MEMORIES and unseen photographs of Middlesbrough in the 1970s and 1980s have inspired a new book taking readers on a trip down memory lane.
The book, by historian and Heritage Unlocked consultant Dr Tosh Warwick, brings together unique John Severs photographs, historical images and community memories to shed new light on two turbulent decades for Teesside.
Published by Heritage Unlocked, the book features more than 100 images of 70s and 80s Middlesbrough, including Cargo Fleet and South Bank.
Themes explored include lost historical buildings, famous pubs, high street names of yesteryear, Cannon Street and St Hilda’s, Teesside’s industrial heritage and sporting memories.
The book, titled Memories of Middlesbrough in the 1970s and 1980s, follows on from John Severs sharing photographs of the former Newport Ironworks site with Dr Warwick for the Tees Advanced Manufacturing Park history project led by Heritage Unlocked.
Mr Severs’ snapshots are accompanied by historical research and community memories of places including British Steel, Boro matches, Shaw’s Foundry and South Bank.
Dr Tosh Warwick said: “People are fascinated by Middlesbrough’s history and the popularity of social media groups such as Memories of Middlesbrough highlight both the widespread interest in sharing memories and seeing other people’s photographs of our area.
"The people, places and perspectives provided by community images and stories are often missing from history books that often focus on Victorian Middlesbrough, civic events and sometimes represent sanitised depictions of the past.”
“Focusing on two turbulent decades, Memories of Middlesbrough in the 1970s and 1980s features recollections of local people alongside photographs that capture everyday life and the realities of deindustrialisation, demolition of historic buildings and the loss of communities in living memory.”
John Severs added: “I served an engineering apprenticeship at ICI and at that time there were a number of plants built in the 1920s and these helped inspire my interest in industrial heritage.
"My father bought me a camera when I was 17 or 18 and I started taking photos of Cleveland ironstone mines and Middlesbrough’s old buildings.
"It is nice to be able to look back at these old photographs as reminders of how things once were.”
As part of his latest book project, Dr Warwick has collaborated with Teesside Archives to create a number of legacies inspired by the book.
Many of the photographs in Memories of Middlesbrough in the 1970s and 1980s are to be added to archives’ collections so that researchers, archives users and education groups can access the material.
Digital copies of the book will be made freely available to schools and colleges alongside new education resources.
The book is available to order from heritageunlocked.com/shop, local bookshops and cultural venues, subject to Covid restrictions.
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