#PhotoFriday Digest – September

It’s time again for our monthly round up of #PhotoFriday tweets, where we look at images from the local studies collections across the county, which you can find on www.picturethepast.org.uk .

We started off the month by looking at the well-known (pun intended) tradition of well dressing. September sees the last examples of this for the year in places such as Foolow, Eyam, Hartington and Chesterfield. Our #PhotoFriday image took us behind the scenes to spy on some of the work that goes on to make these beautiful pieces. Here we see the finishing touches being added to a Bakewell well dressing from the 1970s. On the wall behind the ladies busily adding petals to the design, you can see a picture of the Royal Coat of Arms which they are faithfully copying. The detail is amazing.

To celebrate the various Heritage Open Days that were taking part in September our next #PhotoFriday image was this beautiful engraving of the Arboretum in Derby. This was Britain’s very first public park, on land given to the Borough by Joseph Strutt, local cotton mill owner and mayor. Work started in July 1839 and the park opened its gates for the first time on 17th September 1840. The park has been restored in recent years and so you can visit it today and still see the magnificent main entrance.

September means the return for many to schools, colleges and universities, so the Explore Your Archive theme for this month was ‘learning’. We have many pictures of schools and classrooms in our collections but for #PhotoFriday we chose something a little different. Here we join students at Matlock College in Rockside Hall in the 1950s while they relax in their very genteel looking common room. We don’t think you’ll find many students of today reading newspapers and knitting by an open fire between lessons.

Our last image for September also fitted the theme of ‘learning’ with another more unusual image. This time we chose a school classroom but after the children and teachers have left for the day. Here we have those most important of people – the cleaners, working at the Bolsover Church of England National School, in around 1920. Armed with buckets of water, cloths and brooms these ladies are ready to make things spick and span once again.

If you’ve enjoyed seeing what photographic treats we found for you last month then why not head over to Twitter to see what we have picked for #PhotoFriday in October, where we’ll be looking at subjects as wide ranging as newspapers, ballet and carnivals!