HISTORIAN Howard Beard has amassed one of the largest photographic collections documenting the social history of Stroud.

SNJ reporter Saul Cooke-Black spoke to the retired primary school teacher about the treasured archive in the first of our new monthly history features called Days Gone By, which will look in-depth at one aspect of local history.

It all started in 1982 when Mr Beard attended a collector's fair in Manchester.

Visiting friends in the city where he attended university, Howard came across postcards by Nailsworth photographer E.P Conway taken in the early 20th century.

The discovery sparked an interest in postcards from the Stroud area, which led to a search for a collection by relative William Lee, who was a cousin of Stroud-born author Laurie.

"My mother had told me she thought we were distantly related to Laurie, but she was not sure that William was a relation,” said Howard, who has lived in Stroud all his life.

"After the collector's fair, in the 1980s, I managed to track down William's daughter, Elizabeth Findlay, who was living in Scotland.

"She told me all about his work. I have now collected around 250 of his photos, taken from between 1902 and 1911."

Mr Lee worked as a photographer in Stroud between the ages of 16 and 25.

Howard has copies of his pictures beginning from 1902, the year postcards first featured one full side picture which led to an increased demand in the photography industry.

Since then the father of two, aged 72, has been avidly collecting photos from a range of sources, dating back to 1860 which have featured in 15 published books.

Some of the photos record disasters, such as the Nailsworth gunpowder explosion of 1891, while others record historic events, circuses, country fairs and festivals in and around Stroud over the decades.

Stroud’s first motor bus and a circular shaped photo of a Punch and Judy show in Stroud High Street in 1904 are among the history enthusiast’s favourites.

Taken together, the photos provide a fascinating insight into the changes in the social history of the district.

"It really is like opening a window onto a vanished age," said Howard, a former teacher at Minchinhampton Primary and Beaudesert Park Schools.

"The photos shine a light onto a time when people had different interests and different enthusiasms.

"You can see the different clothing and how the streets have changed.

"The photos also show how local events became extra important when people did not travel.

"There is a lovely photo of the agricultural show in 1910 which shows five arches beautifully decorated.

"There are also pictures of Frome Hall Park where around 1,100 people took part in the 1911 Mid-Gloucestershire Historical Pageant of Progress.

"What has surprised me is the amount of photos I have been able to discover in an age before TV and other media methods.

"People used the local photographer to record everything.

"But they would not have produced many copies of the photos which means a lot of the photos I have must be unique."

After finding the photos, Howard uses newspaper archives from the SNJ to find out more information about the events.

His latest illustrated book, Stroud History Tour, documents the changes which have taken place across the streets of Stroud.

A collection of around 50 photos in the book shows the key changes and events around the town.

"Once you start it becomes something of an addiction and it has taken over a lot of my spare time,” he added.

"But it is very enjoyable. The wonderful thing is you never know which photographs you are going to discover next."

See the full feature and photos from Howard's collection in Wednesday's (June 1) SNJ.