Man and woman standing on the balcony of a block of flats clapping their hands
Shuvaseesh Das: Clap For NHS, London Suburbs. London-based artist Roy Mehta chose this image noting that it "encapsulates the reality of the ‘lockdown’ for so many people…The framing enables us to see the couple in context and the clapping on the balcony can only refer to the current support for the NHS.”
Shuvaseesh Das: Clap For NHS, London Suburbs. London-based artist Roy Mehta chose this image noting that it "encapsulates the reality of the ‘lockdown’ for so many people…The framing enables us to see the couple in context and the clapping on the balcony can only refer to the current support for the NHS.”

Picturing Lockdown Collection

On 29 April 2020 Historic England launched Picturing Lockdown, a unique project in which we asked the public to submit photos to document their experiences of one week in lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic.

We received almost 3,000 public submissions from across England, capturing a rich picture of our collective experience in an extraordinary time.

We selected the 100 most evocative, informative and inspiring, added 50 newly commissioned works by 10 contemporary artists and 50 more from Historic England’s photographers to create a final collection to be added to the Historic England Archive.

A record of an extraordinary time

The call-out was the first time the public have been asked to capture photographs for the Archive since the Second World War.

It aimed to spark conversations about identity and has now created a unique and reflective record of a week across the nation, during this extraordinary moment in history.

These unique responses have formed a visual record in Historic England’s Archive, the nation’s archive for records of England’s historic buildings, archaeology and social history, which will help us shape what we remember about this time.

The public call out received an overwhelming reception from across England, with 2,984 submissions from across the country received over the course of seven days.

Highlights from public submissions

Please click on the gallery images to enlarge.

A young boy sits at a dining room chair and table dressed in a scouts uniform. He salutes a laptop. A topless young man, sat in a back garden, inspects his newly cut hairstyle in a long mirror. In front of him, a middle aged man mows the lawn and a woman beside him holds a pair of scissors. A woman in gloves and cleaning uniform poses beside a metal bannister in Leeds train station. A woman has a conversation with her elderly mother via mobile phone. They can see each other through a sunny window. A woman in sunglasses and a face mask rummages inside a brown handbag whilst walking down an otherwise empty street in Durham. There are church towers in the background and a cobbled lane in the foreground. A priest gives a sermon to a video camera in an empty church. Light streams in from a yellow stained glass window. A young man and two young women lounge on a hot London pavement on a summer's day A funny health and safety sign. It includes a photo of Bruce Forsyth pointing at the viewer,between an amended version of his catchphrase 'nice two metre. Two metre nice' A photo of a woman staring out of her window. A 92 year old Ghanaian woman waving out her window.

Explore the public submissions 

Common themes in the public’s submissions give a fascinating insight into people’s experiences in this unprecedented time.

These include images of healthcare workers and rainbows (now synonymous with supporting the NHS), as well as leisure pursuits including baking, gardening, board games and Zoom quizzes.

The concept of emptiness featured strongly in submissions, especially through empty high streets, roads, public transport and skies, while the frustrations and loneliness of social distancing also came across strongly.

Images of home-made haircuts and street art sit alongside people’s pets, children and working from home.

The natural world appears frequently with images of gardens, parks and wildlife in bloom during the spring months, suggesting how nature has offered us solace and a promise of hope.

Artists’ responses

Alongside the public call out, 10 contemporary artists from across England were also asked to produce images documenting lockdown during the seven days. Each artist has contributed at least five images to the final collection.

Highlights from artists' submissions

Please click on the gallery images to enlarge.

"Picturing lockdown", a figure is draped over what appears to be a folded up powered wheelchair. They are wearing a wooly jumper and have their arms hanging down. The scene is outside in front of a building View from the mall in London looking out to Trafalgar square. A yellow ambulance van is parked on the edge of the square, beside the national gallery Sainsbury wing. The streets are empty. The sun is shining. A Canadian flag flies in the foreground. A view out to sea on a pebbly beach is framed by four concrete walls of a promenade. A man in full HAZ mask and suit carries a wheelie basket down a supermarket aisle. French Doors are open to the garden and the words You are the only one here are projected onto red curtains. These are from google hang outs before anyone joins a meeting. The scene is lit to suggest a filmic aesthetic. Beyond the illuminated area is pitch black, it is night. The open doors look as if the bottom half is submerged in a black pool of water. A woman stands at an open front door holding a newborn baby. She wears a brown fair-isle cardigan. The baby is in a white romper. Hazy view through a net curtain out to a sunny day. A large store front with corrugated orange facade and red shutters is closed. The shop is called 'sunspot; these words are signposted in pink and yellow. It is a warm sunny day. Photo of a woman holding up a handwritten sign in Polish and English "This is difficult time... I miss my family and friends. I hope it ends soon... Please stay safe" A woman posing with a gardening fork in an allotment.

Explore the artists' submissions

The resulting images range from evocations of specific urban landscapes offered by Chloe Dewe Mathews (South East), Scottee (East of England) and Polly Braden (Central London), to portraits of communities and individuals by Tristan Poyser (North West), Anand Chhabra (West Midlands) and Coralie Datta (Yorkshire).

Aidan Moesby (North East) and Bella Milroy (East Midlands) offer insight into their individual experiences while Roy Mehta (London Suburbs) and Malaika Kegode (South West) focus on nature and space.

The 10 artists were each asked to select their favourite public submission from their region, to go in the Archive.

Works from Historic England's photographers

Historic England’s photographers usually document buildings and places, travelling far and wide across the country to create a photographic record of England’s heritage.

They each turned their cameras on their homes and local areas to document their personal experiences of lockdown, from family haircuts and daily exercise to the challenges of caring for a newborn in isolation.

Contributing 10 images each, photographers Alun Bull, Chris Redgrave, Steven Baker, James O. Davies and Pat Payne contributed 50 photos in total to the Picturing Lockdown collection.

Highlights from Historic England's photographers' submissions

Please click on the gallery images to enlarge.

A man rides an indoor bike in his kitchen beside a woman holding a measuring tape above an ironing board. Either side of a garden fence, women cut their adolescent childrens' hair. On the left side, children play with a ball in the background. An elderly man stands in an empty country lane. He is holding a bunch of wildflowers, gasping up at the sky. Orange light shines through a window at twilight. The home is made of Cotswold stone. A woman in a blue jacket walks a white dog past a row of suburban houses. Hand-painted rainbows decorate the houses' front windows. A church flies a St George flag. Fresh flowers have been laid on graves. The afternoon sun streams onto the roof. On the left hand side, a splotchy rainbow on a piece of white paper sits on top of a Black and Decker workboard. On the right hand side, a row of lolly sticks sit on an olod white envelope, with one end dipped in paint, each one representing a colour in the rainbow. A woman in sportswear checks her mobile phone beside a pram. A figure in a red raincoat walks along an empty suburban street. Baby clothes dry on a plastic clothes horse beside disinfectant products in a modern hallway.
The fascinating response to our Picturing Lockdown call-out sheds light on our collective and individual experiences of lockdown and provide a snapshot into this unusual time that will be accessible for future generations to see and learn from.

Our thanks go out to all who submitted their work, to our 10 contemporary artists, and to our photography team who have produced an inspiring range of images.
Claudia Kenyatta, Director of Regions Historic England

Also of interest

Topical Press Agency Medical Collection
Early Photographic Prints
England's Places
Aerial Photo Explorer
Picturing Lockdown or Feeling Lockdown?