The Return Of Spellow Library

On 11th December 2024, Spellow Community Hub and Library, in Walton, reopened its doors after being closed due to the devastating fire set by rioters. To celebrate the reopening, communities came together to share a moment of resilience and unity in a parade. 

In the weeks leading up to this socially engaged photographers Lucy Hunter and Lillie Farrell spent time with community members, listening to their experiences of Spellow and why libraries are so important to the society. 

Lucy is a familiar face to Walton, having recently completed a year-long residency in the area, as part of Open Eye Gallery and Culture Liverpool’s joint Creative Neighbourhoods commission. It is during this residency that Lucy met Lillie, one of the young people and a budding photographer, at Walton Youth and Community Project. In the wake of the riots that took place in late 2024, we wanted to support Lucy in the area again to capture the stories of those individuals who worked hard to restore the local library, and this time Lucy was able to work with Lillie, as a key collaborator on developing this new work. 

The images and text in this publication, Strength in Unity: The Return Of Spellow Library, showcase the conversations which took place between Lucy, Lillie and the individuals and organisations who worked so hard to rebuild community spirit and the library itself. The publication serves as a powerful reminder of the strength in Unity which exists in the Walton area. 

Our thanks goes out to Lucy and Lillie for all of their hard work on the project and to everyone who shared their story and allowed the photographers to capture them in the lead up to and on the day of the parade. 

Physical copies of the publication are being distributed to the Liverpool city council libraries whilst everyone can view a digital copy of the publication as a pdf or on issuu.