Peaceable Kingdoms
Peter Fryer
Photographic
A photographic portrait of Newcastle’s allotment culture in the early 1990s, revealing how small urban plots offer routine, pride, and community across a diverse group of growers.
North Blyth
Peter Fryer
North Blyth
Peter Fryer
A 1988 portrait of North Blyth, created as the community mobilised to resist council plans to demolish the village for harbour redevelopment.
- Photographic
- Communities
- Place
- Coastal Locations
- Portraits
- UK Documentary
- Northern Documentary
- 1980 – 1989
- Northumberland
- UK
North Blyth is a portrait of the coastal Northumberland community threatened by proposed demolition and harbour expansion in the late 1980s.
The residents of North Blyth were informed in January 1988 that Wansbeck District Council intended to clear all 86 houses as part of a redevelopment plan linked to the expansion of Blyth Harbour. The proposal, submitted for European funding, provoked a swift and organised response. Within days, residents formed an action group to fight for their homes and the future of their community. The campaign to save the village was ultimately successful.
This series documents the people and places at risk, capturing a moment of uncertainty and resistance. It was developed during the early stages of the campaign and stands as a record of a community under pressure. The village has also been photographed by Ashington-based documentary photographer Mik Critchlow.
Peter Fryer is a British documentary photographer based in the North East of England, whose work has focused on the everyday lives of working-class communities since the early 1980s. Rooted in long-form social observation, his photographs reflect a commitment to place, capturing stories of youth, labour, identity and belonging across towns and cities in the region.
Fryer’s approach is defined by trust, attention and respect for the people and places he photographs. His work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally and is held in a number of public and private collections. Consistently grounded in the documentary tradition, Fryer’s photography builds a nuanced and quietly powerful record of social change in the North of England.
© Peter Fryer
North Blyth, 1988
- Ref: 051-003-LBW
- Date: 1988
- Artist: Peter Fryer
- Copyright: © Peter Fryer
North Blyth, 1988
- Ref: 051-004-LBW
- Date: 1988
- Artist: Peter Fryer
- Copyright: © Peter Fryer
North Blyth, 1988
- Ref: 051-008-LBW
- Date: 1988
- Artist: Peter Fryer
- Copyright: © Peter Fryer
North Blyth, 1988
- Ref: 051-009-LBW
- Date: 1988
- Artist: Peter Fryer
- Copyright: © Peter Fryer
North Blyth, 1988
- Ref: 051-006-LBW
- Date: 1988
- Artist: Peter Fryer
- Copyright: © Peter Fryer
North Blyth, 1988
- Ref: 051-001-LBW
- Date: 1988
- Artist: Peter Fryer
- Copyright: © Peter Fryer
North Blyth, 1988
- Ref: 051-010-LBW
- Date: 1988
- Artist: Peter Fryer
- Copyright: © Peter Fryer
North Blyth, 1988
- Ref: 051-005-LBW
- Date: 1988
- Artist: Peter Fryer
- Copyright: © Peter Fryer
North Blyth, 1988
- Ref: 051-002-LBW
- Date: 1988
- Artist: Peter Fryer
- Copyright: © Peter Fryer
North Blyth, 1988
- Ref: 051-007-LBW
- Date: 1988
- Artist: Peter Fryer
- Copyright: © Peter Fryer
Related Works
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Isabela Jedrzejczyk | John Davies
Photographic
Early 1980s landscapes of a stretch of the Northumberland coastline threatened by plans to develop a nuclear power station. The plans were dropped after the Sizewell Inquiry.