Recently Added Photographs

Raymond Sears 1930-2017

Ray was born and lived in Waltham Abbey all his life. His interest in local history and collection of old photographs and memorabilia are legendary.

He staged exhibitions regularly in the town, and has published a number of books based on his collection, some of these in collaboration with Jonathan.

Ray's final collaboration with Jonathan 'Waltham in Wartime' was published in May 2018.

Jonathan Foster

Jonathan was born in Bristol and taught art and photography in Waltham Abbey at King Harold School between 1980 and 2013.

His collaboration with Ray has resulted in a number of highly successful photographic exhibitions, and the joint publication of the ‘Reflections of the Past’ series.

Jonathan also has a range of cards available through the Waltham Abbey Archive section of his 'Love From The Artist' website.

Waltham Abbey Football Club Archive

We hope to create a new section on our website dedicated to the archive collected over many years by Dave Hodges.

E. J. Carter's WW2 Collection

Edward Carter was Waltham Abbey's Chief Air Raid Warden during the second world war. His photographic record of events during this time are a remarkable collection. We hope to be making this collection available in the future for all to see.

Welcome to Waltham Abbey Archive - Reflections of the Past

Reflections of the Past celebrates through old photographs the social history of Waltham Abbey, a small and proud west Essex market town. It drew on Ray's extensive knowledge of the town and on his remarkable collection of photographs and memorabilia.

The Ray Sears Collection came out of his desire to celebrate and share the photographic history of the town. It remains an ever expanding mixture of personal and donated photographs.

The King Harold School archive includes archive photographs from the 1960s and 1970s. Jonathan taught at the school from 1980 until 2013. Over that period he recorded in photographs and video a wide range of activities and events.

This archive will need to be digitised and uploaded to an upgraded website. Serious suggestions or offers of help in the design, and upload of material would be gratefully received.

Contact me through admin@walthamabbeyarchive.com

We are now able to offer gift cards of some of our archive photographs. A few examples are available for viewing at the Waltham Abbey Tourist Information Centre.