A student has created a photography project exploring the hidden history of High Wycombe’s streets.

Stephanie Ritchie, a final-year photography student at Buckinghamshire New University, was inspired by the decorative pig and goat head above a doorway at 12 White Hart Street.

The images tell a story (Image: Stephanie Ritchie)

The details seemed at odds with the building’s current use as the Computer Gallery, but Ms Ritchie discovered it was once a butcher’s shop – a revelation that sparked her project.

Ms Ritchie said: "That discovery made me wonder what other stories were hidden in the town's buildings.

"I started looking more closely at architectural details around High Wycombe and researching what those places used to be.

What some of the buildings in Church Street looked like many years ago (Image: STEPHANIE RITCHIE)

"I looked at the histories of those buildings which have really cool and interesting details that could show us what they used to be."

Titled Local Legacy, her project explores 10 historic buildings in High Wycombe, piecing together their pasts through architectural clues and photographic records.

The project took a new direction after Ms Ritchie found a digital archive of historic images.

Instead of simply pairing old and new photographs, she set out to recreate the exact perspectives from the original images.

Ms Ritchie said: "I went out with my computer and my camera and found the exact angle that the old photographs were taken from."

She then created double-exposed images, layering the historic pictures over her contemporary shots to show how each location has changed over time.

Many images have been snapped all over town (Image: Stephanie Ritchie)

Her work reveals the transformation of High Wycombe, from its chair-making heritage to more recent changes like the culverting of the River Wye.

Though the project reflects shifting industries and lost landmarks, Ms Ritchie also found signs of continuity in the architectural features that remain.

She believes these details hold stories about the people and communities that shaped the town.

Ms Ritchie said: "While it does evolve, because things will always evolve, we do need to remember where we came from.

"We should always respect it, learn from it and never forget it."

High Wycombe has changed during the years (Image: Stephanie Ritchie)

She hopes her photographs will encourage people to look at their town differently and appreciate the layers of history surrounding them.

Ms Ritchie said: "I want people to realise that local history shouldn't be forgotten.

"It's important that we remember where we came from."

The corner of White Hart Street and Church Street (Image: Stephanie Ritchie)

Local Legacy will be on display at the BNU Art and Design Show in High Wycombe from June 26 to July 1, 2026.