Children at the turn of the twentieth century loved to play as much as the children of today do.

Life was very different for kids back then however and children in towns such as Barrow worked in factories and sold goods like food and newspapers.

The Sankeys were a father and son duo, Raymond and Edward Sankey, who documented life in Barrow and Cumbria for over 70 years.

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Their pictures have been curated in the Sankey online archive with some showing just how different childhood memories looked in Barrow in the early 20th century.

The images were captured around the time of a sudden increase in parks and playgrounds being built around the town as part of progressive movements.

A photo taken in 1907 shows how having a day out on Biggar Bank was a big day out for many people with free swings an added bonus for children.

There were few green spaces for working people near to the town so the beach on Walney very much a 'go to' place.

Women and children captured on the pebbles at Biggar Bank show just how formally people dressed for a special day out. 

A Sankey photo in the very early 20th century shows ladies, even those paddling, wearing large grandiose hats.

(Image: Sankey online archive) A photo in 1911 show women and children dressed warmly at the same location to see a beached ship which was likely a big attraction at the time.

The photographers also managed capture what an average school day looked like.

Great changes were also taking place in the education system around this timeand by 1920, students aged eight to 14 had to attend school for part of the year.

The gallery shows that classrooms are quite bare in comparison to today's with students at the turn of the century using just slate and chalk in lessons.

Discipline was harsh and learning was often by memorisation or rote.

Children attending St Paul's school in Barrow were deemed to be very lucky as it was built away from the noise an pollutions

Images taken in one of its classrooms shows how boys and girls were taught differently.

One photo shows the girls learning a practical skills for in the home.

(Image: Sankey online archive) The boys are then shown in same classroom being taught subjects that help them find paid work and a steady job. 

The girls are not in uniform however the boys are all dressed the same to prevent 'one upmanship' for 'better off' families.

A disparity in clothing can be seen in image taken in 1907 at Ferry Beach on Walney Island. 

A favourite haunt of youngsters, some are in quite ragged clothes whilst others are better dressed.

Some of the boys have removed their shoes so they can go paddling whilst the girls have kept theirs on.

(Image: Sankey online archive) A mixture of both school and play, an image taken at St Paul's of girls learning how to dance, daintily around a Maypole.

The traditional dance was usually done in Spring and small troupes often performed it at local fetes.

Anyone wanting to use the Sankey photos in a book, online or in an exhibition need to ask permission to use the photos from Cumbria Archives and there may be a charge.

Downloading images for personal use is fine however.  The full details on copyright are here: https://www.sankeyphotoarchive.uk/contact/.