Thomas Richard Williams - Scenes in Our Village

Scenes in Our Village

Williams’ third and perhaps best-known series, “Scenes in Our Village,” has recently been brought back into modern light by Dr. Brian May and Elena Vidal as the subject of their book, A Village Lost and Found.

This was a series of fifty-nine hand-colored albumen prints on cards similar in shape and size to a modern postcard, containing images of village life ranging from idyllic scenes of trees and brooks to scenes of gossip or marriage proposals, children posing for portraits or sleeping, cottages, bridges, granaries and other buildings. The pairs of photographs on the card may be viewed with a stereoscope to produce a vivid and clear three-dimensional image. While viewing Williams’ work, it seems one could walk right into the picture and turn the corner around the lane. On the back of most of the cards is a short descriptive verse, which is generally attributed to Williams, such as this one:

"Taking Corn Into the Granary."

From storm and rain

The garnered grain

Is housed, and come what may,

In his granary stored,

The farmer's hoard,

Lies snug till market day.

"For many years, it was thought that the village nostalgically portrayed in these photographs was a fictional creation. However, recent research revealed that all the images were taken at Hinton Waldrist, in Berkshire (now in Oxfordshire) and its surroundings."

Dr. May advertised a photograph of the village church on his website, asking whether anyone knew where it was, and within 36 hours had received 6 correct answers.

The discovery that it was, in fact, a real village, and the people portrayed were not actors, but real villagers Williams must have known personally, adds layers of meaning and insight into the series. It "was clearly a very personal undertaking for Williams; the tone of the poems shows an unmistakable familiarity with the subject and deep involvement with some of the described situations."

Another curious and interesting feature of the series is that Williams frequently appears in cameo in his own photographs, in a top hat and tails, facing away from the camera.

However, despite his popularity and fame—or perhaps because of it—Williams ceased production of these types of images after this series, stating they had become “vulgarized by imitation.”