Maidstone

As a student of photography in 1965-66, I would wander the streets of Maidstone looking for subjects to photograph. Very much the novice, I photographed what was there—what I found—without a great sense of confidence in what I was doing and little, if any, awareness of photographic style or thematic approach. These photographs, made with my little Exa IIa single lens reflex, are full frame scans of the original negatives. This small selection now form part of a historical documentation of an era which saw the arrival of the parking meter and the accompanying traffic warden, the arrival of the supermarket (Priceright in Maidstone) and yet still having the gasworks, the Victorian swimming pool, trolley buses, Sharps Toffee factory, Roots Motor Company and two breweries (still using wooden barrels) in the centre of town. The parking meters, having been first introduced to the UK in Mayfair, London in 1958, were still fairly novel in Maidstone which is why I think they are a significant feature in the photographs.