A snapshot in time: 1960s Hartlepool remembered in new exhibition

  • Watch Helen Ford's report

A series of photographs has gone on display in Hartlepool, offering a fascinating insight into life six decades ago.

They show people going about their daily lives amid the challenges of unemployment and freezing temperatures during the winter of 1963.

The pictures were taken early in the career of the renowned photographer John Bulmer.

25 pictures - which have never been shown previously in the town - are being exhibited at Hartlepool Art Gallery.

Returning to launch the exhibition, Mr Bulmer told ITV Tyne Tees: "It's wonderful to see them here because when I took them the conditions were pretty terrible."

He sees the exhibition as a sign of change.

"It was freezing cold, it had the highest unemployment rate in the country and somehow it's not something you'd particularly want to look at so the fact they're now on show and looked at is a sign that thing have come in a complete circle."

The pictures were originally taken for the Sunday Times magazine and are on display in Hartlepool for the first time. Credit: John Bulmer

Some of the pictures show the practice of sea coaling, where people collected coal washed up on local beaches.

Others show the impact of unemployment, including the closure of the William Gray shipyard.

While the majority of the photographs were taken in Hartlepool, a handful depict scenes in Middlesbrough, including one showing women outside the town's labour exchange.

Hartlepool Art Gallery held workshops where people shared memories which were prompted by the photographs. Credit: John Bulmer

As part of the exhibition, organisers brought local people together to shed light on the photographs and the stories behind them.

Gallery curator Angela Thomas explained: "We've run some community workshops and we've asked people to come along and share their memories and it's been incredible how many people they recognise for the photos or how much the scenes have changed."

The photographs capture the bleakness of the winter of 1963. Credit: John Bumer

The exhibition runs until 4th May 2024.