “refreshed” over the years As the decade progressed the political landscape was changing and talks between the USA and USSR led to the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). This was signed by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in December 1987. This Treaty provided for the destruction of all ground launched short and medium range nuclear and conventional missiles operated by NATO and the USSR. Over the next few years, the Base was decommissioned and the missiles with their nuclear warheads were returned to the USA. During this period, the Base was subject to inspections by the Soviets as part of the INF. The final cruise missiles left the base in 1991 followed by the remaining USAF personnel in September 1992.
Final comments In 2003 the GAMA site was sold to a private owner and planning permissions have been obtained over the years to continue its use as a massive car storage area (vehicles can be seen around the periphery of the GAMA site in Figure 1). The site is being actively marketed as a location for filming, events, TV and commercial storage. Any operational changes on this site are limited by planning permissions from West Berkshire Council and are scrutinised by Natural England (because of the site’s proximity to a SSSI location), English Heritage and the Berkshire Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) who manage the Common.
References. Nuclear Planning Group, Final Communique 24th25th April 1979. In defense of freedom; a history of RAF Greenham Common. J. J. Sayers. ID: 310488, www.lulu.com. Womens’ Peace Camp 1981-2000. Sarah Hipperson (in Cold War Pastoral. John Kippin). ISBN 1 901033 97 X. The Common Good. The story of Greenham Common. Penelope Stokes and published by Greenham Trust. ISBN 978-1-5272-0785-1. Figure 1 Courtesy of Matthew Prior. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons AttributionShare Alike 4.0 International license.
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FEATURE
Randolph Caldecott’s Places and Faces in Brittany ERIC HOULDER LRPS
This feature is based on an old photograph, in that it is based on drawings resulting from three tours of Brittany made by the then well-known artist Randolph Caldecott RA as Two Victorian Travellers in 1870s Brittany.
T
he date is significant in that it is just before efficient photo-mechanical reproduction was developed. It also preceded the introduction of rapid plates and hand-held cameras, so that to capture and eventually reproduce action, photography was ‘out,’ and a ‘rapid artist,’ as Caldecott was described, was ‘in.’ Crucially, it was also before all but main line railways in France, so that country districts were quite isolated, and retained local costume and customs long after the
cities. Caldecott was quite famous in his time as an equestrian artist, as well as contributing material to illustrated magazines. His hunting scenes are still sought after by collectors, as are his coaching images, which even in the 1860s were reminders of a vanished world. Sadly he died of a chronic heart condition in 1886; he was just forty. Today his work is particularly valued by collectors of sporting prints. On the Breton tours, Caldecott was accompanied by his friend and employer Henry Blackburn, who was editor of London Society magazine. Blackburn had previously published illustrated books on his summer tours, using other artists as well as Caldecott. This time the book was to be titled Breton Folk, and Caldecott was to be given joint authorship. Blackburn advised ‘modern tourists’ to avoid the railways and travel by diligence ( like
Blackburn & Caldecott in a hired trap.
our earlier stage coaches, but bigger, slower, and more ‘downmarket’) between towns, and hire traps from inns to visit the local villages. Caldecott’s (flipped) portrait of a girl who served him at a Breton inn. Note her likeness to one of the dancers in #1.
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I came into possession of Breton Folk as a gift from a friend. Many years ago Michael, who has since died, gave me his copy of the book, inherited
A folk dancing group relax in the shade after performing. Panasonic Lumix G1. 14-45mm lens.
from a relative. At the time my sister-in-law, Elaine, and her husband, Wilson, owned a cottage between Pontivy and Baud in Morbihan. Each summer for twenty years Elaine and Wilson invited Joan and I, and sometimes our adult children too, to spend time with them at Llan Dravel, as it was called. We took our copy of Breton Folk and I tried to locate, visit and reproduce photographs to tally with many of the scenes. To begin with, I was using my Minolta MD outfit, carried in a CCS photo rucksack together with the book on my mountain bike. After 2008 I used various digital instruments until settling upon the Panasonic Lumix micro four thirds (MFT) system in 2010.
Caldecott’s image of onlookers surrounding himself at work. Note the man behind the iron fence. He is very similar to the man in the photograph on the nrext page
Each summer we attended the local Pardons, and the Fête de Vieux Mètieres, or ancient crafts at nearby Baud. It was whilst reviewing my images from the latter that I was prompted to refer to Breton Folk, for a couple of faces seemed familiar. Perhaps it was because the modern Bretons were wearing traditional costume, but one of the folk
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More performers relax. Lumix G1. 14-45mm lens.
dancers had apparently been drawn by Caldecott a hundred and thirty years before! Another face too seemed familiar. Sadly, the two most obvious individuals were in groups of traditional dancers; Travelling the country roads of Brittany by cycle is relatively safe, though far from easy as many of the gradients are relatively steep, shough rarely long. Many of the places had changed beyond recognition, particularly those, like Hennebont, which had suffered badly in the last war. Others were remarkably similar like the scene illustrated on the road out of Bieuzy les Eaux. It is almost unbelievable that the leaning tree is still there, though the picturesque woodcutter is sadly long gone. The final result of these expeditions is an illustrated talk entitled In Dead Men’s Footsteps, which has been moderately successful on the speaker circuit. All colour images by Eric Houlder LRPS. All pen sketches by Randolph Caldecott RI, scanned and ‘cleaned up’ in Affinity Photo. With thanks to my friend Michael who first aroused my interest in 28
Breton Folk.
ERIC HOULDER LRPS
The road out of Bieuzy les Eaux today, scanned from a Fujichrome transparency. Minolta X700, 28-80mm lens.
Caldecott’s sketch of the same scene in the photograph above. 29
FEATURE
THE ANGELIC PARDONS OF MORBIHAN “Attention!, Gardez-vous!” The second or so that it took to translate the shouts into “Look out!” was very nearly my last, as a large angel swept past my head far too close for comfort. As a one-time aerial photographer I have had my share of near misses, but obstructing an angel in its final approach.... well, I mean... ERIC HOULDER LRPS
P
erhaps a few words of explanation may convince sceptical readers that this really did happen, though the fact that the angel was made of wood and plaster may possibly provide a touch of veracity to the tale. For well over twenty years, my wife and I were in the habit of spending August with relatives in Brittany; to be precise, the Morbihan Department that comprises the south western part of the province. Close to our pied a terre is the tiny hamlet of St Nicodème, and it was here that I first saw a poster advertising a forthcoming Pardon. My copy of the Michelin Guide Brittany, explained that a Pardon is an annual service in which local people, sometimes in traditional costume, meet to share a service followed by less religious celebrations including a meal. However, the poster mentioned the descent of an angel. This I had to see. Arriving early, I noticed a thick rope fastened high on the church tower with the other end fixed securely to a metal stake hammered into the tiny village green. Nearby, a bonfire of brushwood stood ready to light. Elsewhere in the village, drinks stalls alternated with others selling religious statuettes, and even toys. As the time of the service approached, priests led a procession of local parishioners many carrying banners and statues into the church. Benches had been placed outside for the overflow congregation to whom the service was relayed by loudspeakers. Intriguingly, several men appeared on the tower balcony and proceeded to hang an angel on the tensioned rope. The angel carried a rose in one hand and a lighted taper in the other and was supported upright by a heavy counter-weight below. At the conclusion of the service over an hour later, the procession reformed and headed directly towards the green. When all were gathered around, the priest said a few words, a signal gun was
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Notre Dame de La Houssay. The candlelit procession through the woods lit by flash. Minolta X500, 35-70mm lens, Fujichrome Provia 400.
fired and the angel sped down the rope carrying a lighted taper. Anxious for a good picture, I neglected to allow for the sag of the rope and came close to being brained! Meanwhile, the angel arrived at the bottom, the priest took the taper, and lit the bonfire. This was incredibly photogenic, especially to a Northern atheist from a C of E background. Not content with just one descent, the men at the base of the rope spun the angel around, waved to their colleagues on the tower, and it was hauled back up, to repeat the descent several times- minus taper – for the benefit of the visitors. Finally, everyone trooped off to a nearby paddock where a meal was being cooked by yet more dedicated locals. During the afternoon and evening, a Breton group played traditional music to which everyone, from toddlers to OAPs danced. Crêpes and drinks were being consumed beneath canopies, marquees, and under the stars, a gathering called Fest Noz, (pronounced ‘Fesh Noh’) which according to our very old Breton friend – since sadly departed translates to Night Feast. Almost thirty years on, little has changed. True,
Notre Dame de La Houssay. (Vertical) The candlelit procession through the woods lit by flash. Minolta X500, 35-70mm lens, Fujichrome Provia 400. 31
still use a gun to signal the descent – perhaps they enjoy firing a gun on a Sunday? Some years ago the angel was forbidden to carry the taper lit, in spite of the presence of the local pompiers (firemen), so the officiating priest now surreptitiously carries a lighter beneath his robes. The effect is the same. I soon realised that St Nicodème’s Pardon is not the only one involving an angelic descent. Not far north, at Quelven, a taller tower is the launch pad for a smaller, prettier angel. Indeed, so popular is the event at Quelven, the second most important Pardon in Brittany, that the angel descends on Assumption Day – 15th August, and also on the Sunday nearest, now called ‘The Sunday of the Angel.’ In contrast to Quelven, the tiny village of La Ferrière holds its own Pardon on the last Sunday in August. It is simpler, and in some ways more moving. Following the usual service and procession, a large wood and plaster ‘Dove of Peace’ descends from the miniscule tower to a makeshift docking bay consisting of a tractor and straw bale! The tower is so small that it is possible to see the ‘launch team’ very well indeed, and note the exertion on the face of the man who winds the dove back up the rope. This flying object is large, heavy and would certainly cause serious injury to anyone unwise enough to stand in its flight path. Quelven. A small child is lifted to kiss the statue! Minolta X500, 35-70mm lens, Fujichrome Provia 400.
the angel’s attendants now carry smartphones, but
A few miles away, at Notre Dame de La Houssay on the outskirts of Pontivy, the Pardon is held in the evening. There is no flying object but the villagers process through woodland carrying lighted torches
St Nicodeme. The angel begins its return Journey. Minolta X500, 35-70mm lens, Fujichrome Provia 100. 32
and candles. Again, the simple faith exhibited is very moving. Sadly, at all these events, it tends to be the older half of the population who join in the religious side of the Pardons. The local people who organise and attend these Pardons and Fest Noz actively welcome visitors and even advertise the events with posters. However, you do have to keep an eye open for these, and check times carefully. Sometimes the local tourist office has the information, but bear in mind that every region in France has similar sounding village names, often close together! Allow plenty of time for parking – usually on stubble fields – and seeking a good position to shoot it all from. A useful tip is to note the wind direction. I failed to do this one year, and nearly suffocated as I was downwind of the bonfire. As photographers we tend to view such events as picture subjects, but it is important to bear in mind that prioritising the images is often seen as arrogance by older locals, and as discourtesy by all. Be polite and respectful, and better images will result.
ERIC HOULDER LRPS St Nicodeme. The (somewhat battered) angel is readied for its Action Replay. Lumix G1. 14-45mm lens.
La Ferrière. The flying dove approaches statues of Jesus and St Nicodeme. Minolta X500, Sigma 75-300mm lens, Fujichrome 100.
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FEATURE
INVERNESS CATHEDRAL Inverness Cathedral also known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew (1866–69), is a cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Church situated in the city of Inverness, Scotland close to the banks of the River Ness. The cathedral is the northernmost cathedral in mainland Britain . GEORGE BACKSHALL LRPS
The nave looking towards the choir and altar
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The nave looking towards the choir and altar All photographed handheld with Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III, Olympus Zuiko 12-100mm f4 lens at 800 iso. 35
Inverness Cathedral: The Bishops Seat at the end of The Choir
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