Travel back in time to Yorkshire in the 1870s. Meet hard-working navvies and enter a world very different from your own.
What is the story behind the iconic Ribblehead Viaduct in the Yorkshire Dales? During this interactive YouTube experience you will discover what life was like in a shanty town. Step inside the navvies’ homes, take a tour of their church and local pub, and get a taste of what life was like here 150 years ago. This was a community created from nothing that built something monumental in a rugged landscape, seemingly against all the odds.
The Ribblehead viaduct was built by 2,300 men and their families who camped in purpose built shanty towns 150 years ago. Often forgotten, this is your chance to discover what life was really like and how this iconic structure that dominates the landscape in the Dales came to be.
Play Shanty Life:
This was made possible thanks to funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Shanty Life was commissioned for Yorkshire Festival of Story and was created by John and William Hamlett.