Painswick, Slad, Sheepscombe & Edge

This fascinating photographic collection represents a journey both through time and also along the byways of a truly scenic part of rural England. Edwardian photographers' lenses enable us to glimpse celebrations such as Empire Day, we revisit tranquil streets with long-closed shops and pubs and we witness the arrival of the first local motor bus in 1905. Victorian bowls players are shown, along with solemn-faced schoolchildren wearing starched pinafores and Eton collars. The present day images include Painswick's Art Couture Festival, together with views taken from Painswick Beacon and from the church tower. Artists such as Montague Rivers reveal how they interpreted the architecture and townscapes of long ago. Nor, of course, would the Slad chapter be complete without photographs of both Laurie Lee and the legendary Rosie.