What did the world outside people's homes look like?

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Much of everyday life in the early 1900s took place outdoors. Long before heavy traffic and modern development transformed the landscape, villages, towns and countryside had a quieter character. Roads were often unmade, horses still shared the streets with early motor vehicles, and fields stretched much closer to people's homes than they do today.

The pages in this section explore the outdoor settings that people knew as part of ordinary life. They include farms where food was produced with horse power and hard manual labour, village greens and commons where communities gathered, parks and open spaces that offered recreation, and the changing appearance of streets, roads and public places.

These are not grand historical events but the everyday surroundings that shaped people's lives. Family photographs, postcards and personal recollections show details that are easily overlooked in official histories: the condition of the roads, the absence of modern signs and street furniture, the appearance of hedgerows and fields, and the way people used public spaces.

Together, the pages build a picture of the landscapes and outdoor scenes that many people born around the turn of the twentieth century would have recognised immediately, but which have since changed beyond recognition.