Beyond the Point is an award-winning organisation dedicated to photographing and filming lost and overlooked built heritage within the environment. We are based in Essex and Staffordshire and consist of Liam Heatherson and Joe Mander-Rigby. Our adventure began in 2011 where we grew up in South-East Essex, with a focus on local history in our immediate surroundings. Within two years of running the site, we were awarded with the prestigious titles of Best Online Community Website and Best National Archive of the Year. Whilst we remain true to our roots, we have since branched far and wide across the UK and even further afield.
Our mission is to document historic structures which are rapidly disappearing from our landscape, or those that might otherwise go unnoticed and underappreciated. Whilst being entirely self-funded and non-profit, we value professional practices in the documentation of historic buildings to ensure that our work retains long-term archival value, with 15 years of experience in photography and videography which seeks to match the standards set by the likes of Historic England, The Victorian and Twentieth Century Societies and mainstream television documentaries. Our work is best described as a blend of local historical research, archiving, landscape history, outdoor adventure and urban exploration. We try to use these interests to develop a quality resource of information and images that are genuinely useful for both enthusiasts and researchers. We are completely independent, but have worked with or been featured by the NHS, ITV News, English Heritage, The Victorian Society, the Community Archives and Heritage Group, and Thames Defence Heritage amongst others.
Unearth, Explore, Enlighten
Joe Mander-Rigby
From Beyond the Point to work, you’ll likely find me with a camera in my hand! Born and bred in Essex, in 2025 I relocated to the Midlands where I work as a news camera operator, covering all manner of news stories from court cases to sports – filming and editing hours of footage every week.
Inspired by my dad creating short holiday slideshows as a child, it was Beyond the Point which allowed me to really develop with my filming and photography, starting with a cheap and chunky to now using professional equipment and a drone. The skills that I have developed by working alongside some of Britain’s best journalists has helped BTP to produce outstanding and award winning visual content.
When I’m not exploring the UK I love to travel and explore other countries. In recent years I’ve fed reindeer in the Arctic Circle, taken tuk-tuk’s in Thailand and have snorkelled along the Great Barrier Reef.
Joe’s website
Liam Heatherson
I have spent almost my entire adult life dedicated to documenting my environment. For work, I survey the landscape to produce national mapping and was previously an unexploded ordnance risk researcher. I am a photography and architecture obsessive and keep a camera in my car at all times. I photograph approximately three new places every week and I worked out I’ve taken approximately 70,000 photographs ever!
I am a History graduate who has been involved in various different creative projects relating to heritage outside of Beyond the Point. I have recently designed and lead guided heritage trails for a local arts project, and helped create like-minded websites for local museums and archival asylum projects.
Beyond the Point is the website Joe and I always wish we had when we first started adventuring, and it is as much our personal diary as it is an excellent resource.
Liam’s website: