Albert Mahomet - Photographer

Albert John Mahomet was born 1858 in Poplar, East London, his father was an Indian lascar sailor and his mother was English. Lascars were mainly Indian sailors, although they were essential to global trade routes they were paid a fraction of what white sailors earned. Lascars worked long in dangerous conditions and were often discarded once their labour was done. Mahomet’s father attempted to return to India but passed away during the journey causing his family to sink deeper into poverty. When Mahomet's mother was imprisoned for disorderly conduct, and with no one left to care for them, young Mahomet and his siblings were placed in a local workhouse. Workhouses were Victorian Britain’s institution

for the poor - places where children were in effect punished for being poor. They worked long hours for little food. Fortunately for Mahomet, he was eventually rescued by an uncle who took him out of the workhouse.

Mahomet worked as a domestic servant and farm labourer, however his Christian faith led him to teach Sunday School and he eventually become a pastor with the United Methodist Church. He travelled the country spreading the word of God. When Mahomet married, he settled in Norfolk with his family and served the community. During the 1890s he took up photography and opened his own portrait studio in Wells, specialising in photographing landscapes and local people.

In 1894, Mahomet published his memoir, From Street Arab to Pastor, giving voice to his life in Victorian Britain. Albert Mahomet passed away in 1933.

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