Unique glimpse of Herefordshire village as it was 50 years ago to go on display

Back in 1965, the nation marked the death of Sir Winston Churchill, Ronnie Biggs escaped from prison, Jackanory first appeared on television, and in Pembridge a young photographer was patiently capturing pictures of everyday life in an English village.

John Bulmer, then 25, was commissioned to take photographs for the Sunday Times magazine; his brief to show a typical, traditional community.

“It had to have all the characters, the butcher, the baker, the undertaker, the vicar, and Pembridge ticked all the boxes,” he explained.

Thanks to a chance meeting, the extraordinary gallery of people and places from a distant time has come to light once more.

Mr Bulmer, an award-winning photographer and film-maker who lives at Monnington-on-Wye, offered 50 images from his collection to the village.

Now these beautifully evocative “fly on the wall” pictures are to go on show at the village hall on October 31 and November 1.

More importantly, the pictures were acquired and will form an important record for future generations. Pembridge accountant Garfield Evans remembers when the pictures were taken and, as chairman of Pembridge Amenity Trust, he joined the Pembridge History Society chairman, Bob Anderson and Merry Albright in applying for a grant to buy the photographs.

After the exhibition, the images will be securely stored. There are already plans for loaning the collection out for H.Art next year, and Mr Bulmer has suggested showing the pictures in a London gallery.

Mr Bulmer recalled how he put his policy as a photographer into practice in Pembridge. “If you ask people first then they pose and you get a completely different picture, so my policy has always been to take the photograph first, and ask after.”

Aware that villagers in those days could be “suspicious of outsiders”, Mr Bulmer approached with care. “At the time, there was strong feeling about the vicar,” he added. “Who had harangued people for harvesting on a Sunday!”