A Day on the Thames

Newton Aycliffe is a small town to the south of County Durham. It’s one of the original “New Towns” created in the late 1940s and notably boasts among its alumni, the superstar Vic Reeves (real name Jim Moir).

Anyway, I was recently asked to photograph its jewel in the crown “The Thames Centre” - an ageing retail mall with associated office buildings and some residential units built in the 1960’s I would presume. The town centre itself was very much like many small shopping centres nationwide, with a library, council offices, a parade of charity shops and fast food places, and the imposing block dominating everything. A distinctive clock tower stands in front of the whole shebang - watching over a grassed area that could be so much more if only the council had some imagination.

My brief was to shoot the empty office spaces, the mall, and some general shots of the outside shopping area. I had a keypad entry code and was given instructions to move some metal fencing to gain access via some stairs next to a “sports pub” that was the scene of a grisly murder (over the presence of someone’s Staffie) some weeks previously. The entry code didn’t work, so I rang the client and was directed to a charity shop inside the mall that had interior access.

If you’ve never been to the back of a charity shop, it should be on your bucket list. It was a dumping ground for hoarders everywhere - I’ve never seen so much stuff piled to the ceiling, and the range of junk was incredible. Not only was the back room used to store this jumble, but the entire top floor of the office space was also utilised. This was the real junk - stuff that couldn’t be sold but was being accumulated in perpetuity.

This place was spooky, with alarms sounding in various rooms. The worst bit was a section previously used as a medical centre with treatment rooms everywhere. At one point, I heard a door slam and the noise of someone walking upstairs nearby. I investigated, but they’d disappeared into the building by the time I’d got to the source of the noise.

The “highlights” of the shoot are in the gallery below, and it’s all up for sale if you fancy a slice of the action.