AN exhibition called ‘A stroll through Holsworthy, past and present’ consisting of hundreds of photos of Holsworthy and the surrounding area attracted many visitors to the parish church during St Peter’s Fair week, writes Christine Williams.

Among the earliest were photos taken between 1860 and 1876 by solicitor’s clerk, George Dobson, giving a vivid picture of life in the town in Victorian days.

Enhancing the photos were items from local newspapers so that next to a photo of pupils taking exams at the National School was an advert for a new schoolmaster.

From the Exeter Flying Post we learned that the Holsworthy’s labyrinth was in need of repairs in 1847 and from the Western Tines that in 1869 ‘velocipedes are getting all the rage’.

Next to early photos of Holsworthy station the Western Times informed that that after a week by the seaside at Bude in 1879 ‘care worn, languid and pale’ people from the cities were seen returning home ‘healthy, robust and with rosy cheeks’. There were also colour photos of more recent times, a collection of 1,000 postcards, photos of past carnivals and a fascinating film of St Peter’s Fair Week 1936.

The exhibition was put together from the archives of Holsworthy Museum by Shawn Dymond, who is hoping that unknown people in some of the photos may be recognised and named.