Hilary Taylor

My house was two separate cottages until 1980, they were called 'Thelma', and 'Farthing Cottage'.They were condemned as being unfit for habitation, and converted into one house, which became, simply, number 53. It seems hardly credible now that Farthing Cottage was only eight feet wide.

I enjoyed going round the housing estates, the houses all started off looking identical, and different owners have transformed them into something unique. Planning and building regulations, advances in building materials and techniques, fashion, and changing lifestyles are all reflected in the succession of housing estates which have been built in Faringdon this century, and have made each one quite different from its predecessors in layout, style, and appearance.

Taking all these photographs has been good fun, - virtually everyone in the town centre shops came out to be photographed, and I thought, "This is brilliant, something for our children and children's children to treasure".