A snapshot of Victorian West Somerset

A NUMBER of West Somerset scenes are among a collection of 50 fascinating images of Victorian Somerset which has gone on display at the Somerset County Museum, in Taunton.
‘In a Good Light – Holidays in Victorian Somerset’ includes images from a collection containing more than 300 glass plate and celluloid negatives.
They were taken in the last two decades of the 19th century by the Rev John Derrick, who spent holidays with his family visiting Kilve, Porlock, Bossington, East Quantoxhead, and Tarr Steps, among other places.
The visits were all captured in his photographs, a collection of which was recently donated to Somerset County Council’s heritage service, which conserved and digitally copied them.
John Derrick was born in 1852 and grew up near Weston-super-Mare, where his family were farmers. In 1877 he became a curate in Cheltenham, where he met his wife Edith.
The couple had three children and it was through his third child, Freda, that the precious negatives were saved.
He bought his first camera in 1887 and when he took his young family on holiday to West Somerset, the camera and equipment went too.
His interests were varied, and he took images not just of his family but also scenes showing Somerset landscapes, agriculture, churches, craftsmen, villages, and local people - examples of which are contained within the exhibition.
The exhibition will also include vintage cameras from the heritage service collections and information about early photography.
The exhibition started last August at the Somerset Rural Life Museum, in Glastonbury, and was painstakingly researched by members of the Friends of the Somerset Rural Life Museum, supported by county council staff.
Research involved travelling around the places seen in the Derrick photographs and matching them to the modern landscape and buildings.
The exhibition proved so popular that it has now travelled to the County Museum in Taunton and will be there until March 17.
County Councillor Justin Robinson, portfolio holder for adult and community services said: “This is a fascinating time-capsule of late Victorian rural life in Somerset.
“The images are shown in extremely clear and rich detail and will be of considerable interest to photographic enthusiasts, local historians, Somerset residents, and visitors to the county alike.”

• The photographs above show the bridge at Allerford, near Porlock, taken by John Derrick (monochrome) and how it looks in the present day (colour). Photos submitted.