Blogs

The third symposium in memory of Mark Girouard looks at women’s contributions to architectural history in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Of particular note to BPH are a number of papers looking at the contributions of women photographers to architecture. These include: 

• Ursula Clark: Architectural Photographer and Historian, Dr. David Barber, Independent Scholar
• Photography and the Sack of Bath: The work of Lesley Green-Armytage, Tanya Southcott, University of Brighton
• ‘I paint, write, take photographs and travel’ – Gender and Landscape History in 20th century Britain, Professor Luca Csepely-Knorr, University of Liverpool

Untold Tales: Women Pioneers in British and Irish Architectural History
Friday 13 November and Saturday 14 November 2026
Soicety of Architectural Historians of Great Britain
Courtauld Institute
See: https://www.sahgb.org.uk/whatson/untold-tales

This year's Heritage Open Days runs from 11-20 September across England. There is much of photographic interest from an opportunity to visit the W W Winters studio in Derby and a behind-the-scenes visit to the Pitt Rivers Photograph collection, to talks, exhibitions and walks looking at the past and present through historic photographs. 

The W W Winters tours run over several days and the Pitt Rivers tour is on the 12 September.

See the full range of photography events across the United Kingdom here.

In late 2025, a discovery was made at the Alpine Club, London. Hidden away in the basement archive at 55 Charlotte Road, amidst ice axes, tents and geological samples, was a huge collection of glass negatives from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.Taken by some of the most famous names in British mountaineering, these photographs offered a tantalising glimpse into the early days of climbing in the Alps and put flesh on the bones of the men who made it possible.

Working with photographic printing and publishing experts Salto Ulbeek, the Alpine Club has chosen some of the best of these images to be reproduced as large-scale platinum-palladium prints. This printing process has transformed that tantalising glimpse into a true window onto the past. One through which you can almost hear the wind whipping at tweed jackets and feel the freshness of the Alpine air.

The exhibited photographs are by William Abney, Frank Smythe, Sydney Spencer and George Finch, and include depictions of some of the first guides ever to work in the Alps, as well as spectacular views of iconic peaks such as the Dent du Géant and the Matterhorn.

For interested parties, details of how to purchase limited edition platinum-palladium prints of the exhibited photographs will be available at the exhibition. From 1 October, the exhibition will also include folios for each of the featured photographers containing a selection of prints and an accompanying essay.

Historic Tudor house, Coughton Court in Warwickshire, has launched a brand new exhibition  exploring the Throckmorton family’s story through photography over the last three centuries. The Throckmorton Family: Through the Lens brings together a fascinating collection of photographs charting the lives of the family through the generations, from Sir William Throckmorton (1838-1919) and Henry Langford-Brooke (1843-1907) through to the present day. 

The exhibition offers a rare and personal glimpse into the family behind Coughton Court, capturing early formal portraits to more candid images of later generations. The photographs trace the family’s story through the lens providing an intimate record of the many generations who have called the historic estate home.

Magnus Birch Throckmorton, who manages Coughton Court alongside his wife Imogen, said: “Photography gives us a wonderfully personal way of looking back through the generations and it’s fascinating to see how much has changed over the years. We hope visitors enjoy discovering a little more about the people behind Coughton Court and seeing how our family’s story has unfolded through the lens over the years.”

Entry to the exhibition is included with all house and garden tickets.  Coughton Court is open all year round from Wednesday to Sunday, 9am-4.30pm. Tickets are £15.50 for adults (16+), £6.50 for children (under 5s are free), and £14 for concessions (60+) and students. Parking and entry to the Stableyard cafe, shop and play area is free of charge.

For more information about Coughton Court, visit www.coughtoncourt.co.uk.  

The Vernon MacAndrew photographic archive held at Dartmouth Museum has received £36,246 from the National Archives' Archives Revealed fund. The MacAndrew archive was noted on BPH earlier this year. 

In 2025, the museum was donated the Vernon MacAndrew Photographic Archive featuring around 5,000 images from 1900–1940, more than half in early colour. MacAndrew’s photographs record Dartmouth, the River Dart and the emergence of dinghy racing in the harbour, his sailing career and successful international yacht racing, and his shell collecting expeditions to the Red Sea and Philippines. They also present insights into his family and their home in Dartmouth. Archives Revealed funding will enable this nationally significant collection to be catalogued and made searchable by the public.

Jonathan Turner, Vice Chair, Dartmouth Museum, says: “we knew we had been given a beautiful photographic archive, but as we have explored it, its extraordinary breadth has connected us to collections and organisations around the world.  We would love to hear from others in Dartmouth, Devon and beyond who can help us explore MacAndrew’s extraordinary life and photographs.”

Archives Revealed has awarded three new Consortium Grants and a remarkable 17 Cataloguing Grants to archives across the UK, many of which include photographs. This amounts to £1,234,260.97 – the most awarded in a single round for both programmes. There are now funded Consortium projects in Northern Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland.

See: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-revealed/cataloguing-grant/current-and-past-projects/2025-2026/

Marie Kastner, later Mrs Marie MacAndrew, in the garden of the Museum of Fine Arts, Valencia, Spain. Taken by Vernon MacAndrew using Autochrome slide before 1907-1912. Image courtesy Dartmouth Museum.