A treasured photography archive taken by a Barrow family is about to re-imagined by artists as part of a brand new project this month.
Local charity Signal Film and Media has created the Sankey: Lives Through the Lens Project, which is a specially commissioned exhibition by artist Niki Colclough and local young participants.
Launched on Thursday, the exhibition called Field Notes and based on photographs taken by members of the Sankey family, will run until Saturday August 31.
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Who were the Sankey family from Barrow?
The Sankey family were a father-son trio that went on to document life in and around Barrow in the early 20th century.
What transpired was a collection of photographs that spanned two generations during pivotal times in Britain's history, including the First and Second World Wars and beyond.
The collection visits from the Royal family, industrial expansion and both natural and man-made disasters.
Edward Sankey was born in 1874 to mum Isabella (née Catterall) and Edward Sankey Senior.
It was in 1900 when he began his famous work as a photographer, moving the business from Ramsden Square to 78 Duke Street.
Catherine and Edward's first son Raymond Sankey was born in 1905 with their second son Eric following in 1908.
By 1914 Edward had built up somewhat of a local empire which included several retail outlets, a lending library and a newspaper seller in the Coliseum Buildings on Abbey Road.
Photographer, engineer and innovator
Not only was Edward a talented photographer but in 1923 he also successfully created a patent for his specially designed Photographic Printing Machine which allowed the Sankeys to print more postcards faster.
Dangers of the job
Throughout their careers, the Sankeys captured extraordinary scenes over a 70-year span and in some cases, lookied into the face of danger to get the perfect shot.
On his first ever professional job, eldest son Raymond was nearly struck by a large piece of falling timber during the launch of SS Quernmore in 1924.
Undeterred, he managed to capture 30 more images of the vessel.
A year later, the Sankeys purchased a car which allowed them to travel further distances into the Lake District however these could often be treacherous or extremely remote locations.
The Sankey Legacy
He retired from the business passing it on to son Raymond after more than 50 years.
20 years later, Raymond also retired and closed the business.
The dozens of images capturing the landscape, cultural changes, everyday and work lives of Barrovians were posted on postcards all over the world.
From 2006 onwards, Jeffrey (Raymond's son), took care of the collection with plans later forming for the National Lottery Heritage Fund project to secure the collection which was transferred to Cumbria archives
Volunteers from across the town and beyond painstakingly catalogued each image beginning in 2020 before being made available online for free in 2023.
All images copyright The Sankey Family Photography Collection, courtesy of Cumbria Archives.
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