Historic Building Photography
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September 2, 2021In April I was invited to photograph the first phase of the restoration of Groundlings Theatre in Portsmouth, by the Groundlings Theatre Trust. I love historic building photography and so this was an opportunity that was too good to miss. This wonderful building started life in 1784 as a Beneficiary School the first free boys’ school in Portsmouth.
In April I was invited to photograph the first phase of the restoration of Groundlings Theatre in Portsmouth, by the Groundlings Theatre Trust. I love historic building photography and so this was an opportunity that was too good to miss.
This wonderful building started life in 1784 as a Beneficiary School the first free boys’ school in Portsmouth. The school was in the downstairs of the building, while upstairs entertained the Beneficiary Society for meetings, concerts and theatre shows. It later provided schooling for girls too. The school closed in 1939 due to the outbreak of WW2 and then finally closed its doors as a school in 1960 with the opening of a school nearby.
Groundlings Theatre took over in 2010. The first part of my role as a photographer was to document the renovation of this historic building in its current state. I completed this project over several hours. The second part of my job was to show through images the workers and volunteers working hard to restore large parts of the theatre. It really was a labour of love. The final phase involved going back around the theatre and photographing the finished work. These areas were mainly the front dome windows, a bar area downstairs, new flooring downstairs, large areas of the garden, and the upstairs bar room and main theatre stage.
The main front hallway was unrecognisable from when I first visited.
It wasn’t until I began editing the final phase and compared the images to my first visit that I could see just how much work had been done, what a grand job!
This was an exciting project to be part of with many hands lovingly restoring this historic building in Portsmouth, made famous by Charles Dickens. I love being a property photographer and have worked all over the South Coast helping my clients to sell, Airbnb, rent, and document their beautiful properties.
Do you have a property that you would like professional images produced for?
Perhaps you would like your home photographed so you can show it off in one of my beautiful albums? If you would like to discuss your projects with me please head over to my contact page so we can discuss further, I would love to hear from you.
Every photoshoot that you book, I give a percentage to Portsmouth-based charity Tonic Music for Mental Health in my #booktogive campaign.
Jayne x
