Archive

Science Museum - Oral History Project (May - June 2014)

We have been busy recording and transcribing interviews with people who remember watching the queen's coronation on a television in 1953. Stories from people up and down the UK will be included as part of an exhibit in the new Information Age gallery opening in the autumn at the Science Museum.

'Voices of World War I' Workshop at Hampshire Record Office (Nov 2013 - April 2014

We were asked by the Hampshire Record Office to develop an interactive workshop which would inspire and support members of local history groups, community associations, professional organisations and freelances to develop creative ways of using WWI related archive material in their forthcoming centenary projects and events. We delivered three half day sessions in which we presented a thirty minute performance inspired by diaries, letters, news reports and artifacts, some of which had been through the mud and blood of the trenches. This created a springboard for the further exploration of a selection from the vast range of material housed in the archives.

Participants enjoyed the opportunity to brainstorm creative uses of archive material with like-minded people and here are a few snippets of the positive things they told us on their feedback forms:-

"Lovely workshop, very useful and enjoyable."

"Very interesting - Great to have items to handle and explore. Good examples of creative uses."

"Fantastic that the Hampshire Archives can offer workshops like this."

"It was the best Hampshire Record Office training I've attended."

Velmore History Project (May 2013 - March 2014)

A series of reminiscence cafes and oral history interviews with residents of the Velmore estate, which culminated in a book, Velmore: From Huts to Homes (1950s-2014), telling the story of the Velmore estate from its first days as a post-war hutted camp to a flourishing area of mixed housing. The project was commissioned by First Wessex and the book is on sale at the Velmore Community Centre priced at £4.50.

For more info visit: http://www.eastleighnews.co.uk/2014/03/velmore-from-huts-to-homes/

Between Wind and Water - Touring Play (April - October 2013)

This one-hour play, written by Deborah Gearing, toured shoreline venues along Southampton Water from 24 July - 1 August 2013. The show explores the city's rich sea-faring, ship building and docking heritage through the inter-generational stories of one Southampton family, and is inspired by the stories of Southampton people, past and present.   

Between Wind and Water is the culmination of the 'My Ship of Dreams' theatre project, funded by the Arts Council England, Hampshire County Council and Southampton City Council. For more information visit:  bwaw-play.tumblr.com  


Heritage100 Roadshow Tour (January - March 2013)

A series of reminiscence based digital outreach events for the Hampshire-Solent Museum Alliance. These fun, interactive sessions utilised iPads to enable participants - all aged over 60 - to explore the Heritage100 website and  add their own stories and comments. For more information visit: http://www3.hants.gov.uk/heritage100/takepart.htm

Children of The Croft Oral History Project (Nov 2011-Jan 2013)

An exploration of the stories of women who lived at The Croft, a pioneering shared housing scheme for unsupported mothers and their babies, which was set up in Nottingham in 1966 by Family First founder Ruth I Johns.

A selection of the stories were showcased in 'The Story of The Croft' exhibition at Nottingham Castle Museum, November 2011-January 2013. Extracts from interviews and archive images are available in an online exhibition:  www.storiesofthecroft.org.uk. The complete Oral History collection is housed at the Nottingham Local Studies library and the Nottinghamshire Archives. The Children of The Croft project was generously supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Radio Training at Toynbee School (2011 / 12)

In the Spring and Summer of 2012, Now Heritage C.I.C. received funding from Hampshire County Council to provide training in Radio Production to blind and visually impaired pupils at Toynbee School in Hampshire. A group of Year 9 pupils from the school's Visual Impairment unit attended an after school course in presenting and production skills and are now regular contributers to the school's radio station: Toynbeatz Radio.