Ted Homer- Little Switzerland

Ted Homer is a British landscape photographer based in Gloucestershire, England. He graduated in 2013 with a BA in Photography from the University of the West of England. His work focuses on the historic and social issues that effect the British landscape.

In the mid-nineteenth century the development of the railway network introduced a sudden influx of Victorian investors to the Shropshire market town of Church Stretton, attracted by its natural springs and mountainous setting. The use of extensive land clearance to emphasise the area’s imposing landscape, and the rapid development of picturesque hillside housing, led to the town being dubbed ‘Little Switzerland’. With this newfound affluence, Church Stretton evolved into a spa town with the intention of attracting the wealthy from nearby cities, such as Birmingham and Manchester, eager to escape the suffocating atmosphere of increasing industrialisation.

Over a century has passed in which time investment in the town has diminished and Church Stretton has undergone a quieter period of transition. This photographic project seeks to examine a place defined by a singular point in time, whilst reflecting on how historical traces continue to take material form.

Website: www.tedhomer.co.uk

Instagram: @tedhomer1

Twitter: @tedhomer