The Lugg - The river that was a railway - Leominster.

Looking west along the River Lugg. If you had stood in this spot a hundred years ago you would have been standing on a railway line.

Looking east downstream, the curve in the river in the distance is where the train line would have curved around to meet the main railway line.

 Guess these old remains would have had something to do with the old railway line, according to 19th Century maps this is where the old Leominster to Kington line would have been as it spurred off the main line to Ludlow. 

 

 

The River Lugg now meanders around the back of the north side of Leominster. Back in the early 19th Century it passed through the centre of town, pretty much parrallel with the route the River Kenwater now takes, passing through the site of what is now the coucil tip. From comparing old maps it looks like the Kenwater and the Lugg met in town near the bridge at Bridge Street.

The Leominster and Kington railway line run by the Great Western Railway, opened for goods traffic on 18 October 1855, it passed along the site that the River Lugg now takes along the back of the houses in the Marshes area. The last passenger train which ran on the Leominster and Kington line departed from Leominster at 8.25pm on 5th February 1955, freight would continue for another 6 years.

A mile long section of the railway was reopened in 2005 at Titley, but is only open by prior appointment.

Portraits of Leominster Medieval Festival

The Leominster Morris Men.

So here I hauled my mobile but rather heavy studio up to the Priory Church in Leominster to grab these shots of people in costume taking part in in the towns Medieval Festival as Leominster was transported to the fifteenth century as re-enactors bring the past to life and a living history encampment offers a taste of life in the town during the middle ages. More pictures from today to be posted later on as I follow the Medieval Free Company of re-enactors as they show the towns folk what warfare was like during the 15th Century.

Sneak Peak; Forthcoming Book...

   Here are some images which will feature in my book; "Herefordshire Then And Now; A photographic journey with Alfred Watkins." Work still continues on this project and things are looking good for completion on the anniversary of Alfred Watkins death on 7th April. Then it will be off to the publishers to start publication. 
   These are some pieces of Alfred's photographic equipment. They are currently held by Hereford Museum at their Learning Resource Center which is on Friar Street in Hereford just a few yards away from the actual site of the Watkins Meter Company. Many people do not even realise there is a museum resource center in Hereford, it's a great place you should check it out if you haven't already.

This is Alfred Watkins' 5"x7" view camera and camera bag.

This is the back of Alfred Watkins' darkroom timer, can any one make out what he has written here?

This was Alfred Watkins' personal darkroom timer, which is actually the one that he invented and his company The Watkins Meter Company based in Friar Street, Hereford manufactured.