Peter Stevens Photographic Collection

The collection is comprised of photographs, postcards, slides, negatives and photographic copies of photographs, postcards and sketches of places, people and transport in the West Glamorgan area with some images of other parts of Glamorgan. There are also leaflets and notes on the history of Port Talbot, Port Talbot Docks, Margam, Baglan, Swansea, Neath, the River Afan, ship wrecks and railways of the area collected by Peter Stevens in the course of his work at Afan Teacher's Centre. The collection also contains some theatre programmes and transcripts of oral history interviews.

Around 1970 Peter Stevens, of Port Talbot, acquired a camera. Interested in the changes taking place in Port Talbot, he practised using it by photographing the buildings of the town. When a friend showed him some topographical postcards that he had found in his grandmother's belongings, Peter Stevens' interest in the history of the area was sparked. Keen for the images to survive, and to reach a wider audience, Stevens photographed the postcards. He continued to copy old images that people leant to him and to photograph his local area, often photographing a place from the same point as an old postcard.

Peter Stevens, previously a teacher at Sandfields Comprehensive School, started work at Coed Parc Teachers' Centre, Bridgend c. 1970. The Teachers' Centre was set up as a resource centre for teachers and provided inset training. In 1974 he moved to the new Afan Teacher's Centre built in Theodore Road, Port Talbot. The images that he had taken and collected became a useful resource for the centre. Peter Stevens continued to take photographs and began to research the history of Port Talbot and the Afan Valley in order to create resource packs for the centre.

As well as providing training and resources at the centre, Peter Stevens often provided large scale photographs for schools to use in their lessons and went out, when requested by a school, to photograph a particular area for them. Peter Stevens retired c. 1987 but has continued to go out photographing his local area.

No restrictions

A hard copy is available at the West Glamorgan Archive Service

Usual copyright regulations apply.

Duplicates and images of places in other parts of England and Wales have not been kept. The historical notes and secondary material in the collection were appraised on their informational value. Copies of material likely to be held elsewhere have been destroyed.

Accruals are not expected.

For other photographs taken and collected by Peter Stevens see D/D Z 250.