Deptford High Street
This little book is the outcome of a 18-month project (2009-2011), which aimed at utilising photographic research to meet local people, gain local knowledge and create my sense of belonging to the area I had just moved to. I photographed and spoke to shopkeepers, customers and residents on the High Street, asking them to share their experiences of this street and Deptford in general. Lived experience is deeply embedded in history; even if interpretations are subjective, as psychological truths these accounts are just as important as factually reliable accounts. Story-telling reduces the gulf between the researcher and participants, which is necessary in building relationships with the people whose history is being talked about. In the pursuit of more uninhibited responses, participants were assured that comments would remain anonymous and that images would not correspond to the comments. Through these stories of lived experiences I gained a better understanding of the social and political history of Deptford and how different people perceive the changes taking place in the area. This project formed the basis of lasting friendships and relationships and led to other projects in the local area which can be viewed on my website (anitastrasser.com). The project was also a precursor to Deptford is Changing: a creative exploration of the impact of gentrification, a book I published in 2020. The book is available for reading in Deptford Lounge, West Greenwich Library, Goldsmiths Library and Special Collections.
This little book is the outcome of a 18-month project (2009-2011), which aimed at utilising photographic research to meet local people, gain local knowledge and create my sense of belonging to the area I had just moved to. I photographed and spoke to shopkeepers, customers and residents on the High Street, asking them to share their experiences of this street and Deptford in general. Lived experience is deeply embedded in history; even if interpretations are subjective, as psychological truths these accounts are just as important as factually reliable accounts. Story-telling reduces the gulf between the researcher and participants, which is necessary in building relationships with the people whose history is being talked about. In the pursuit of more uninhibited responses, participants were assured that comments would remain anonymous and that images would not correspond to the comments. Through these stories of lived experiences I gained a better understanding of the social and political history of Deptford and how different people perceive the changes taking place in the area. This project formed the basis of lasting friendships and relationships and led to other projects in the local area which can be viewed on my website (anitastrasser.com). The project was also a precursor to Deptford is Changing: a creative exploration of the impact of gentrification, a book I published in 2020. The book is available for reading in Deptford Lounge, West Greenwich Library, Goldsmiths Library and Special Collections.
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Business in Deptford was much better in the past. On a Saturday they used to have
13 people working in the butcher's, now they have two. It used to take up to 20
minutes to go down the busy High Street by bus. Now, the buses go down Church
Street, and there are less people on the High Street.
I started as a Saturday boy in a butcher's in the 70s. It was so busy at that time, the
queue started at 7am and we were busy till the end of the day. We sold horse meat
in those days. The Arches behind the High Street had a ramp where cows were
walked from the trains straight to the butcher's.
If people need something I haven't got, I'll get it for them. I've done that for years
and it has worked for me. Nothing much has changed - I still have the same
customers and their children and grandchildren.
Deptford is my livelihood and it's the friendliest place in the world - I genuinely
mean it. Maybe even too friendly sometimes as it puts people off when everyone
talks to you. But I've had a lot foreign students live in the space upstairs and I said
to them: "Give it two weeks and you'll love it". And they always did. We've never
had any trouble.
Deptford is not more dangerous than other
places. There might be one group of bad
people who are responsible for most of the
crime, and because they commit one crime
after another, the number of crimes is really
high. So people think that everyone is bad,
but actually it's just a few people.
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