HIDDEN WONDERS

Berkshire photographer Matt Emmett has made it his mission to explore the forgotten architecture and heritage many people miss in their home towns

- Sarah Rodi

“I have seen things that I would not have believed were real without seeing them with my own eyes,” says heritage photographer Matt Emmett. “Photography takes you to some amazing places. It is such a universal and powerful medium; it can communicate ideas and feelings without the use of words. It reaches and moves people at a level that verbal communication can’t, so in that sense it feels like you are becoming fluent in another language.”

Matt lives with his partner and two sons in Caversham, close to the Thames in Reading. “We have lived here for most of our lives and love all that the area has to offer in terms of local shops and services, pretty streets, relaxing walks and gorgeous rural bike rides. I can’t imagine living anywhere else,” he says. “Reading and the surrounding area has some fascinating and beautiful places. We love the walk out to the historic village of Mapledurham and back; it’s a firm family favourite. Further out beyond Mapledurham is the Hardwick Estate, close to Whitchurch-on-Thames, and there is a hill there where we go on New Year’s Eve to watch the expansive views across the whole of Reading. At midnight the sky lights up with every firework launched in the town.”