Places

To see a larger version of any image in this gallery, please click on its thumbnail.

I was born in Manchester, in north west England. My earliest memories of the place – at the beginning of the 1960’s - was of unrelieved greyness and smoky desolation. As a child I believed the buildings had been constructed out of black stone – so uniform was the filth that clad the streets.

Now, of course, I return to see the fine Victorian architecture blasted clean and the post-industrial renaissance of Manchester well under way – with the new city built confidently out of glass and steel.

Even this, though, is alien to me. At the age of four I was taken to live in Chester; a world away, culturally and aesthetically, from my former home just 40 miles to the north.

In Chester I thought nothing of walking on city walls built nearly 2,000 years ago by Roman soldiers. Every day I would cross a 14th century bridge into the city centre; drink in pubs built in the days of the Tudors or Stuarts; seek solace in a Norman cathedral or enjoy summer days in a beautifully maintained Victorian park.

While being a thoroughly modern, technological person, I still seek out and feel more comfortable in destinations associated with the past. In a rapidly globalised and homogenised world, these are the places that tell the story of Britain and of what makes it unique.

In this gallery are images of buildings, villages and towns that are the physical manifestation of my country’s history and culture - I hope you enjoy them.

Images in this gallery are available for sale. You can use the PayPal Shopping Cart feature next to each image to buy standard sized prints – or see the Image Sales section for further print options, information on purchasing digital files or for sales outside the U.K.

All images are copyright © Joe Wainwright. No unauthorised use is permitted.