Collecting and Sharing Stories of Washington New Town

‘The Ballad of the Crocodile and the Underpass’ – Stories of Washington New Town’, is a podcast ballad partnership between Washington Heritage Partnership, We Make Culture,  University of Sunderland,  Baseline Shift and Arts Centre Washington.

Since April 2024 this partnership, podcaster and musician Grace Stubbings and the Washington community podcasting group have been working with people and organisations in Washington to collect and share experiences of life in a new town.

Musicians Paige Temperley and David Brewis (Field Music) have been working with community members and young people at Arts Centre Washington to turn stories of Washington into songs.

The songs, interviews, sounds and archive recordings have been woven together to create unique ballad podcasts. The group have been influenced by the radio ballad work of Charles Parker, Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger who made radio ballads about working class stories in the 1950s and ’60s for the BBC.

These have been coupled with photomontage artworks by artist Tommy Anderson, created from archive photographs, many contributed by community members, and present-day images collected during photowalks.

The project has resulted in a podcast series, a CD, a publication, a performance, and a touring exhibition.

The Ballad of the Crocodile and the Underpass was made possible by the support of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to Lottery Players.