The Sankey Photographic Archive has been launched, giving people access to over 10,000 images taken across Barrow, Furness and the Lake District.

Over 100 years worth of pictures can now be found online after years of hard work. There is also an exhibition and launch event at Cooke Studios on Abbey Road running until today (Saturday).

It took five years to explore the priceless work of the Sankey family. Volunteers spent thousands of hours turning various documents, postcard books and photographic negatives from 1895 to the 1970s into an accessible and searchable database for the public to access.

The archive showcases photographs taken by Edward and Raymond Sankey that date back over a hundred years and show the evolution of the town.

Photographs show women working in the papermill, the Hindenburg passing over Barrow and the old school on Dalton Road as well as buildings that were knocked down years ago and the parade people threw to celebrate the end of war. 

Program manager Liz Critchley said: “We’re blown away – just so pleased that people can see it now. I hope everyone loves the archive as much as we do. Sankey pictured the ordinary as well as the extraordinary, it's amazing to see Barrow through their eyes.”

Liz explained that the name ‘Sankey’ kept popping up throughout a number of Heritage projects she was working on, which prompted a deep dive into their stunning photography.

A collection of glass plate negatives and postcards showing Barrow and the north-west were donated to Cumbria Archives for preservation by the Sankey family in 2018.

The images were cataloged and digitised as part of the Seeing the North with Sankey Project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage fund.

Local historian Jean McSorley has dedicated a lot of time to the project. She said: “The quality of the reproduction is phenomenal, and the range of topics covered is incredible.”

Have a look at some of the photos here: https://www.sankeyphotoarchive.uk/