INFORMATION

General Information

During the year 2000 D J Clark built a visual record of the Lancaster & Morecambe district using photographs and information submitted by those that feature in the pictures. The project was conducted in association with Lancaster Museum and has been archived for future generations to look back at the district at the turn of the new Millennium. For more information on the project visit the information page. If you find a caption is wrong or there is a fault with the page please e-mail D J Clark.

Date: November 9th, 2000
Location: West End, Morecambe

Photographer's Diary

Thursday 9th November - West End, Morecambe

It had rained almost constantly for two weeks now and this was the first time the sun had come through. I had put the day aside to sorting negatives and making a plan to finish the project. I was halfway through when on a surge of frustration with a slow computer, I grabbed my cameras and headed for Morecambe. I had prints to deliver for Ray Edmondson and Jamie Crawford and took them as an excuse to get out the loft.

Arriving in the Westend, I picked up my camera, delivered the print to Ray on Yorkshire street and carried on walking. I had not intended to paint a picture of gloom and doom, but so many shops were closed or in disrepair. The place was becoming a ghost town. "It's not like it used to be" an old man told me as he passed. "I could take you to see some sights, I could", before I could say "go on then" he had walked on. I was fascinated by the buildings past, with signs and architecture pointing to an earlier era. There must have been wealth and success in the past, but there was little to celebrate now.

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