London high street photos selected for Historic England Archive

'Love around the Corner' - taken near Kensington High Street

Photographs of London's high streets, taken by the public, have been selected to be entered into the Historic England Archive.

An online campaign, which ran for over a year, called for people to submit photos on Instagram under the hashtag #PicturingHighStreets.

More than 10,500 photos were entered by members of the public.

Historic England also commissioned professional artists to work in the capital to capture street-life.

This photo of Camden High Street in the snow has been selected for the archive

The public were challenged with different themes every fortnight, including "high street hangouts" and "bright lights to dark nights".

Of the total submitted, 204 photos from the public were selected for the archive. An additional 173 photos were added from "resident" photographers.

This photo was taken by Khadija in year 5 of Canon Barnett Primary School

Historic England commissioned photographer Rehan Jamil to focus on Petticoat Lane in Tower Hamlets, east London.

Mr Jamil collaborated with year 5 pupils from Canon Barnett Primary School to capture life in the capital from their perspective.

The professional photographer said: "My project captures the community undergoing change."

He added: "My focus on the three distinct groups - the children, local residents and traders - provides a multi-faceted perspective on the dynamics of Petticoat Lane market and its surroundings in Tower Hamlets.

"The collaboration with Canon Barnett Primary School's Tiger Class was a valuable experience, allowing the children to engage with their community through the lens of photography."

Mariyah, from year 5 said: "I took this picture because it seemed funny. It's a no-entry sign and someone has spray-painted a smiley face"

The Historic England Archive is a collection of over 14 million photographs, drawings, plans, documents and publications from the 1850s to the present day, covering the whole country.

This photo was taken under a railway bridge in Camden

The Picturing High Streets project has been funded as part of a £95m government regeneration programme.

Londoners submitted images of the capital responding to a variety of themes over the course of a year

Duncan Wilson, Historic England's chief executive, said: "We were overwhelmed by the amazing responses from the public and artists to our callout for photographs of high streets across England.

"Through contemporary photography, people have captured what makes high streets such special places for social connection, revealed the histories hidden behind shopfronts and celebrated the communities that are keeping them alive today.

"This new national collection is a truly brilliant historic record of high streets today for generations to come."

All images subject to copyright

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