Sheffield

1969-1970

Photographs by Mick Jones

Born and raised on the deck-access walkways of Park Hill Flats, Mick Jones offers an intimate photographic record of Sheffield in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Growing up on the estate he observed the daily life of a community living through urban and social change.

In 1968, Jones enrolled on a graphic-design course at Sheffield College of Art. Photography formed part of the curriculum, and it was during this time that he was handed a camera and encouraged to document his surroundings. Under the guidance of tutors including Roger Taylor — later Emeritus Professor at De Montfort University — Jones turned his camera towards what he knew best: Park Hill, its residents and the city below.

Jones photographed Park Hill and Sheffield from within. Some of subjects were friends and neighbours. The resulting images, made between 1969 and 1970, capture the interplay of modernist design, working-class life and an industrial city undergoing transformation.

These photographs remained unseen for almost fifty years. When Jones digitised the negatives in 2017, he uncovered a body of work of remarkable clarity, tenderness and historical significance. Jones’s archive first gained public visibility through British Culture Archive, which recognised its importance soon after its rediscovery and provided the first major platform for his work.

His work has since been exhibited at the National Theatre, London, and the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, and celebrated in the publication View From The Hill, which brings together more than a hundred images from this formative period.

For BCA, Jones’s photographs stand as a vital record of lived experience in post-war Britain, images that speak to questions of community, architecture and identity. His archive resonates because it is rooted in place: an insider’s view, quietly observational and emotionally connected.

The distinctive feature of Park Hill Flats is its brutalist design, characterised by concrete frames and vibrant, colourful panels. The original concept aimed to create a vertical community, with interconnected walkways and communal spaces fostering a sense of collective living. The development was seen as a progressive solution to the post-war housing crisis, providing residents with modern amenities and spacious flats.

The Suedehead subculture was a transitional phase between the Mod and Skinhead subcultures, characterised by a grown-out skinhead hairstyle and sometimes long sideboards. Suedeheads embraced diverse music genres, including soul, reggae, and ska.

"It was a time of mods and rockers, skins and suedeheads – a rough and ready time for some, but there was hope for a brighter, more modern future. Sheffield has never wallowed in nostalgia; it has always been a progressive city – but often it’s important to look back and reflect, to see how the city and its people have changed."