The Alfred Newton Collection 1894-1907

 In 1882 Alfred Newton opened the Belvoir Photographic Studio in Leicester, which his son Sydney Walter Newton joined in around 1894.  The National Monuments Record hold a fine collection of their images, which include the usual range of subject matter for a firm of commercial photographers of the period, with many obviously ‘postcard’ views. 

The young Sydney Newton gained permission to photograph the construction of the Great Central Railway (GCR), which began in 1894 and was officially opened on 9th March 1899, and he continued to photograph its operation until at least 1907.  However, he was also interested in the life of the villages through which the GCR passed, and his photographs have left us with a remarkable social record of rural life in this corner or England at the turn of the 19th century. 

To view the entire collection of photographs visit our Viewfinder website at www.english-heritage.org.uk/viewfinder