The majority of the pictures are of people. Although the clothes of the men, women & children suggest Victorian dates it is the non-people frames which give us some idea of location and time. One is of a church - fortunately with a distinctive hexagonal tower and no spire. After searching the Internet for clues we have identified this as the parish church at Swindon Village, Near Cheltenham (and only a mile from where I now sit!). Another picture includes a sturdy horse-drawn wagon in front of a thatched cottage, the side of the wagon bears the painted inscription 'Thos Voile & Co'. Brief research into the subject shows that there was a Coal Merchant in Cheltenham in 1891 & 1902 -'T Voile & Co.' located at the Colonnade, Cheltenham. . We have now identified the building where the Voile coal cart is waiting (and where there are some interesting cycles) as what is now the 'House in the Tree' pub near Cheltenham.
In the below picture a late 19th century bicycle and tricycle are visible near the door of the cottage but there is another excellent picture of a young man with a bike which is more helpful. This bicycle has equal sized wheels, solid tyres, a single tube connecting the front forks to the rear down tube, a front brake but no back brake and radial spokes (as opposed to the later and still generally used tangential arrangement). These features appear to date the machine as after 1880 and probably before the mid-1890s. Interestingly there is a D.W. Voyle listed in the same years (1891 & 1902) as a cycle dealer in Cheltenham.
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There is a picture of a train pulling some rolling stock (as my expert calls it!), he reckons the train is a Standard G Class such as those used on the London, Brighton and South Coast railway. We have yet to establish whether such an engine might have been in use on the lines around Cheltenham (including Swindon Village).
In another transport-related photo there are some barges on a wide river, sadly that don't fit too well with our Cheltenham theme! Even if the barges are on the Severn they would be some distance away. Anyway, we cannot say whether the same photographer took the pictures or whether 'Dad' was just a collector of 2-inch by 4-inch glass plates as the word 'Obtained' on the box might suggest. I would be happy to send copies of scans to any interested researcher, especially if the Voile name is pertinent. I would also welcome ideas and suggestions on the 'train' problem. Regards to all.
Terry Langhorn Cheltenham, Glos.