PHOTOGRAPHIC SERIES

Anne Worthington

East Manchester, 2000s

Anne Worthington’s photographs document the inner-city areas of Beswick, Clayton, and Openshaw in the early 2000s — parts of East Manchester shaped by decades of industrial decline and limited investment.

Working at a moment when large sections of these areas were marked for clearance, Worthington recorded the final years of streets, estates, and daily routines that were soon to change. As redevelopment plans gathered pace, long-standing houses, workshops, and local landmarks were demolished and replaced with new homes and commercial spaces as part of Manchester’s wider regeneration strategy.

Photo © Anne Worthington / British Culture Archive

"If you bought a house and your street was selected for demolition, you could be left with a huge problem. House prices in the area had been hit by a recession, and interest rates had soared. Houses bought for thirty thousand were suddenly worth ten. If you bought during that time, you were caught in a double bind of negative equity and crippling mortgage payments. If you fell behind with your payments or were forced to sell, you had to find a way of repaying the shortfall as well as paying rent on another house. It felt like a kick in the teeth when people were doing their best for themselves and their families. It reinforced a sense that the game was rigged against them."

Photo © Anne Worthington / British Culture Archive

"I came across the two boys on rollerblades playing in the streets, I was talking with them and like all kids that age they eventually got bored of talking and wanted to carry on playing. The flats in the photo were on Grey Mare Lane and have since been demolished; I think a sports complex was built in their place."

Photo © Anne Worthington / British Culture Archive

Colour Photography

Photo © Anne Worthington / British Culture Archive

About Anne Worthington

Her focus, however, was always on the people who lived there. Worthington photographed families, friends, and neighbours at a time when their surroundings were shifting, capturing the strength of community ties and the quiet determination to keep everyday life going. The work resists the typical language of renewal by foregrounding lived experience — what was being lost, what remained, and what people were trying to hold on to.

These photographs stand as both evidence and insight: a record of an area on the brink of transformation and a thoughtful, human view of a part of the city often left out of mainstream accounts of regeneration.

View available prints from this series

Collection published 8th February, 2021

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