Forest of Dean Local History Society
The original photographs in this collection were taken as part of the Gloucestershire 2000 Photographic Archive project. The society decided to photograph 'sites and monuments' which had some historic interest so that a record would exist of their nature and condition in the year 2000.
The photographers were all volunteers and were given a free hand regarding the subjects that they took subject to the above general principle. The range of photographs taken varied from monuments, which were already well recognised for their historical relevance, to items which were not especially significant in themselves but had a particular interest. All the sites and monuments photographed could potentially face at least modifications or at worst threats to their continuing existence over time. The work was coordinated by the then Society Chair Ron Beard, and ultimately the volunteers produced more then 250 photographs from which those you can see in the collections were chosen.
The intention at the time was to revisit the selected sites at ten-year intervals and take new photographs. Accordingly this was done in 2010 (second edition), and for this third edition in the period 2019 - 2024. The collection now provides a record of any changes that have occurred over the last twenty or so years and provides a valuable insight into how historic sites of interest in the Dean are valued and cared for. Unfortunately, for the second and third editions some of those who took the original photographs are no longer with us, so new volunteers were recruited. All are acknowledged underneath the photographs they took.
The photographs are presented in themed collections, available below in pdf format, to read or download:
A complete index to the collections is also available: