Photograph of haymaking at Lydiard Park, c1846

Copy of an exceptionally rare image of haymaking in front of Lydiard House by Nevil Story- Maskelyne of Bassett Down House, Lydiard Tregoze, c 1846.

This is the earliest known photograph of Lydiard Park and is especially rich in content. We see a large number of men and women taking part - it would be wonderful to discover who some of them were. The scene appears to have been staged or arranged to create a picturesque effect.

The windows of the house have been thrown open; evidently it was a hot day. These are the original Georgian windows which were replaced with large paned Victorian glass later in the century. On the North West of the building there is a green house or hot house which was subsequently demolished.For comparison, See Items of Interest: Tea on the Lawn c1900

Nevil Story Maskelyne was an early pioneer of photography and friend of Fox Talbot of nearby Lacock Abbey who invented the salted paper and calotype processes, precursors to the photographic processes of the later 19th and 20th centuries. This image is from a salted paper print from a calotype negative