26 August 2020
Arts organisation, Cartwheel Arts, has shared an online exhibition capturing life in lockdown across our Darnhill estate in Heywood, Rochdale. The project is mainly funded and supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund with Guinness also contributing funds.
Working with photographer Katie King, the charity has documented what life has been like for residents, businesses and community groups as the country became caught in the grip of the global coronavirus pandemic. Striking photography and raw commentary captures the lockdown experience for people on the Darnhill estate during this unprecedented moment in history.
It now forms part of the Heritage Lottery-funded Overspill Project which has been capturing stories from people who moved from Manchester’s slums to the newly built overspill estates in the 1950’s and 60’s.
The exhibition can be viewed on the project website www.overspillmcr.org with a separate page devoted to Darnhill.
Overspill Project Manager Vicki Greer said: “Since the start of the Overspill project we have captured dozens of rich and informative stories about what life was like for people moving from the Manchester slums to brand new homes in Darnhill.
“It occurred to us that we were witnessing another historical moment in the estate’s history and it was prudent that we captured it and shared residents experience through the project website.
“It has been fascinating to see how different people living so close to each other have experienced lockdown in such different ways depending on their individual circumstances and these portraits and quotes give a perfect snapshot of that.”
Anyone interested in the project can visit the project website and share their own memories at www.overspillmcr.org
