Local History Research

Great news for anyone interested in local history. 

The Victoria County History (VCH), in partnership with the Regional History Centre (RHC) of the University of the West of England, and Gloucestershire Archives, are offering local history research workshops.  Workshops will run fortnightly in the Heritage Hub’s Dunrossil Centre, from 9.30am – 1.00pm.  

Each workshop is on a different topic, and will be led by historians, the VCH and RHC.  You can choose to do as many or as few as you like. 

Each workshop will divide into two sessions with a refreshment break. Tutoring and discussion will be led by historians from VCH and UWE in a friendly and informal atmosphere.

Open to all, whether you are a beginner or have research experience, £10 per workshop.

Concessions: free to VCH volunteers and RHC members, two free sessions of choice for archive volunteers and FOGA members.

Advance booking recommended. Local History Workshops - Heritage hub

Please note: this provisional syllabus may be amended as the course progresses, so please check this website before you plan to attend individual sessions.

• 1 Nov: THE LOCAL HISTORIAN’S TOOLBOX: key resources. Online – Ancestry, British Newspaper Archive, Historical Directories, BHO/VCH. Printed sources – record series, journals. Archival sources – by creator (local govt, diocese, parish, estate, etc).
• 15 Nov: THE HISTORY OF THE LANDSCAPE: landscape archaeology – maps – place-names – archaeological resources (HERs) – aerial photography and Lidar.

          15 November - we’re expanding number of spaces available as this session is already fully booked.

• 29 Nov: THE HISTORY OF BUILDINGS: examining and describing buildings – vernacular and polite architecture – modern and recent buildings and housing – special types of building (religious, industrial, civic, etc) – documentary sources and techniques
• 13 Dec: WORKING WITH DOCUMENTS: palaeogaphy and techniques of reading documents – Latin – identifying and understanding different types of deeds, manorial records, parish records etc.
• 17 Jan 2023: OWNERSHIP AND GOVERNMENT: landownership – feudal tenures and manorial descent – manorial courts and control – development of the vestry and parish responsibilities – proliferation of local authorities and their functions.
• 31 Jan: MOVEMENT AND MIGRATION: roads, canals and railways – the study of population, including settlement shift and desertion – migration, immigration – women’s lives under-represented - drift from countryside to town.
• 14 Feb: COMMUNITY, SOCIETY AND WELFARE: caring for the poor, sick and elderly – local and national justice – bringing up and educating children – social activities, legal and illegal, moral and immoral.
• 28 Feb: WORKING LIVES: farming the land – rural and urban trades and industries – labour relations and conflicts – restoring the balance between male and female work.
• 14 Mar: THE INFLUENCE OF RELIGION: ubiquity of the medieval church – monasteries and chantries – effect of the reformation – puritans and nonconformists – Victorian religiosity and its aftermath.

 John Chandler (convenor) (jh.chandler@hotmail.com)

Local History Workshops - Heritage hub