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Blackpool, Lancashire
Photo by Ruth Emily Hanson ARPS
The North
When Godfrey Smith, editor (1965-72) of The Sunday Times Magazine, commissioned photojournalist John Bulmer FRPS to document life in the industrial centres of the north of England, it was a time when northern society and culture was undergoing a vast transformation. Traditional industries - coal, steel, textiles, engineering - had been the wealth creators of the Industrial Revolution but they were now in a rapid and relentless decline. The hard times etched on the faces of John’s subjects told of a life of incredible struggle and hardship framed against a bleak industrial background. These were people forgotten as the ‘Swinging Sixties’ changed the cultural landscape of Britain.
On 28 March 1965, when The Sunday Times Magazine published a Special Issue devoted to ‘The North’ it was John’s photographs that appeared on the cover and across 13 pages. John later reflected on the significance of this Special Issue, “I was very used to working in colour, but also very aware that no serious professional had photographed the industrial North in colour before.”
The Sunday Times Magazine
Special Issue: The North
28 March 1965
The North
by John Bulmer FRPS
Bluecoat Press, 2012
Revisited
Marking the sixtieth anniversary of The Sunday Times Magazine Special Issue on 'The North', in 2025 Arts Council England (ACE) became the major funder for a year-long project to build on John's earlier work; now acknowledged as a cornerstone of British documentary photography.
Editorial and documentary photographer Simon Hill HonFRPS was tasked with this new project, documenting aspects of life and leisure across the north of England. Originally intended to be completed within the year (2025), this largest ACE-funded north of England documentary project for a single photographer grew beyond those 16 places visited by John in the 1960s and will now complete in mid-2026.
John Bulmer FRPS and Simon Hill HonFRPS first met at the opening of John's exhibition 'Northern Light' at Hartlepool Art Gallery, 26 January 2024
Over the course of the The North Revisited project, and using the historic 'seven counties of the North' as the geographical scope of the project, Simon visited the 16 northern towns and cities visited by John (shown below in CAPITALS) plus an additional 20 to provide a more complete coverage of the 'The North'. As the project progressed, additional opportunities identified by the project team or by community groups - indicated below with an asterisk (*) - expanded the total number of locations to 50. In addition to these 50 locations, the Motorways M1, M6, M60 and M62 were also included.
NORTHUMBERLAND
Ashington, DAWDON, Horden, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, Peterlee, WALDRIDGE
CUMBERLAND
*Keswick, *Wasdale, WHITEHAVEN
WESTMORELAND
*Appleby, *Grasmere
COUNTY DURHAM
Durham, HARTLEPOOL (and *Seaton Carew)
YORKSHIRE
North Riding *Boulby, Middlesbrough, Scarborough, Whitby
West Riding *Appletreewick, BARNSLEY, BRADFORD, Doncaster, *Gawthorpe, HALIFAX, *Harrogate, *Hebden Bridge, HUDDERSFIELD, LEEDS, *Malham, Rotherham, *Rothwell, Sheffield, Wakefield
East Riding Hull (Kingston upon Hull)
LANCASHIRE
Barrow-in-Furness, Blackburn, Blackpool, Bolton, Burnley, LIVERPOOL, *Longsight, MANCHESTER, NELSON, OLDHAM, Preston, Rochdale, SALFORD, WARRINGTON, Wigan
CHESHIRE
*Jodrell Bank, Stockport
*Motorways
M1, M6, M60, M62
Exhibition
During 2025, The North Revisited project was featured at several events across the UK, including a joint exhibition by John Bulmer FRPS and Simon Hill HonFRPS at 'Photo North Festival 2025' (11-13 April 2025) in Leeds.
Later in the year, both photographers were 'in conversation' with photographer Peter Dench at the Amateur Photographer 'Festival of Photography: Documentary' (9 August 2025) at the Royal Geographical Society in London.
Top and bottom right Simon Hill HonFRPS and John Bulmer FRPS were 'in conversation' at the Amateur Photographer 'Festival of Photography' event at the RGS in London (AP Magazine) Bottom left Simon and John had a joint exhibition at 'Photo North Festival 2025' in Leeds (Photograph by Emma Valbret)
At 'Photo North Festival 2026' (13-15 March 2026), a curated selection of photographs from The North Revisited was exhibited with Simon and John again appearing together for an 'in conversation' event, this time facilitated by Jamie Honeywood of Channel 4 TV. The Guardian newspaper promoted the Festival, leading with photographs from the project.
(Left) Photographs from The North Revisited in a preview exhibition at 'Photo North Festival 2026' and (right) featured in The Guardian (2 March 2026)
At 'Photo North Festival 2026' (13-15 March 2026), a curated selection of photographs from The North Revisited was exhibited with Simon and John again appearing together 'in conversation' this year facilitated by Jamie Honeywood of Channel 4 TV. The Guardian newspaper promoted the Festival, leading with photographs from the project.
The North Revisited will be a major exhibition at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire, from 5 October 2026 to 31 January 2027 with a special 'Open Day' and book launch on Saturday 10 October 2026. Photographs from John's 'The North' will also be on display.
Tickets, priced at £14, can be purchased from Jodrell Bank.
Photo Notes
As a homage to Bulmer’s pioneering colour work, The North Revisited is photographed mainly using Phoenix 200, a new colour film that was designed and manufactured entirely in the north of England by Harman Technology. This 'quirky' and unpredictable colour film - which was available only as a limited edition - provided an analogue aesthetic that simultaneously harmonised with Bulmer's 1960 colour photographs while affording a unique character to this modern interpretation of what has become an iconic photographic legacy. This experimental film has now been replaced by Phoenix II 200.
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Simon Hill working on The North Revisited
Top Preston Middle, top Nelson Middle, bottom Barrow-in-Furness Bottom Jodrell Bank
Photographs by Ruth Emily Hanson ARPS
The photographs for The North Revisited were taken with Contax G2 cameras (using Carl Zeiss 21mm, 28mm, 35mm, 45mm and 90mm lenses) or occasionally with Nikon F6 cameras (using Nikkor 14mm f2.8, 35mm f1.4, 50mm f/1.4 and 85mm f/1.4 lenses).
All films were processed by Harman Laboratory and negatives were proofed to digital files using a Fujifilm SP-3000 scanner. Negatives for publication and exhibition prints were scanned using a Nikon Super Coolscan V ED. Exhibition prints were made using a Canon PRO-1100 and printed to Hahnemühle Silk Baryta X paper.
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