Astonishing Pictures That Document Slum Life in Manchester in the Late 1960s and Early 1970s

Nick Hedges was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, in 1943. He studied photography at Birmingham College of Art from 1965 to 1968, and as a final project he worked with Birmingham Housing Trust on an exhibition about the city’s badly housed.

On leaving college, Shelter employed Hedges to document the oppressive and abject living conditions being experienced in poor quality housing in the UK. On his visits to cities including London, Glasgow, Manchester, Salford, Bradford, Liverpool and Newcastle, Hedges captured astonishing scenes of families negotiating life in slums.

In Hedges’ belief, photographers should work on projects to support the reformation and improvement of society, and through his photographs, he hoped to help raise consciousness about the extent of unfit living conditions.

Family living in a single room, Moss Side, 1969.

Astonishing Pictures That Document Slum Life in Manchester in the Late 1960s and Early 1970s

Children playing on wasteground, 1969.

Astonishing Pictures That Document Slum Life in Manchester in the Late 1960s and Early 1970s

Housewife in the backyard of a terraced house, 1969.

Astonishing Pictures That Document Slum Life in Manchester in the Late 1960s and Early 1970s

Bedroom ceiling, Moss Side, 1969.

Mother and son in the kitchen, 1969.

Astonishing Pictures That Document Slum Life in Manchester in the Late 1960s and Early 1970s

Mother and her daughters living in a substandard property in Manchester, 1969.

Irish immigrants recently moved to Moss Side, 1969.

Astonishing Pictures That Document Slum Life in Manchester in the Late 1960s and Early 1970s

Single man living in one room of multi-let house, Moss Side, 1969.

Astonishing Pictures That Document Slum Life in Manchester in the Late 1960s and Early 1970s

Colliery viewed through bathroom window, Burnley, 1969.

Astonishing Pictures That Document Slum Life in Manchester in the Late 1960s and Early 1970s

Game of cricket on wasteground, Moss Side, 1969.

Astonishing Pictures That Document Slum Life in Manchester in the Late 1960s and Early 1970s

Personal Loans shop, 1970.

Street scene, 1970.

Children in their bedroom, 1971.

Mother and son in slum housing, 1971.

Astonishing Pictures That Document Slum Life in Manchester in the Late 1960s and Early 1970s

Children's bedroom, 1971.

Mother and toddler in slum housing, 1971.

Astonishing Pictures That Document Slum Life in Manchester in the Late 1960s and Early 1970s

Children playing, 1971.

Astonishing Pictures That Document Slum Life in Manchester in the Late 1960s and Early 1970s

A child at the end of an alleyway, 1972.

Astonishing Pictures That Document Slum Life in Manchester in the Late 1960s and Early 1970s

Father and son on the front porch of multi-let, 1972.

Astonishing Pictures That Document Slum Life in Manchester in the Late 1960s and Early 1970s

Elderly couple left in semi-derelict property, 1972.

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Topics: 1960s old england 1970s life & culture England people Manchester family