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In 1919 King George V sent a telegram
to the residents of Chapel Street in
Altrincham, Greater Manchester, in which
he described the unassuming cul-de-sac
as ‘the bravest little street in England’. In
total, 161 men from 60 households headed
off to fight in World War I, but 20 were killed
in action and a further 29 died later from
their injuries. It was the greatest loss of life
recorded by any street in England.
What was once a row of Georgian terraced
houses, mostly occupied by labourers and
builders, is now a nondescript paved area,
after the original buildings were knocked
down in 1939. However, the courage and
bravery of Chapel Street’s former residents
has not been forgotten, and in 2007 an
English Heritage plaque was erected there
to mark their sacrifice.
Artist and curator Carole Evans is
fascinated by the connection between
photography and memory and, as a result,
themes of heritage, nostalgia and community
often surface in her work. Evans hails from
Altrincham, and in 2013 she began
photographing the town to document its
degeneration. However, to her surprise, after
talking to local residents she found there was
still much to celebrate. ‘Slowly I began to fall
in love again, and the project became a more
positive one about Altrincham’s regeneration,’
she recalls. ‘I was impressed with how
individuals were doing their bit to bring
a sense of community back.’
After carrying out some research, Evansdiscovered the area had a strong connection
to photography. Between the two world wars
camera manufacturer Thornton-Pickard
owned a factory in Broadheath where it
produced, among other things, field cameras.
It also transpired that George Rodger, one of
the founding members of Magnum, had been
based there. ‘The Downs [in Altrincham]
appears to have had row upon row of
photographic studios creating cartes de visite
for the aristocratic folk of Cheshire,’ explains
Evans. As the name suggests, these mounted
photographs were used as calling cards and
became highly collectable from the 1860s
onwards. Fascinated by this rich photographic
history, she began collecting cartes de visite
and old photographs of the area.E
vans’ love of historical processes and
equipment, combined with a
fascination with memory and
community, is reflected in her two
latest series – A Street of Soldiers and At Rest.
The first body of work comprises 29
ambrotypes of current male residents of
Altrincham – aged between 16 and 47 to
reflect the ages of the Chapel Street soldiers
who never came back. Using the wet platecollodion process has given these photographs
a wonderfully tactile air, as though the men
are floating beneath a thin layer of water,
tantalisingly close and yet utterly unreachable.
Their expressions are serious and
contemplative, as though the weight of history
were on their shoulders. Fittingly, Evans shot
the portraits on a Thornton-Pickard camera,
built in Altrincham in 1908.
For the second series, At Rest, Evans
unearthed a small number of original
photographs of the Chapel Street soldiers
and used them to create photographic
memory objects. This practice was common
in the Victorian era, and served to prolong
the act of remembrance. In this instance,
Evans used pressed flowers, embroidery and
other traditional crafts to embellish the
photographs. ‘The flowers I have used are
those associated with remembrance: pansies,
forget-me-nots and poppies,’ she says. ‘The
use of embroidery references WW1
postcards, called silks, which soldiers sent
home as souvenirs.’ It’s a fitting combination
and a wonderful way to bring a hundred-
year-old story to a contemporary audience.All pictures from A Street of Soldiers.ON SHOWThe bravest little street in England was home to 161 men who went off
to fight in World War One. An exhibition by Carole Evans shows their
courage has not been forgotten. Tracy Calder reports.
NEWSAll images
© Carole EvansSEE THE IMAGES
The Bravest Little Street in England, featuring Evans’ series A Street of Soldiers
and At Rest, will be on display at Lumen Crypt Gallery in Bethnal Green,
London, from 14-17 November. See lumenstudios.co.uk.
The exhibition coincides with the launch of a new book bringing together both
bodies of work with archival photographs, artefacts and text about Chapel Street.