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The Standard Inn

14 September 2022

I bought a gorgeous 1956 Rolleicord twin lens reflex camera in the summer of 2021 with a wish to get back into medium format film photography again. I love the time, patience, and consideration that comes with using a camera like this, it's a test of skill rather than just rattling off 100s of shots on a digital camera. 

So it was a real joy to be asked by Jem Glass and Simon Stallard to come down to Gerrans and, using the Rolleicord, document the refurbishment of the Standard Inn that they had just bought. It had been stripped back to bare earthen floors inside and major work was underway to update it. I visited in February, April, and July, and captured the progress that they made.

It was feeling pretty bleak in there on my first visit in February, and the scale of the work that was to be done was quite apparent. It's been an extraordinary transformation into what it is now, I really admire the guts and vision taking on a project like that requires.

Here's a selection of photos from the various times that I visited, all shot with the Rolleicord TLR, either on Ilford HP5 or on Kodak Ektar 100. 

~ Sal

Above: The Standard Inn at Gerrans in July 2022
Above: February 2022, the window sills stripped down to rubble and rock
Above: February 2022, around the bar area, old photos that formed part of the previous owner's decor.
Above: February 2022, all the old tankards still hanging over the bar
Above: February 2022, in the main part of the pub. Old furniture and light fittings on the bare rubble floor.
Above: February 2022, the old stove in the bar area, since ripped out and replaced with a beautiful old Cornish range.
Above: April 2022, and the old range has been fitted and the walls totally replastered.
Above: April 2022, the main part of the pub with no more earthen floor!
Above: April 2022, letting the light in
Above: April 2022, the rubble and stone, replaced by lovely wooden windowsills.
Above: Lee Turner and Matt Brown
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