North West: “Norman Nicholson Project, Millom”

Photography group from Millom This exciting creative writing/photography project is being delivered through a partnership between English Heritage and Copeland Borough Council.

A successful collaboration between Millom residents and English Heritage on a Heritage Open Days event identified that there was scope to run a more in depth project using Millom’s most famous son – the poet Norman Nicholson (1914 – 1987) - as inspiration. 

Millom itself is a coastal town situated on the fringe of the Lake District National Park, in the southerly part of Copeland District.  Before the discovery of iron ore at Hodbarrow, Millom comprised just a few dwellings and farms and a castle with a history that could be traced back to the Norman Conquest.  After the ore discovery, in 1855, the town blossomed for the next 100 years, with its population growing to over 10,000.  However the town was devastated when both the mine and the local ironworks closed in 1968.  Like much of West Cumbria, it is engaged in the difficult process of redefining and regenerating itself.

Nicholson, having lived almost his entire life in Millom, explored the impact of man on the natural and built environment and the delicate relationship between the two. His poetry and prose chronicled the often harsh experience of daily life in West Cumbria in times of uncertainty and change, often in stark contrast to the idyllic public perception of life in Cumbria and the Lake District in particular. 

This ongoing project will enable participants to explore their historic, natural and cultural heritage whilst developing their own artistic skills.  It is envisaged that, in the tradition of Nicholson, this will enable the group to articulate their own experience of 20th/21st century life in Millom & West Cumbria, their relationship to the industrial and rural tradition and their hopes and fears for the future.