Can we date this boy's clothes please? Chillenden, Kent

[Top-of-the-hill]

  I checked Google to see if it was still the same drain!

[Treetotal]

The latest this CdV could be is mid 1870s as the corners became rounded in the early 1870s for them to fit more easily into the sleeves of the Victorian CdV albums. An 1890s image would have a very different style.
Carol

[Treetotal]

It's not what I'd call a manhole cover - that's a solid metal plate covering a large hole to go down into the drains to inspect them.  This is what I'd call "a grid", to allow surface water to run down off the road into the sewer or the surface water drain.
I just feel the photo has too modern a feel to it to be 1860's, which was quite early in the history of photography.

The first photograph was taken in 1826 in France I believe, but don't have by book to hand, I believe it was produced by Neipce.
Louis Daguerre perfected the technique.

Carol

[Top-of-the-hill]

  It seems that with Treetotal's information about cdvs, it can be dated to just after the church restoration.
   Just found this - In 1870-2, this church was restored by Scott, including the addition of a shingled spirelet, an openwork porch on the south side and a wooden chancel screen. The walls and roofs were also repaired.
   I am still intrigued by the drain - where was it draining to? Surely there were no pipes under the road, which would be unsurfaced? A question for the engineers!

[Gadget]

The first photograph was taken in 1826 in France I believe, but don't have by book to hand, I believe it was produced by Neipce.
Louis Daguerre perfected the technique.

Carol

I've ust checked one of my books, Carol  He'd tried for a few years before he got the first image to fix in 1827.
We copied some of his experiments in first year 

[Treetotal]

I have a really good book called The Birth of Photography and it's fascinating, not sure if you have read it, or if it's out of print as I have had it a long time and bought it from a second hand book shop, not sure of the author's name, somebody Coe I think.
Carol

[Top-of-the-hill]

  Thanks for the input - the picture is a bit earlier than I expected. It is a great picture of my ancestral village.

[Treetotal]

It's a great one to have and I would image quite rare, it's in good condition to for its age.
Carol

[Gadget]

If it was much more than 1870, he must have been using old card stock. I've not found much about him online.

I love the dog