A PROJECT that celebrates Latchford’s seafaring heritage through chance encounters and human connections is coming to Warrington Rowing Club next month.
Artist Sarah Harris is inviting Warrington residents to immerse themselves in the history of the Manchester Ship Canal when she presents Memories of Latchford Locks on Thursday and Friday evening, March 5 and 6.
A major part of Warrington’s rich industrial heritage, Latchford Locks used to be a place of constant movement with ships passing through from all over the world.
Latchford residents, past and present, are invited to reminisce and share memories of the Locks and the surrounding area – whether that’s working on or around the canal, growing up nearby, waiting at the Locks, or simply watching the water flow.
Over two evenings there will be a pop-up exhibition which will display images, records and audio recordings relating to the area and its connection to the Ship Canal.
There will be opportunities for people to write and record their own stories too, which will help shape the next phase of the work.
Attendees will also be among the first to see Sarah’s new artwork, BEACON – a pyramid-shaped outdoor light and sound installation designed to evoke memories of maritime journeys and intimate human stories.
She said: “It’s a seafaring word for a light that is used as a signal or a guide – but it’s also a way to call people and that’s what we’re doing at this event. We’d love people from Latchford to come and share their experiences.”
Sarah found inspiration for the project after being commissioned by Culture Warrington to go out and record stories about Latchford for an oral history project a couple of years ago.
“One subject that kept coming up was Latchford Locks,” added the former Cardinal Newman RC High School student.
“Everyone used to pile down to the Locks to meet the sailors. The sailors would chuck out oranges and chocolate and things like that, and families would have picnics at the side of the banks and watch the ships come and go.
“One woman I interviewed, Ann Baker, had this feeling they were extra kind to kids because they were missing their families. They’d come from all over the world and had been at sea for months.”
Sarah’s grandma also passed away around that time which brought home the importance of recording memories while you can.
She added: “She was a bit of a character in the area. She had a café in Latchford Village and was quite well known so people would come up and tell me stories about her.
“It made me think about my grandma’s generation and the fact that some of those stories could be lost soon.”
It was this confluence of events which led to Sarah having conversations with her own family about Latchford, the village in which she grew up.
And that’s how she heard about her own great-grandfather Charles Cummins’ voyages as a merchant sailor from Sierra Leone.
On one of these journeys, he met Sarah’s great-grandmother Jane while she was travelling from Scotland to London for work and new opportunities.
Both stopping in Warrington, they met at Latchford Locks and later settled there – marrying in 1915.
Sarah, a lifelong Warringtonian, said: “It makes you think about how one little event or chance meeting can take your life onto a completely different path. It also made me think about travelling and different life experiences.
“Like you’ve got these two people who didn’t have any connection to Warrington, but have then settled here. Their family and subsequent generations have become part of the fabric of the area.
“The Locks have always been a place of fascination for me though, even before these discoveries.
“Another interesting conversation I had was with a man called Alan Baker who worked on the Locks for more than 30 years.
“He talked about what the Locks were like in their heyday and how important they were to his life. His daughter went into the Navy and he’s travelled the world on cruise ships since then – there is that sense of adventure associated with the water.”
These stories, and those gathered through the event, will play a vital role in shaping the next phase of Sarah’s project, and will also support Warrington Museum’s work in forming a ‘living archive’ of the area.
Memories of Latchford Locks is at Warrington Rowing Club in Howley Lane on Thursday and Friday, March, 5-6, between 6pm and 9pm. It is a free, drop-in event and all are welcome.
