Images of West County Durham

A unique look at daily life in the 1960s as change hit long-established industries and communities around Durham, Darlington, and the hills of North-East England. Coalmining in particular was in serious decline, but cutbacks were hitting factories and infrastructure like the railways, too. These hauntingly beautiful scenes are sharp reminders of the human cost as old certainties were swept away. Yet woven through these previously unpublished photographs are threads of young people enjoying themselves, brave hopes for the future captured in new motorways, and the enduring local character of the countryside, market towns, and Durham Cathedral. Durham, Darlington & County Durham: Images of the North East in the 1960s teases out of the scenery some of the wider forces at work, not just in Durham, but in many other parts of Britain's industrial heartland. Rich insocial commentary, this is an affectionate and detailed portrayal of one of the North East's most transformative decades.