Mystery Photo - can you help?

The attached photograph was discovered in Dartford Library’s Local Studies Collection. It was found while searching for suitable photos of outdoor events for Dartford Borough Museum’s current exhibition ‘Hang out the Bunting!’. However, the photograph was not taken in the Borough of Dartford and the location is a mystery.

The number plate of the car begins with a ‘D’ showing that it was registered in Kent and the number itself tells us that it was registered between February 1906 and April 1910. The visiting dignitary appears to be the lady, holding up a parasol, in the open back of the car. She may be a royal visitor and the car may belong to a local dignitary, possibly the man wearing a top hat in the passenger seat next to the driver. There is a military guard of honour, including some ‘off camera’ at the bottom left of the photo, their presence revealed only by their fixed bayonets. The curved corner of this street is quite distinctive, with shops forming a right angle with a gap in between. There is a double-stepped kerb with a baulk of timber forming a temporary third step under the presumably red carpet. This carpet leads through the gap between the shops and disappears towards an unknown location, possibly a church or town hall. One strange feature of the photograph is that careful inspection reveals lots of faces above the bunting, meaning that there must be a steeply sloping road leading away from the camera between the shops.

Staff at Dartford Borough Museum and at Dartford Library would be grateful if anyone can tell us where this photograph was taken and, if possible, the nature of the occasion. Please contact Dr Mike Still at Dartford Borough Museum, Market Street, Dartford, Kent DA1 1EU or e-mail us at museum@dartford.gov.uk.