Alfred Philip Wire, July 1892
Alfred Philip Wire (1839-1914) was a prolific amateur photographer at the turn of the 19th and 20th century. As the head teacher of Harrow Green School, Leytonstone, between 1877 and 1914 he gained many opportunities to photograph pupils and teachers taking part in everyday schooling. On his death in 1914 he was the longest serving head teacher in England.
He also travelled extensively throughout Essex and gave many lantern slide lectures. After his death his photographic archive was split between his two sons and one of his sons donated his part to Leyton Library, which Alfred Wire had played a part in setting up. This collection, consisting of over 3000 images mainly of Essex, was transferred with the rest of the Leyton photographic archive to Vestry House when it became the local history museum for Waltham Forest.
Wire's photography captured every aspect of Victorian and Edwardian life from the family holiday to buildings, landscapes and working life and it is clear from the quality of these images that he was a skilled photographer. Some of his work was published during his lifetime, mainly in guidebooks, but it was not until the archive was transferred to Vestry House and its full potential was realised that greater access has been made to this collection. Below are some examples of his work.
The Ferry Boat Inn, Forest Road, Walthamstow, 1908
Jubilee Sports outside Harrow Green School, Leytonstone, June 1897
You can make an appointment to view parts of the A P Wire Collection or if you wish to find out what areas of past and present Essex are covered by the collection please contact museum staff on 020 8509 1917.
