Gallery

A rare photograph of the Leighton Buzzard Victorian photographer William Piggott. The label on the box reads "Live Stock, With Great Care. Mr Piggott, High Street, Leighton Buzzard". He is holding a small tortoise.
Piggott Collection

A lovers' tryst? The gates belong to The Cedars, Church Square, Leighton Buzzard, now a school. Across the Square is the Golden Bell public house.
Piggott Collection

Lacemaking, a widespread occupation in Leighton Buzzard in the first half of the 19th century. We do not know the identity of the two women or the place where the photograph was taken.
Piggott Collection

A rare interior scene, though probably mocked up in the photographer's studio in Leighton Buzzard High Street. It is a scene from one of the morality lantern slide shows which the Piggott brothers made for the Methodist Church. On the wall is a picture of the famous cricketer, W G Grace.
Piggott Collection

Another glass plate image from the morality tales. We think it shows a workman "taking the pledge", signing a Methodist form pledging not to drink alcohol. Possibly taken in the Temperance Hall, Lake Street, Leighton Buzzard, now a gym.
Piggott Collection

This intriguing photograph shows a young woman, standing on a soapbox, addressing an open air meeting. Is she a suffragette? Probably not; it's more likely that she is preaching the Methodist values of abstinence from strong liquor.
Piggott Collection