Norwich Works: The Industrial Photography of Walter and Rita Nurnberg marked a particular point in the history of Norwich’s economy and celebrated the people who were part of it. The exhibition showcased a series of photographic portraits of working people in 1940s and 1950s Norwich. Despite the commercial nature of the commission by business owners, keen to promote their firms, Walter focussed his lens on people – not machines.
These were not spontaneous images; all were carefully staged. Factory production was stopped, lighting was installed and workers were asked to pose in certain ways. Individually and collectively, the resulting photographs are immediately impactful.
Culturally, this is a significant breakthrough. In Working Lives: The Forgotten Voices of Britain’s Post-War Working Class, David Hall observes that “in 1951, within a working population in Britain of some 20.3 million people, the proportion doing what was recognised as manual working class jobs was 72.2%”. Walter Nurnberg’s images – created in Norwich during this era – characterise the industrialised and manufacturing economy of the country as a whole.
The invisibility of the working class from the historical record has been the focus of research by a number of social historians. SelinaTodd’s The People. The Rise and Fall of the Working Class 1910 -2010 is in part a personal journey. Coming from a working-class background and studying history at university, Todd found she could not recognise her own family history in the subject she was taught. Her book gives voice to Britain’s working-class past. The Nurnbergs’ work gives visibility to the working class of Norwich at a time of great changes brought about by war and its immediate aftermath. In the late 1940s, the strong trade union movement and ongoing social reform programme meant working people could no longer be ignored. The working classes began to appear in novels, films and television. The Nurnbergs’ work in Norwich falls in a period in which the working classes are being presented in a positive light. The photographs explicitly acknowledge and honour individual workers, their intellect and skill, at a time of collective endeavour.
Today, the economy of Norwich is very different. The city is one of the largest centres for employment in the Greater South-East, with a diverse economy including business and financial services; health and life sciences; advanced manufacturing; food and drink, digital and creative industries; retail; education. There are remaining links back to the economy that the Nurnbergs recorded, but much has changed. Communities are made and remade in the fulcrum of economic activity. Whilst the experience of work has changed, one thing that remains constant is the dignity of labour: an idea powerfully conveyed in the exhibition. No matter their job, people want to be valued in the way they are treated at work and how they are remunerated. The photographs seem to point to the role that work plays in people’s sense of self – and the sense of loss when a community is broken up after a long-established employer shuts their doors. This is poignantly conveyed in the film portraying 100 years of chocolate manufacturing in Norwich which came to an end when Nestlé closed their factory in 1994.
As the fabric of the city continues to evolve, some elements of the built environment remain to stand testament to Norwich’s industrial history. Officially unveiled in 1938, the bronze doors of the City Hall are an enduring sculptural record of the city’s manufacturing history. James Woodford’s eighteen roundel relief sculptures depict people engaged in creative work: we see individuals making chocolates, shoes, aircraft machinery, wire-netting and mustard. The central doors depict key moments from Norwich’s past: from the construction of Norwich Castle to the hanging of Thomas Kett in 1549.
The doors of Norwich City Hall are a reminder of the dynamics of economic change; even the most established businesses can change, move on or close down (it is worth noting that Boulton & Paul’s aircraft division, depicted in one of the roundels, had already moved to Wolverhampton by the time the Bronze Doors were installed.) Whilst the character and nature of work taking place in the city continues to change, Norwich will always be a centre of creative and original work.
Alan Waters, Chair, National Centre for Writing
You can read more about the bronze doors of Norwich City Hall here: https://statues.vanderkrogt.net/object.php?webpage=ST&record=gbee091
http://www.racns.co.uk/sculptures.asp?action=getsurvey&id=68
Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery 