The Hardmans' House

Explore the contrasting sides of this house: the neat, professional, spacious business rooms and the cluttered, cramped living quarters of the renowned portrait photographer Edward Chambré Hardman and his wife Margaret. They lived and worked here for 40 years, keeping everything and changing nothing.

The business focused on professional studio portraits but their real love was for vivid landscape images. Some of their huge collection of photographs is on display in the house, along with the equipment they used to take and develop the iconic images.

During 2015, we will showcase some of the best of Hardman’s photographs of the people who inspired his work. From glamorous studio portraits of Liverpool socialites to the dramatic street photography of people and places that made up Hardmans’ Liverpool, our new exhibition ‘From Street to Studio’ features some of Hardman’s best known work such as the ‘Birth of the Ark Royal’ as well as items from our archive which have never before been displayed.

Back by popular demand, our second exhibition explores a fascinating time in Hardman's life that influenced his later photographic works.  In ‘A Photographer’s War; Hardman in India’ learn more about Edward’s time as a Gurkha soldier in India, during and after the First World War.

- View a selection of evocative photographs of India and some rather unusual objects.

- Read Hardman’s fascinating memoir of his time as a soldier which was recently rediscovered in our archive.

- Discover more about Hardman’s family connection to India.