Dancers on the floor of a dance hall, Bolton.

The location of this photograph has not been proven. Film maker and Mass Observer Humphrey Jennings filmed in the same dance hall for his short film ‘Spare Time’ which was shot in Bolton, Manchester, Sheffield and Pontypridd (assuming all dance halls in Bolton did not have identical floors!).

The dance hall also features as a subject in a sketchbook by artist Graham Bell which is held in Bolton Museum’s collections.  Bell was invited to work for Mass Observation in Bolton by Tom Harrisson who thought art was a useful tool for social research.