Wakefield Museums and Castles

This charming action shot is one of Jack Hulme's most iconic and best loved images.

Hulme was a self-taught photographer. He took thousands of pictures of local life in his pit village community. His photos capture everyday moments on the streets of Fryston.

Here he has caught a local lad in mid air as he attempts to clear a makeshift hurdle. It's a perfect snapshot of childhood joy and homemade fun.

This photo featured in our museum centenary celebrations in 2023-2024. It was one of 100 objects we chose to represent our 100 years of collecting.

We asked Wakefield Civic Society and Wakefield Historical Society to respond to the objects. On this photo Kevin Trickett, Civic Society President, said:

Are our streets for parking – or for play?

Not too long ago, it was uncommon for most working class people to own a motor car.

Industrial towns and cities in particular how rows and rows of terraced housing, sometimes with small back yards but seldom with what we would today recognise as a garden.

As well as providing access to people’s homes, streets were, therefore, spaces where children played and people met to chat, sometimes bringing chairs out onto the street and, at times of local and national celebration, holding street parties.

With the growth of car ownership, particularly since the 1950s onwards, many families now own cars and our streets are often busy with traffic – or jammed with parked cars.

But which would you prefer? Do modern housing developments being built today get the balance between motorists and pedestrians right? Are children provided with safe places in which to play?