John Oram's photos with the keyword: Scunthorpe

When I came across this closed branch of fashion store Fallen Hero at 8 Cole Street in stricken Scunthorpe, I thought it appositely named and emblematic of the town's embattled retail and that of the wider country. That part of Scunthorpe has a particular proliferation of shuttered properties but, in the case of Fallen Hero, things are not quite as bad as they seem for that brand at least as there appears to be branch extant in Scotter Road. TZ70_2_P1000926E

The Penny Bank pub, 160 High Street, Scunthorpe. The history of the building, although evidently a former bank, was very difficult to elicit and a great deal of the effort was made by my partner and sometime editing assistant Gregory Halse. The word 'Bank' is inscribed above the door but is rendered invisible in this picture by the bright sunshine which followed showers. Today's Penny Bank is closed for refurbishment having originally opened in 2018 and was previously another pub, The Mint, which itself opened in 1988. Thus the bank history goes back a long way but it appears that the building housed the Yorkshire Penny Bank, an earlier incarnation of Yorkshire Bank (now part of Virgin Money), from 1928 to 1980. In 1981, the building was acquired by Barclays although, to be pedantic, it is not clear that they operated a branch there and they put it back on the market in 1986 subsequent to which it became The Mint. Interestingly, in a town which has suffered badly from industrial and retail decline and in which even many of the pawn shops have closed, all the major banks are represented with the modern HSBC building being particularly striking. TZ70_2_P1000925CE

In Scunthorpe, the community has lost a lot and still people smile. In the town's Laneham Street, someone had, perhaps, lost this bear or maybe it had the same role as one of those painted stones, to bring cheer momentarily into someone's day. Photograph and concept by John Oram Photoshop (selective colouring) by Gregory Halse TZ70_2_P1000931E_PS

In Scunthorpe, the community has lost a lot and still people smile. In the town's Laneham Street, someone had, perhaps, lost this bear or maybe it had the same role as one of those painted stones, to bring cheer momentarily into someone's day. TZ70_2_P1000931E