Around Market Harborough Between the Wars: Britain in Old Photographs

The end of the Great War was a catalyst for change. British youth from all social backgrounds were lost and those returning from the horrors of war knew that life could never be the same again.

Back in rural Leicestershire, horses still worked the land but mechanisation was increasingly making its presence felt. The old rural way of life still survived, with its ancient customs and traditional values, but change was everywhere - at work and in the home. A whole new lifestyle was slowly evolving.

The inter-war years are a world away from what we are familiar with today: it was a time when it was possible to identify people by their dress, and youngsters were brought up to know their place. Working people had to endure long hours for poor pay in crowded factories. Farm labourers toiled for lower wages still, without any form of security, often living in tied cottages, which could be taken away from them on a whim. Society depended on vast numbers of domestic servants who were engaged on pitiful terms and yet many of them considered it an honour to serve the gentry who employed them.

Mike Hutton’s new book evokes these days beautifully, through many previously unseen photographs and his informative text. Around Market Harborough Between the Wars is sure to be of great interest to all those who know and love this historic Leicestershire town.