Since its beginnings in the 1830s, photography has been closely connected to the people and places cared for by the National Trust. These collections include many compelling portraits revealing how life and work have changed over the years. Catherine Troiano, photography curator, looks at the history of portrait photography through a selection of images among the collections.
Sitting for a painted portrait was a popular thing to do for those who could afford it, but that all changed in 1839 with the invention of photography as we know it. These unique portraits not only rivalled, and eventually replaced painted portrait miniatures, but also widened who was able to be immortalised in them.
Louis Daguerre in 1839 raced to invent and launch the first commercially viable photographic process. Daguerreotypes are direct-positive images made in-camera onto a silvered copper plate. Cheaper and quicker to produce than painted portraits, they were special objects often kept in a leather case. The case for this image, in the collections at Dunham Massey, Cheshire, notes the photographer as Mr Kilburn of Regent Street.
As lighting and photographic processes became more sophisticated, studio photography continued to evolve. Staged studio portraits became a mark of social status. As in earlier studio portraits, they sometimes featured props and backdrops to suggest personal characteristics of the sitter.
Australian-born Henry Walter Barnett was a prominent portrait photographer around the turn of the 20th century. He was known for photographing London’s high society, with studios at Hyde Park Corner and Knightsbridge. Studio photography work can be found across numerous National Trust collections including at Calke Abbey, The Hardmans' House, Knole and Polesden Lacey.
Portrait of Gertrude Violet Webster-Wedderburn, Lady Savile, by photographer Henry Walter Barnett taken around 1905 and now in the collection at Polesden Lacey, Surrey.
During the First and Second World Wars, many places now in the care of the National Trust were temporarily requisitioned for wartime purposes. Kingston Lacy, in Dorset, was used as an American hospital and Lanhydrock, in Cornwall, housed urban evacuees during the Blitz.
During the Second World War, millions of civilians – especially children – were evacuated from major cities to the countryside. Many evacuees spent time at places we now care for, and in our collections there are numerous pictures that capture these moments in history.
Daphne Bankes, sister of Henry Bankes, the last owner of Kingston Lacy in Dorset, volunteered as an ambulance driver during the Second World War. During the war, Kingston Lacy was used as an American hospital. Daphne is pictured here wearing her gas mask and standing by an ambulance.
Photography became increasingly accessible as equipment became less expensive and easier to use. This opened photography up to a broader spectrum of people, many of whom chose to take candid and informal photos of daily life.
Such photographs help to tell stories of those who worked in National Trust properties over the last 175 years. Images of staff – gardeners, groomsmen, cooks, nannies and maids – show just how many were needed to keep houses and grounds in good working order.
The National Trust’s photography collections contain around 550,000 items, from the early days of photography in the 1840s to the present.
We can put names to the faces of many depicted in photographs in our collections, giving a personal insight into the history of our places.
Wallace Rumney, apprentice carpenter; John Salmon, carpenter; Johnny Barber, butler; and Moses Ball, stableman, are pictured here in 1910. They all worked at Dyrham Park, in Gloucestershire.
From Lacock Abbey’s role in the birth of photography to the house of 20th-century photographer Edward Chambré Hardman, there are many stories to tell about the invention and development of photography at National Trust places. Learn about the important contributions towards photographic innovation, and the efforts to digitise collections for future generations.
The Yorke family at Erddig, North Wales, were enthusiastic adopters of new photographic technology and made pictures of their staff from as early as 1852. The staff were encouraged to make their own photographs, and these were compiled into photographic albums, offering a unique and valuable insight into their lives.
William Henry Fox Talbot, polymath and pioneer of Victorian photography, moved to Lacock Abbey in 1827. He famously created the earliest surviving photographic negative in 1835, taken of a small window in the abbey's South Gallery.
The Fox Talbot Museum is housed in Lacock’s 16th-century barn. It tells the story of the birth and early development of photography through its photographic collection.
Theresa, Lady Londonderry of Mount Stewart, was a keen photographer and took many glass-plate negatives of her home and its staff.
With the help of volunteers, the team has been cataloguing, cleaning, and digitising the negatives. The pictures have helped to shed new light on the mysterious disappearance of the Mountstewart yacht, which vanished without a trace from Strangford Lough in 1895.
When George Bernard Shaw died in November 1950, he left behind a house filled with the relics of a long and fascinating life. As well as being a writer, he was a keen photographer and left a vast photographic collection of more than 20,000 items, taken by himself and others.
Shaw's pictures are now stored at the London School of Economics, which he helped to found, where the pictures are being digitised.
The collections at Sutton Hoo include a unique set of images by amateur photographers Mercie Lack and Barbara Wagstaff. The pictures, taken in the summer of 1939, capture the dramatic excavation of the Great Ship Burial.
Incredibly they have survived from the very earliest days of the use of colour reversal film. Over the winter of 2019–20, with help from volunteers, the team were able to digitise the collection in their entirety for the first time.
Portrait photographers Edward and Margaret Chambré Hardman had both their home and working studio at 59 Rodney Street in Liverpool. We’re working to protect thousands of early to mid-20th century photographic prints, negatives, letters and business records in the Hardman photographic collection, making it more accessible to everyone. Learn more about the cataloguing and photography conservation of the collection at Hardmans' House.
The Mander family were so enthusiastic about the new 19th-century developments in photography that they built their own dark room.
Both Theodore and Geoffrey Mander were trained chemists, so were particularly interested in the technical side of developing photographs. Their dark room still exists and many of their photographs are still in the collection at Wightwick Manor.
Caring for our photography collections is an ongoing task. We research, catalogue, and make accessible large parts of our photography collections that remain relatively unknown.
Photographs, particularly historic photographs, are sensitive objects. Conservation work is important to ensure long-term preservation, to keep photography collections safe for years to come.
Discover more photography highlights from the collections we care for in our new book, 100 Photographs from the Collections of the National Trust. We've been able to print and produce this book thanks to our partner, CEWE.
Learn about the history of photography at the Fox Talbot Museum, with a collection spanning photographic developments up to the present day.
Discover what life was like for the Hardmans in the 1950s, with the house presented as it was during the height of this talented couple’s business. As seen on BBC Two series Hidden Treasures of the National Trust.
National Trust conservationists know a thing or two about protecting valuable items. Get some top tips to protect your precious objects.
