Pedestrians passing a shuttered shop on a street corner.
'Shudehill Street, Manchester' shows grafitti on the roller shutter of the corner door of 42 Shudehill Street, Manchester, photographed for call out theme 'Art in the Streets'. © Ron Pengelly. Source: Historic England Archive. View image record HEC01/128/02/17/03
'Shudehill Street, Manchester' shows grafitti on the roller shutter of the corner door of 42 Shudehill Street, Manchester, photographed for call out theme 'Art in the Streets'. © Ron Pengelly. Source: Historic England Archive. View image record HEC01/128/02/17/03

Picturing High Streets Collection 

The Picturing High Streets Collection shows England’s high streets in the early 2020s, through the eyes of artists and members of the public. The collection of 377 photographs was created through a series of mass public participation call outs and photographer residencies.

On this page
  1. What is the Picturing High Streets Collection? 
  2. Photos by the public
  3. Photographers in residence

What is the Picturing High Streets Collection? 

The Picturing High Streets Collection provides a vibrant, atmospheric and imaginative picture of England’s high streets in the early 2020s. The collection celebrates the history, experiences and connections of the people and places that make up the everyday fixture that is the high street.

Historic England and photography champions Photoworks partnered with 9 regional photography organisations during a 3-year project to create the collection.

It is made up of 2 parts:

  • Photos by members of the public, selected from more than 10,000 submitted during a mass participation project on Instagram
  • Images by photographers in residence, working with local communities to co-create snapshots of the high street

Highlights from the collection

Gallery

Please click on the gallery images to enlarge.

Colour photo portrait of a man standing with shopping bags on a pavement. A photograph of a restaurant at night. The interior is lit yellow and the sign above reads 'Voodoo Ray's' in red light. A black and white photo of a shop on the corner of two streets. The shop windows are full of display items and further items are set out on the pavement. Two people walk on the pavement towards the shop entrance. Shop sign reads: 'Home Furnishers'. Three flags of St George fly from flag poles attached to the shop. A horse hitched to a lamp post next to a trade waste bin. A colour, framed photo of a young woman sitting on a large, blue suitcase. Adjacent is a smaller suitcase. The backdrop is the corner of a brick building. Across part of the lower portion of the photograph is a label that reads: 'Salehasultana Syeo'. A photograph of a man sitting at a table in a café with blue walls. Above him is a painting of white buildings on a Greek island. The words 'Café restaurant' can be seen above him, the shadow of text from the window (off camera.) A man getting his hair cut by a barbe. Black and white image of people waiting at a bus stop and in the background are people working on the roof above the launderette sign. A colour photo a single-storey commercial building on the corner of two streets. The building is faced in brick, The front includes a deep overhang. A sign above a large window reads: 'Fish 'N' Chips'. A person on a step ladder works beneath the overhang. On the pavements to the front and side of the shop are green rubbish bins. A photograph of a woman wearing a pink and white checked shirt and a white cap, behind the counter in a sweet shop. Jars of sweets line the wall behind her. A colour photograph featuring part of a colourful public house frontage. The lower part of the building is covered in shiny tiles. Above is brickwork. Signage, partly hidden behind hanging baskets of flowers, reads: Peveril of the Peak'. Two people walk towards the entrance. A person reaching into a newspaper street kiosk. The signage reads 'Express & Star. Local News For Local People'

Photos by the public

In September 2022, Historic England and Photoworks launched a year-long mass participation project. We invited members of the public to send us their photos using a dedicated Instagram channel @PicturingHighStreets.

Every 2 weeks we set a new challenge, each with a theme. In total there were 31 themes, including ‘high street heroines’, ‘high street hang outs’, 'bright lights to dark nights', and ‘art in the streets’. 

The response from the public exceeded 10,000 photographs across the year. For each theme Historic England, Photoworks and partners, selected their favourites to add to the Historic England Archive. The result is a nationwide collection of public-generated photographs documenting the life of the English high street.

See the photos by the public

Picturing Bradford, Norwich and Walsall

As part of the mass participation project, we also asked for photographs of specific places including the high streets of Bradford, Norwich and Walsall. Ten images from each place were added to the Historic England Archive’s national Picturing High Streets Collection.

See the photos in the Picturing High Streets collection for:

Bus Stop Stories

Another element to the mass participation project was Bus Stop Stories, a collaboration with media owner Clear Channel UK. A panel of judges selected 10 photographs celebrating bus stops that take people to and from their local high streets, and the people that stand or sit at them. 

I was looking at the Banksy the Council had preserved but then realised that the individuals waiting beneath mirrored the dancers above, but separate. It was like the Banksy expressed their inner thoughts somehow, it was their fantasy story.
Mark Jeffery, photographer of 'Waiting, dreaming...'

Ghost Signs

Picturing High Streets included a call out to the public to share their images and stories of ghost signs. Ghost signs are historic advertising or shop signs, painted on the fabric of buildings that have since changed use.

Dreamlines: Picturing Bristol High Streets

Dreamlines: Picturing Bristol High Streets, was organised by Bristol Photo Festival. Bristol-based and international photographers were commissioned to draw out the stories of 9 of Bristol’s high streets and to co-create work with the communities who inhabit them. 

Photographers in residence

Nine photographers undertook residencies at 6 locations across England. Working with local communities, they co-created images that reflect what is unique about each place and what local communities are proud of. The process of co-creation was as important as the final result. Use the links below to see the images they created:

Residency highlights

Gallery

Please click on the gallery images to enlarge.

Portrait of a man standing in front of a shop shutter Portrait photo of a man in coat, hat, scarf and gloves, standing on a street with market stalls in the background. People line either side of a length of orange fabric, looking along it as they fold it. A man's head poking out between long velvet curtains, with restaurant chairs and tables in the foreground. A woman stands with hands on a display of fabrics, looking into the camera. Behind her there are signs and customers of other businesses in the arcade. Top half portrait of a young boy with a street scene photo projected on him and the wall behind him. Collage combining historic photos of Chester with a contemporary photo and additional graphic elements. Portrait of a young man sitting in a colourfully decorated and upholstered room. Portrait of a woman, holding a sledgehammer and wearing a vest with logo ‘Warrior, noun, pain is certain, suffering is optional’. Portrait of a man eating breakfast at a cafe. An item representing a Kaaba hanging from the rearview mirror of a car.
More about Picturing High Streets

Supported by

HM Government
Heritage Fund logo
Arts Council
Photoworks
Clear Channel logo
Format Quad
Grain
Impressions Gallery
Open Eye Gallery
Photofusion
The Photographers' Gallery
The Photographic Collections Network
Redeye
ReFramed
University of the Arts London

Also of interest

Picturing High Streets Through the Eyes of the Public
Find Photos
Photo Collections in the Historic England Archive

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