Ledbury in Colour

View from Frith Wood - 8/9/63

Probably still finding his feet after moving to the town just 3 months earlier, this is a lovely south-western view taken from Frith Wood, which is north of the town.  Note the famous railway viaduct to the left of centre.

Viaduct Arches - 16/9/63

I really like this close up of the viaduct arches.  But it's the cows that make the picture as far as I'm concerned! The viaduct was built in 1859-60 and is still in operation today.  Note the decorative detail, created with engineering bricks I suspect, at the top of each arch.  It has been Grade II listed since 1986.

Bye St - 18/10/63

A very nice view looking down Bye Street towards Bridge Street.  Of particular note are the grocers shop to the right, the large house next door and the brickwork on the old  GWR railway bridge.  My modern view shows the grocers is now a fish and chip shop, the large house has been replaced with a smaller building and the bridge has been widened. I was interested to know when and why the large house was demolished.  My godmother, who lives in the town, thought it may have been related to a gas explosion some years ago...  Thanks to Chris who provided the following information about the incident:- "Your godmother is spot on - the large house was destroyed by a gas explosion in 1983. I was born in 1985 so it was a little before my time, but Dad reliably informs me that the building was a Chinese restaurant and take away at the time of the explosion - it was pretty tragic as the owner and a resident of the flats above were killed as the whole building just collapsed into the cellar. It was caused by a gas main which was fractured from where it ran under the original bridge. A Tandoori take away now occupies the site in a shorter two storey building."

View from Conygree - 11/3/64

Before anyone complains, the spelling of Conygree is my father's!  According to one of his old OS maps it should be Coneygree which is a wood located to the south east of the town.  From this vantage point he seems to have captured a good view of the whole of Ledbury including the church and the viaduct.  Here is a close up of the scene.

Ledbury Church - ?/?/65

A timeless view of Ledbury's historic church.  I found taking my modern view quite moving.  I've visited many sites that my father has but they were always so much changed that I couldn't see myself in his place.  With this one, I could.  There are some differences, however.  As has been seen in many churchyards, some of the headstones have been removed.

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