Case Study: Creating a Lasting Legacy Celebrating Workers' History with Homeless People
What is this case study about?
This case study was produced by Historic England based on the work of the 'Navvies' project, exploring and commemorating the heritage of the 17,000 working-class labourers who dug the Manchester Ship Canal.
The project took place between September 2022 and January 2023. It was produced by the arts organisation Mediale with lead artist Matt Rosier, supported by Quays Culture, Historic England, and Media City. Further partners included local homelessness organisation Loaves and Fishes, BBC Philharmonic and the Working Class Movement Library.
The project worked with vulnerable people and people experiencing homelessness to provide beneficial project outcomes based on participants' needs.
You can read more about Navvies on the Mediale website.
What are the key points?
- Working with vulnerable people and people experiencing homelessness in a heritage setting is a positive way to increase skills, self-confidence, friendships, and experiences
- Working with the local community, via Loaves and Fishes, was pivotal to the success of the project
- Working with artists (in this case, light artists and composers) is a highly effective way to share a rich, complex heritage with a vast audience
- Projects such as these can have a reach in the 100s of 1000s if shared in the right way and with outcomes geared towards longevity
- It is possible to create lasting legacies through heritage projects such as permanent gardens within cities
What was the project about?
Mediale worked with internationally renowned artist Matthew Rosier and working-class communities across Salford to co-produce 'Navvies': a groundbreaking, multi-strand participatory project commemorating the 17,000 anonymous labourers who dug the Manchester Ship Canal.
The work and sacrifice of those original labourers increased Greater Manchester's industrial success and, later, Salford Quays/Media City. An estimated 1,100 'Navvies' died digging the Canal. These working men, including many thousands from Ireland, faced extreme prejudice: a reminder that the country was in large part built by migrants. The scale of the Navvies' labour and sacrifice was barely evident on the Quays and Media City site.
A team of 150 local volunteers, including unemployed young Salfordians and heritage experts, uncovered the stories of those original workers. They created an audio-visual display and opened a permanent garden in the centre of Media City/Salford Quays.
What were the aims of the project?
The project was a unique opportunity to reveal the working-class contribution to the building of Salford Quays and permanently re-establish an emotional connection between working-class communities in Salford (including many Irish descendants) and this important site.
To achieve this, the aims of the project were:
- To recognise and celebrate the labour, lives and sacrifices of the 17,000 Navvies who dug the Manchester Ship Canal and, in doing so, strengthen the emotional connection between the Salford community (many of whom worked at Salford docks or had families who did) and the re-developed Quays site
- Highlight the Irish working class contribution to the Manchester Ship Canal and Britain’s industrial success generally
- Generate a source of shared pride in one of the more deprived areas of the country by working with Salford-based community organisation Loaves and Fishes to create a garden and artwork
- In recognition of the isolation and anonymity experienced by the Navvies, a fundamental part of this project was working with young men currently facing various challenges to create a long-term connection, boost skills, and foster a sense of pride toward the local area and community, creating a wide range of onward training/employment pathways
What were the outcomes?
- The opening of a new community garden in the heart of Media City created a sense of pride and community for participants and the wider public
- Workshops with members of Loaves and Fishes explored a wide range of local heritage in response to the specific interests of the group, including trips to Manchester Map Archive, Barton Swing Bridge over the canal, local Pugin Victorian church, Salford Quays & Media City, and a boat trip along the canal. This created a greater connection of participants to their local heritage
- Composer Hayley Suviste spent time with Loaves and Fishes members to record their thoughts about heritage and their own lives. She arranged this as a new piece, with music recorded by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. This in turn created an aesthetic and emotional response to the heritage that was uniquely powerful and created a connection for participants between the heritage of the area and the present day
The outputs of this project were done in a way to ensure longevity to the project, such as:
- Over 200,000 visitors saw the artwork live, while over 500,000 saw it online
- 20 people from Salford facing homelessness/significant economic disadvantage gained new skills, self-confidence, friendships, and heritage experiences
- Participants gained new experiences and confidence in genuine co-creation by a leading artist and other partners
- A large commercial landlord took part in a collaboration with a critical arts project and local charity. This broadened the scope of what might be possible in future
- The key long-term legacy of the project is the Navvies Community Garden. The project negotiated an agreement with Media City for Loaves and Fishes to manage the plot, and to harvest the produce for the local community. This ensures the heritage stays alive in people’s imaginations, but also has a practical, positive impact on local people; a local charity gained a long-term community garden, which will produce fresh fruit and vegetables for their use
What lessons were learned?
- The most difficult aspect of the project was working in partnership with entities that had hugely different agendas. It is important to ensure projects are planned with partners who share the same aims
- Working with the right artists, whose practice already explored similar topics to that of the project, and who were excited to work with local communities, will enhance the art. The artists built excellent relationships with local people and became genuine friends
- Have early conversations with partners and funders around the need for flexibility in a co-creation process
- Budget more time for early-stage planning, which can take more time than is typically envisioned. Similarly, build in more time and resources for evaluation
- Give participants and practitioners time and support. Your project may be the first time they engage with heritage, or with similar projects, and they will need support in order to get the most out of it
It was great to hear our voices in the final piece.
I enjoyed coming to the opening event, seeing people appreciate all the work we'd do.
Further reading
Navvies — Mediale – Website about the project, created by Mediale
Navvies by Matthew Rosier: a participatory audio-visual artwork – Film exploring the project and the audio-visual outputs created by Mediale
Navvies: Manchester Ship Canal work gives deserved recognition – BBC article covering the project
Navvies - Big Issue North – Big Issue North article with Navvies artist Matthew Rosier
Also of interest
