Theophilus Barker and friend

This looks like a Sunday outing, about 1900, taken by the garden wall of the Angel pub in Hoe. Cycling was a very popular pastime and these two have sporting machines. The bikes have no brakes, so presumably had a fixed gear, just like those used by couriers now, and acetylene lamps. Dereham had a number of cycle shops which assembled bikes and labelled them as their own, although the badges aren’t clear enough in this photo to be identified.