Gloucestershire Archives is officially ‘Good to Go’

From Tuesday 4 August, visitors have been able to pre-book an appointment to access the unique collections on offer at Gloucestershire Archives at the Heritage Hub.

 

The Heritage Hub has been given the Visit England ‘We’re Good to Go’ industry standard and mark, which shows that it conforms to the latest Government and public health advice on Covid-19, and that all necessary safety measures have been taken to support social distancing and maintain cleanliness.

Appointments must be pre-booked, and visitors will be asked to book the documents they wish to see in advance by visiting https://forms.gloucestershire.gov.uk/DocumentPreorder. Anyone wishing to donate materials to Gloucestershire Archives, including contributions to the ‘Life in Lockdown’ project, must also book an appointment by contacting archives@gloucestershire.gov.uk (or by calling 01452 425294 for anyone without internet access).

Cllr Lynden Stowe, cabinet member responsible for Archives, said, “I’d like to thank everyone involved for their hard work to make sure that the Heritage Hub is safe to reopen to the public.

I’m really pleased that visitors will now be able to access the fantastic resources that Gloucestershire Archives has to offer, and would just ask them to be mindful of all of the safety measures that are in place to protect them and others.”

Further details are available on our website, here: https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/archives/plan-your-visit/covid-recovery/

Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Helen Bartlett, Senior Archivist, testing the new visors.

Good news for our volunteers

We're delighted to let all our volunteers know that Gloucestershire Archives is re-opening

We are taking bookings from now, for volunteers to return from Monday 24^th August.

In order to comply with current public health requirements, we now need to restrict the number of staff, volunteers, contractors and members of the public in the Heritage Hub building each day.  We have a strict booking system, which will also be used for NHS track and trace purposes if necessary.  

We will not be able to let in people who arrive without pre-booking.

At present we have 12 spaces for researchers, and 4 spaces dedicated to volunteers in the Frith Room. In addition we have two spaces per week for microfilm/fiche users.   We will be quarantining documents and books for 72 hours after use. 

Whilst we are very keen to welcome you back and to see you in person, we will need to prioritise and pre-book your visits and match you to a specific desk.

How you can help us

• Contact Rhianna.watson@gloucestershire.gov.uk to let her know if you are keen to return to your volunteering task soon, so she can allocate you a slot.
• Refrain from booking a researcher space for the first couple of weeks whilst we prioritise those with urgent business or legal needs.
• Register for an Archives and Records Association Archives card prior to your return to the Heritage Hub. Please see details below.

The new routine will be different, and I outline some of these new procedures below:

• Visitors, including volunteers, will need to make an appointment to come to Gloucestershire Archives.  

• All appointments will be on a timed arrival basis – that is, we will allocate a time for your arrival (your departure is any time up to 4.30pm, when we close).We may offer morning OR afternoon slots.   
• Face coverings – face masks or visors. We recommend you bring your own. 

• The CARN readers’ ticket scheme has been discontinued.   We require all researchers and volunteers to have a new Archives Card when they come to the Archives.. You will need to bring 2 forms of ID with you on your first visit (driving licence, utility bill, passport). To request the new Archives Card online please go to: www.archivescard.com 

• Please do not attend your pre-booked appointment if you develop symptoms of covid-19. But it would be helpful to know you are not coming so we can reallocate your space.

We are very keen to welcome back all of our volunteers. But we ask for your cooperation at this time. Our priority remains our duty of care to you, our staff, customers and visitors, as we strive to ensure your safety and welfare.

Sally Middleton - Community Heritage Development Manager

sally.middleton@gloucestershire.gov.uk

Gloucester History Festival Announcement

Our brand new website  will be launched soon, and we encourage you to check it regularly as we will add content on a rolling basis.

The theme of this year’s festival will be Voyagers and Visionaries to mark the 400^th anniversary of the Mayflower’s voyage to America in September 1620. Telling stories of migration, identity and discovery it reveals how journeys near and far have shaped our past.

This year marks a double celebration for Gloucester History Festival – the 10^th year of the Festival itself and the 25^th year of Heritage Open Days in the city.

• Saturday 5 - Sunday 20 September 2020
• With brand new on-line and on-demand content for new digital experiences

We are doing everything we can to deliver some elements of a live programme across the 2 week festival, but inevitably, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event will be much changed with significant online and digital contributions for the first time.

All the elements which have made the event so successful in the past will still be there this year.

We are seizing the opportunity to embrace technological developments, offering a digital programme and access to a range of resources.

Talks will be filmed, and broadcast-quality films will be available to view on the festival website.

All on-line and on-demand content will also be made available online free of charge.

As part of the City Voices element of the festival, Historic England has made a grant to the city to inspire a citywide heritage response to COVID-19.  Entitled ‘Gloucester Looking Up’ it will encourage communities to look up at the buildings, look up online, look up their heritage and ensure that Gloucester’s built and lived heritage is part of a shared recovery. More City Voices information here

City Voices - Gloucester History Festival

Gloucester’s thriving History Festival will make history of its own this year and announces some of its first ever programme of digital online events.

Following the most recent Covid-19 Government advice the Festival team has made the decision to deliver not only the City Voices element of the festival online, but the renowned Blackfriars Talks programme as well.

Festival Manager Jacqui Grange said: “We believe with careful planning we will achieve the same level of professionalism expected of the Festival with our online content. We are putting together an extraordinary programme of events which will not only encompass the City Voices programmes, but the Blackfriars talks too, with some elements of the Heritage Open Days programme also being available online”.

The impressive and digital City Voices programme includes highlights such as:

Kingsholm Looking Up by artist Ellie Shipman; an illustrated guide to the people and places of Kingsholm where people will be able to visit the area, follow a walking a map and ‘look up’ to see vinyl illustrations in the windows across the route

Take it to the Cleaners by artist Hannah Thomson; celebrating the unsung heroes of heritage, ensuring they are recognised for the invaluable work they do. At this online event, audiences will hear about their favourite objects or parts of the heritage sites they clean as well as their own experiences and stories

Diverse-city a project that works across the whole festival resulting in an interactive map which people can follow that raises the profile of BAME heritage across the city. This projects also includes a film about the All Nations Community Centre

Gloucester Firsts by Rider Shafique and Tarsier Films who present two short documentaries which explore Black History through telling the stories of firsts. The first Mosque and first Black Business. The films will include interviews with key community members and will look at the importance and influence of heritage and how people connected to these venues and businesses have continued to support the BAME community today

BSL tour of Gloucester by Deaf artist Oliver Jamin and Christina Wheeler who present a unique and engaging response to 2-3 sites across the city in BSL with subtitles for hearing audiences

Tales from the Cross by Jarek Adams who presents an interactive audio experience designed to stimulate individuals into thinking about their city, its past, present and future and their part in its story.

This City Voices content will be available on the Festival website (www.gloucesterhistorfestival.co.uk) for festival goers online from the launch of the Festival on Saturday 5 – Sunday 20 September. The new website is expected to launch by mid-August.

The Festival team is finalising details of the now online programme of Blackfriars events; details of which will be announced shortly.

The Heritage Open Days programme, celebrating its 25^th anniversary this year will still continue in socially distanced manner.

Despite the consequences of Covid-19 this 10^th year of Gloucester History Festival promises to be the most innovative year yet.

Gloucester History Festival celebrates stories of the past that are told around the world, in a way that is relevant to people today, but it is a festival very much rooted in Gloucester. Telling the stories of people from the City, who continue to make it such a vibrant, interesting, colourful and special place to live and work is equally important.

Gloucester History Festival is supported by Gloucester City Council and Historic England.

 

Calling Champions

Become a volunteer Community Champion in connection with the city-wide art exhibition Of Earth and Sky curated by international artist Luke Jerram and Gloucester poet JDPL.

www.ofearthandsky.co.uk

There are two ways in which you can get involved.

• Volunteer to help with the installation and marshalling of the exhibition
  1. Become part of the installation team creating the artworks on the 20^th – 23^rd August, helping to steward key exhibits from the opening on 24^th August, record the number of people visiting the artworks or helping to complete evaluation forms with visitors.

• Help to create enjoyment experiences in connection with the artworks so that others can enjoy too
  1. Come together each week on Zoom throughout the two-month exhibition to share their stories and play an active role in encouraging as many people to enjoy the exhibition as possible. The Champion role can be shaped entirely to work with the availability of each individual.

“We are looking for people to have some real fun with the project” Says Beckie Smith, Champions Co-ordinator for Of Earth and Sky. “Explorers, adventurers, creative people, and keep fit enthusiasts who want to have fun on their own, fun with their family or fun with a socially distanced friend.”

You can have fun in any way that you choose. Ideas might include:

• Creating a selection of tours that people could enjoy, for example the Coffee Shop tour, the historic tour, the buggy friendly tour, the accessible tours, the mid-week runners tour or the pub crawl tour
• Inputting ideas into the 50 Things To Do with Of Earth and Sky activity sheet which will be available to download throughout the tour, for example, creating twig/leaf/stone art at the sites, log rolling down a hill, or remaking your favourite art-work from recycling at home
• Setting HIT CLASS challenges in connection with the exhibition pieces, for example 20 push-ups at each artwork, 20 squats at each artwork
• The watercolour challenge, where hobby artists sit beside the artworks and paint the view that they see from each one
• Mindfulness Moments where Champions compile a series of mindfulness moments in connection with each artwork
• Poets Corner, where the poetry represented in each artwork acts as a stimulus for other pieces of creative writing
• Or any number of other activities that Champion themselves are able to imagine

 

You and the team will help create material for everyone to enjoy, follow, respond to, and inspired to add to it themselves.

If you want to join a community of people who appreciate the benefits of being outdoors and value the benefits that culture can have on the city, becoming a Champion is for you.

Simply visit Of Earth and Sky, visit www.ofearthandsky.co.uk and click on the Community Champions button to register your interest. You will be contacted by a member of the team during the week commencing Monday 24^th August to start getting involved.

We are looking for your memories!

To be included in our Digital Memory Box Project

We are asking Gloucester Residents to submit their favourite Gloucester based memories to be used in a digital memory box as part of the Gloucester Looking Up project. Entries can be written, spoken and recorded, typed or filmed.

The Digital Memory Box Project is part of Gloucester Looking Up, which is part of the City Voices Programme of Gloucester History Festival.

Jason and Pete from Squeaky Pedal talk about the project. Click on the picture to hear more.

Memories should be submitted by end of Friday 21 August.

For more information and to submit your memory click here

Submissions can also be sent via email too Sophie Evans at sophie.evans@flyinggeese.co.uk

(Please say if you want your submission to be anonymous)

GFHS Centre is re-opening soon.

Following on from the re-opening of the Gloucestershire Heritage Hub at the beginning of August, the Committee has been working towards opening the Family History Centre again. We’re hoping that the Centre will re-open in early September so, please, check the website at the end of August for more information -  gfhs.org.uk/

We’ll be making some changes to the way in which the Centre works so it complies with the current legal requirements. So, you’ll need to:

• book in advance - the number of people the Centre can accommodate at a time has been reduced to allow for social distancing and to enable us to provide information to the Track & Trace service, if required. We’ll let you have more information about the booking system soon.

• wear a face covering - a mask or face covering is mandatory for anyone visiting the Heritage Hub, including the FH Centre. Please bring your own!

• bring your own refreshments - at the moment the shared kitchen has been closed but you can bring your own refreshments and there is space to sit either indoors or in the Community Garden.

• keep your distance and sanitize - please be aware of the social distancing requirements and be mindful of other users. Hand sanitizers and cleaning material for the PCs will be made available.

We’re looking forward to welcoming researchers back to the Centre soon

.