Adam T. Burton’s photographs document Hulme during a pivotal period in the history of the Crescents. Made between 1984 and 1987 while he lived at 138 John Nash Crescent, the work records the estate after many of its original residents had left but before the student, squatter, music and artist communities associated with later Hulme had fully developed.

Working from within the estate rather than as a commissioned photographer, Burton photographed everyday life, architecture, demonstrations and the changing social landscape around him. Together, the photographs form an important first-person record of one of Manchester’s most significant post-war housing developments during its final years before demolition.