Photographer Peter Benson has opened an exhibition of fifty of his favourite photos of Lost Teesside at the Heritage Gallery in Middlesbrough. The photos were taken between 1968 and 1999.
A palace? An office? An art gallery? All three
The exhibition opened on a sunny spring evening at the Cargo Fleet Offices. The former offices of the Cargo Fleet Iron Company are a work of art in themselves.
I entered through this majestic portal, then turned right into the Middlesbrough Heritage Gallery.
About Peter Benson
Peter’s photos document a range of subjects and locations around Teesside. The images on display were inspired by Peter’s interest in the demolition and clearance of the built environment between the Newport Bridge and the Transporter Bridge in Middlesbrough.
Peter started taking photographs of Middlesbrough in 1968, when he was a student at Cleveland College of Art. He moved away from Teesside to study at Bath Academy of Art but returned periodically to capture the changes that were taking place. Peter widened his scope to include Port Clarence, High Clarence, Haverton Hill, Seaton Carew, and Hartlepool. The exhibition includes photos taken up until 1999, which marked the changeover to digital photography.
Teesside in transition
The exhibition captures the transition of former steel and engineering communities, during a period of fast-moving societal change. Much of the heavy industry closed down. The people left their terraced houses and moved to housing estates, and corner shops were replaced by shopping malls. Peter snapped houses, shops and warehouses, sometimes days before the demolition crews moved in.
For older Teessiders, the exhibition is a chance to reminisce. Peter has worked with local archivists to map the precise locations of his photographs. These maps are laid out on tables, and they act as an excellent memory jogger. For younger visitors, the photos provide an insight into a world that their parents or grandparents may have told them about. A lot of this must seem like ancient history to them. And, in a way, it is.
A portrait of the artist as a young man
I met Peter Benson and had a friendly chat. He agreed to pose next to one of his iconic photographs, ‘Lost Children’ taken at Seaton Carew.
Here’s that Seaton Carew photo below. No lost children that day.
While in Hartlepool
Peter visited Arch Street in Throston, just prior to demolition. First-floor bay windows like these can also be found on the nearby Headland. It seems to be a Hartlepool thing. The gable end shows a series of adverts, painted one over the other.
West Hartlepool
Some great pictures of the Lynn Street area, including the Market Hall. Peter told me that the hall’s elaborate wrought iron gate was rescued when the market was demolished, and can now be found at Beamish Museum. The modern day Northern Film &TV Studios are just along from here.
This is the Commercial Hotel, at the corner of Lynn Street and Surtees Street. It would have been a handsome building back in the day. The sky blue inserts are caused by reflections from outside the gallery.
Vacant properties
Then, a cobbled alleyway between Reed Street and Lambton Street. A windowless first-floor corridor links two warehouses, but grass in the guttering indicates that the buildings are long out of use. Lambton Street no longer exists, replaced by a newly-built street called Hucklehoven Way.
Over in Middlesbrough
Peter started photographing Middlesbrough in 1968. Locals will instantly recognise the Albert Bridge, with an advert that was affixed to both sides of the bridge for decades. This photo is taken from ‘over the border’, with the railway station to the right, and the Royal Exchange in the distance, under the bridge.
Shop at Binns
Then, over on Corporation Road, Binns Stores, in use as a warehouse at this time. The newer Binns premises had been built on Newport Road. This fine building is a rarity in Middlesbrough, by virtue of the fact that it still survives.
Newport Road and Cannon Street
Newport Road was one of Middlesbrough’s main shopping thoroughfares. The parallel Cannon Street was the focus of a tight-knit community. But, within a few short years, both would become ghost towns. At the town centre end of Newport Road, Peter captured Baum’s shop at Number 40, as it was holding its ‘closing down’ sale.
Another one of Newport Road’s fondly remembered shops, Adamson’s Motorcycles The buildings along this stretch of the road lay derelict for several years before finally being pulled down.
Further along Newport Road, this nun was pushing a bicycle, possibly on the way to St Patrick’s Church on Cannon Street.
Welcome to Teesside
This is the ‘Welcome to Teesside’ graffiti that gives the exhibition its name. The photo was taken on Severs Street, just off Cannon Street.
Nugent Fives Court
The Nugent Fives Court was at the end of Cannon Street, near Newport Bridge. By comparing different photos, Peter has discerned that this was built in the early 1930s. He first photographed it in 1969, then returned in 1979, when it had been out of use for decades. It probably disappeared a couple of years later, when the A66 was built through here. Fives is usually associated with public schools, but it had to have been popular in the Cannon Street neighbourhood of Middlesbrough in the 1930s.
Pictures at an Exhibition
I’ve tried to give a flavour of the exhibition, but photographs of photographs aren’t an ideal medium. It’s well worth a visit to see the real thing.
What’s on
‘Welcome to Teesside’ is an exhibition of 50 black and white photos by Peter Benson at The Heritage Gallery.
When to see it
From Thursday 30 April to Friday 5 June.
Where to see it
The Heritage Gallery, Cargo Fleet Offices, Middlesbrough Road, Middlesbrough, TS6 6XH
Telephone: 01642 697 930
Facebook page here.
Opening times
The Heritage Gallery is open Monday to Friday, 9am until 4.45pm.
Refreshments
The on-site bistro – Iron Co Coffee House – is adjacent to the gallery. The bistro is open Monday to Friday until 3pm.
Thanks to:
Jodie Athey, Curator at The Heritage Gallery
Dr Barbara Edwards, Copywriter and Advisor
Python Properties, owners of Cargo Fleet Offices
