History, Her Story, Their Story, Our Story

“When was the first time you saw a black person?” What would the oldest person in your family say in answer to this question? Is your answer the same? Is it the same as your next door neighbour or the people living in the next street?

In this exciting new project, funded by Arts Council England, Gloucestershire Archives is working jointly with Fresh Air Foundations and renowned photographer Vanley Burke as well as local artists, schools and members of the community. Using the answers to the question we aim to build our black history archive and inspire creativity. By collecting stories and oral histories this project will be an important step in further enabling Gloucestershire Archives to meet the needs of the wider community and continue to grow the trust we have built amongst local people. We know from our previous art projects that the arts can be a very successful way of involving communities in their heritage. The project will help address barriers and lead to better representation of Black communities in cultural and heritage management.

Launched during The Gloucester History Festival Spring Weekend with an interview with Vanley Burke and local creative Rider Shafique, the project. will culminate in both physical and online exhibitions as well as a Spoken Word event. Participants will collaborate in the creation of a series of artworks which explore Gloucester’s communities.

Click the image to watch the interview with Vanley Burke and local creative Rider Shafique

The project involves four Gloucester artists - Rider Shafique, Thembe Mvula, JPDL and Phil Campbell who will be mentored by Vanley Burke. The artists will lead school workshops at Sir Thomas Rich’s School and Denmark Road High School and community workshops at The Venture: White City before creating their own work.

To discover more about the project and the artists involved visit the 'History, Her Story, Their Story, Our Story' page at Gloucestershire Archives

In addition, each artist will choose a piece from Vanley Burke’s iconic portfolio that relates to their practice, and contributes to the final exhibition & event. The resulting artworks will be shared in community and heritage locations as part of City Voices, during the September 2021 Gloucester History Festival.

    

Vanley Burke (born 1951) is a British Jamaican photographer and artist, who has been described as "the Godfather of Black British Photography". For more information visit Gloucestershire Archives

http://www.vanley.co.uk/

 

 

Tell us about you.

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We are carrying out this survey to learn more about the people who use Gloucestershire Archives, so we can tailor our services to meet your needs.

During April and May we are offering a short paper survey to those visiting the Heritage Hub in person. We are running an online survey at the same time with the option of providing additional feedback on our website, online catalogue and events programming.

If you have already completed a survey at the Hub, you can skip these questions on-line, so you don’t need to answer them twice.

We expect the whole online survey to take about 10 minutes. There is opportunity for those who wish, to bypass some of the more detailed questions which will reduce the length of time it takes to complete the survey.

The survey is anonymous. Data will be held by Gloucestershire Archives and will be processed by Flying Geese who are running the survey on our behalf.

To complete the survey please click the link  surveyhero.com/c/7176c092  

Passport to the Past: Unheard Voices

Wednesday 2 June, 4 - 5pm. Free event.   For ages 6-13 years.

We’ve called this session ‘unheard voices’ because so much of what we know about what happened in history is from the point of view of the adults: there is not much ‘source material’ written by children at all. We think that what children have to say is very important, and in this session we want to hear YOUR voice. Not a parent, not a teacher, not a politician - this session is all about you!

       

                                                    The youngest recorded boy and girl who were imprisoned in Gloucester Gaol.

Do you want to help researchers in the future have a reliable first hand account of what it was like to be a child in Gloucestershire in 2021? Send us your story and let us look after it for future generations. One of archivists will explain how this works…..

We’ll be looking at how attitudes have changed towards children over the last few hundred years and trying to find out whether children today have a better life than they did in the past. And we’ll also be thinking about things that haven’t changed - children have always loved to eat sweets, have fun and have sometimes got into trouble….

• What happened to children who broke the law?
• What kinds of jobs did children have?
• What were the most popular toys and games?

Find out the answers to these and many more questions in these interactive Zoom sessions where you’ll meet other people, hear from experts and enjoy fun activities you can either do during the club, or in your own time afterwards.

To book your place visit the Gloucestershire Archives website

For every monthly Passport event, we create new resources which can be used during the session. These will appear on the Passport to the Past: fun activities and resources for families and schools page at least 48 hours before each event takes place giving you time to print them off. This link will also be sent to you a couple of days before the event takes place.

If you aren’t able to print off the pages for the session, please don’t worry! We will display the pages on the screen during the event and all your child will need is a couple of pages of blank paper and a pen or pencil.

Please note that there are other pages listed as downloads which you can also print and enjoy in your own time if you want to do so.

Training events: Reading 18th century documents

Wednesday 9 June, 1 - 2pm. Free online event

   

Want to become more practised at reading 18th century documents?

Using examples from the Quarter Sessions records, join archivist Ally as she gives tips on how to read these documents that can tell us so much about people in Gloucestershire.

These documents form the basis of the "Maligned, Marginalised and Misunderstood" volunteer project run by Gloucestershire Archives, and gives us the chance to hear some unheard voices of Gloucestershire people.

You will leave the session with the confidence to read documents like these for yourself.

  

To book your place visit Gloucestershire Archives

Secrets Revealed: Life in Gloucester’s Asylums

Passport to the Past: Stories from the Big House

Wednesday 7 July, 4 - 5pm. Free online event.  For ages: 6 - 13 years

Gloucestershire has many grand historical houses, where rich and powerful families have lived for generations, often being looked after by servants who lived there too. 

    

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a grand house? Filled with drama and story telling - this Passport to the Past event sees us  bring to life some of the people who might have lived at Dodington Park – an enormous stately home in South Gloucestershire – over the last 300 years or so. 

Mixing historical records with a sprinkling of imagination, we bring you their stories. Along the way we’ll find out about how some of the money needed to build and care for such a huge and spectacular  house was made and lost.  

In this energy filled session we will all create a story together at the end – so we’ll be needing you to bring your imagination too. Make sure you are ready by coming in fancy dress (not essential - but fun!) - which character might you choose?  Will you be part of the owner’s family, or one of the servants? 

For more information and to book your place visit Gloucestershire Archives.

For every monthly Passport event, we create new resources which can be used during the session. These will appear on the Passport to the Past: fun activities and resources for families and schools page at least 48 hours before each event takes place giving you time to print them off. This link will also be sent to you a couple of days before the event takes place.

If you aren’t able to print off the pages for the session, please don’t worry! We will display the pages on the screen during the event and all your child will need is a couple of pages of blank paper and a pen or pencil.

Please note that there are other pages listed as downloads which you can also print and enjoy in your own time if you want to do so.

Secrets Revealed: You Rang M’Lord? Historic Houses & Country Estates of South Gloucestershire

Wednesday 28 July, 1 - 2pm. Free online event

This presentation will look at the records of some of the great country houses of South Gloucestershire.

      

These powerhouses were often key players in national politics and while the personal records of the families and their relations tend to receive most of the attention, we’ll be looking at the more mundane elements – the unseen archives that show what lay behind the grand mansions and what allowed them to function at an everyday level, how their country estates were managed and how they could dominate local life.

These estates often left behind a wealth of archives including building plans, images, numerous sets of accounts and various other records – so we will hopefully find a bit of everything from the Lord’s lunch down to the laundry maid’s clothes pegs.

To book your place visit Gloucestershire Archives

Belonging: An Online Exhibition on Childhood

  

We all deserve to “belong” somewhere. We all need to feel safe and secure in our identity. We all want to be part of a community. But what does this mean in relation to children throughout the years?

Most children – but by no means all – belong as part of a family, and as part of a school. Most children live in a street, as part of a neighbourhood.

But some children’s stories are different!

This exhibition brings together a collection of 17 still images and documents selected from the collections from Gloucestershire Archives, and depicts the lives of children throughout the ages, who have their own story to tell and their own interpretation of belonging. 

 

To see the exhibition and learn more visit Gloucestershire Archives

Passport to the past: Bugs, Bees and Books: A day at Gloucestershire Archives

Wednesday 4 August, 4 - 5pm. Free online event. For ages 6 - 13 years

You might already know about our 11 million documents going back 900 years. Maybe you’ve heard about our 10 miles of shelves.

   

But you might not know about the buzziest members of the archives team, or some of the tiny unwelcome visitors we have to deal with.
Find out why this little chap is an archivist's worst enemy…..

….the surprising history of Raikes the Archive Rat

…and why you don’t have to be superhuman to move a ton of books with one finger.

To book your place visit the Gloucestershire Archives website

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For every monthly Passport event, we create new resources which can be used during the session. These will appear on the Passport to the Past: fun activities and resources for families and schools page at least 48 hours before each event takes place giving you time to print them off. This link will also be sent to you a couple of days before the event takes place.

If you aren’t able to print off the pages for the session, please don’t worry! We will display the pages on the screen during the event and all your child will need is a couple of pages of blank paper and a pen or pencil.

Please note that there are other pages listed as downloads which you can also print and enjoy in your own time if you want to do so.

Secrets Revealed: Centurions, Kings & Captains: Exploring the History of Kingsholm

Wednesday 25 August, 1 - 2pm. Free online event

This history includes a diverse range of subjects, from Roman fortresses, Anglo-Saxon palaces, agriculture, highwaymen, industrial manufacturing and much more.

 

This presentation will take a broad look at this fascinating past to discover what a rich history it has with ancient burials, tanneries, turnpikes, vinegar works, hot air balloons, car showrooms and much more!

This monthly series of leisurely lunchtime learning sessions are great for those who are new to learning about the past and for those passionate about history, keen to expand their knowledge on a given subject in a focused session.
Led by experts at Gloucestershire Archives they are easy to digest, laced with humour and full of headline facts and context information ready to unlock an the secrets of a time gone by.

Secrets Revealed are live Zoom seminars that bring together a community of people with a shared interest in history, heritage, culture and their importance in today’s world.

To book your place visit Gloucestershire Archives