Little Eaton :: A Typical English Village
By Contemporary Documentary Photographer, Gary Austin/Radical Images
Click any image to see more...
Little Eaton is a small Derbyshire village just 4 miles north of Derby. Like many small villages, it has a rich history going back to Celtic times and has a traditional summer carnival full of British culture.
Gary Austin decided to document this 'typical village' as an ongoing project, like many villages it is close to a busy city yet sat in the countryside. Like lots of villages it faces much change as businesses have started to be built on what was originally traditional farmland. It also has a mix of 'born and bread' villagers as well as an influx of 'outsiders' who have moved into the village because of commuting distances to work. This causes quite a bit of traffic congestion at rush hours and the school run as parents take and fetch their children as not all the other villages have schools in them.
Little Eaton has three local pubs one of which Gary's grandparents used to court in, although Gary is an 'outsider' but Little Eaton still has a lot of personal interest to him, as his grandparents have passed away he continues to find his culture and identity amongst an ever changing village. Gary often talks to the elder members of the village who remember his grandparents and fill in little missing bits of information.
Although a typical village that has its very British elements it is also not hard to see the Americanisation that has crept in to the every day reality and the carnival; it is not just physical change that is taking place but culture and identity as well.
In spite of the Americanisation it still has its traditional British institutions the Womens Institute, the Cricket Team, Football Teams, and Bowles Club to name a few as well as a lot of its architecture, landscape and churches
People
Places
Landscape
Carnival 2009
This years Carnival was on the 4th of July and has a deliberate American theme
- Picnic on the Park
- Treasure Hunt
- Wild Wet and Whaky
- Parade
Sports
The work is ongoing
