Gloucestershire Heritage Hub

Gloucestershire Archives

18th Century slave song added to the Memory of the World register

A unique African slave song preserved by Gloucestershire’s county archives has been added to the United Nations Memory of the World register.

   

The work song, or chant, comes from the sugar plantations of Barbados at the height of the transatlantic slave trade. It features voices of enslaved people as they tell of their brutal treatment at the hands of their master or “massa”.

The song was written down in the late 18th century by anti-slave trade campaigner Granville Sharp who has Gloucestershire descendants. The document was nominated by Barbadian music expert Roger Gibbs who saw a digital image of the song on Gloucestershire Archives’ website.

It is preserved and protected for future generations and is recorded alongside some of the world’s most historically significant documents on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Memory of the World register.

Roger Gibbs said: "I'm honoured to be associated in some small way with a remarkable piece of music that speaks volumes about a painful chapter in the history of Barbados. I hope the UNESCO recognition leads to more public interest in the folk music of the island."

County Archivist Heather Forbes, said: “I am delighted that the international importance of this unique document has been recognised by UNESCO. It’s one of only 427 documents and collections on the Memory of the World register.”

Slavery is an issue that is not confined to history and is still happening in the 21st century. Modern slavery can take many forms, from forced labour to human trafficking or sexual and criminal exploitation.

Pete Bungard, Chief Executive of Gloucestershire County Council and chair of the Gloucestershire Anti-Slavery Partnership, said: “Although this slave song is over 200 years old, it is a timely reminder that the fight against modern day slavery continues across the world.

“Modern slavery is an international crime, affecting an estimated 46.8 million people globally. It often goes unseen and all organisations across Gloucestershire are working together to make sure we recognise it and take action.”

For more information on the Gloucestershire Anti-Slavery Partnership, visit  www.aspartnership.org.uk/Gloucestershire

If you are concerned about modern slavery or need any advice you can call the Modern Slavery Helpline on 08000 121 700.

Oliver Somervell, Media Team, Gloucestershire County Council, oliver.somervell@gloucestershire.gov.uk 

The document was featured in Explore Your Archive a national campaign co-ordinated by The National Archives and the Archives and Records Association (UK and Ireland).

The Memory of the World Register now includes a total of 427 documents and collections, coming from all continents and safeguarded on various materials from stone to celluloid and from parchment to sound recordings.

en.unesco.org/news/international-advisory-committee-recommends-78-new-nominations-unesco-memory-world

You can read more about the song on Gloucestershire Archives website here

You can hear a recording of the slave song, by Barbadian music expert Roger Gibbs on YouTube

Roger Gibbs is a Barbadian-born musician/ ethnomusicologist living in Canada. He prepared the submission to UNESCO's Memory of the World program in collaboration with Elizabeth Watson and Alissandra Cummins, Director of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society.

Granville Sharp’s papers are preserved at Gloucestershire Archives. They came to Gloucestershire through the marriage of his niece to a local man, Thomas J Lloyd Baker of Hardwicke.

Volunteers and Volunteering at Gloucestershire Archives

Here at Gloucestershire Archives we currently have between 70-80 volunteers, ranging in age from 17 to 80+. Many of the older volunteers want to do something useful and engaging in retirement, and have a lifelong interest in heritage and history. The younger volunteers (including one University of Gloucestershire intern) volunteer because they want to either improve their CV, or gain experience before considering a career as an archivist.

Volunteers give us thousands of hours of their time each year, and we couldn’t do our job without you! We are reviewing the tasks we offer future volunteers and we have identified at least 15 separate work tasks they can do. When we open the new Heritage Hub, many of these volunteer role descriptions (a bit like job descriptions) will be advertised on the virtual Heritage Hub, our new website.

Volunteers carry out a range of tasks, including transcribing, working on CALM (our online catalogue), acting as search-room buddies, repackaging, helping draft funding applications, assisting at events, giving talks to community groups and a whole range of other things. Some are involved with providing practical support for specific project work, such as working on the constabulary heritage project. And one has been carrying out tasks helping us to design and build our new website.

 

Volunteer Ann Alford cataloguing a document. 

The way we make use of volunteers may well change in the future, so that volunteers can work for us remotely and spend a few minutes each week, for example, re-Tweeting or using Facebook. Offering just a few minutes a week, like this, is sometimes referred to as “micro-volunteering” and could appeal to people of working age who would not normally be able to commit to us in the way that most volunteers do. We want to create opportunities for more people to volunteer, even if it is just for a few minutes each week or each month – it all adds up, and it all goes towards raising our profile.

We are also looking forward to working closely with Family History Centre volunteers in the new building.

 

Family History Society volunteers working in the temporary Family History Centre.

Volunteers cannot replace staff, of course, but they bring new enthusiasm, ideas, energy, enquiring minds, different expertise and experience. We would like to thank all of our volunteers for everything you do for Gloucestershire Archives.

Sally Middleton

Community Heritage Development Manager

Artist activity at the Heritage Hub

In our Summer E-newsletter Gloucestershire Archives was delighted to announce it had received funding from Arts Council England to work with 5 artists. We wanted this collaboration of heritage and art to bring together the local community, members of the Gloucestershire Heritage Hub network and our partners with the artists to create beautiful eye-catching public artworks. These artworks will tell the story of Gloucestershire’s history and be inspired by its people, heritage and geography.

In the months since the summer there has been a flurry of activity as the artists have begun their research. They have been having a wonderful time hearing stories, collecting memories and looking at photographs. The artists have visited care homes in Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire, talked to our partners including the Friends of Gloucestershire Archives, Gloucestershire Family History Society, Gloucestershire Constabulary and Gloucestershire and Avon Local History Association members. The artists have also visited the Archives taking time to talk to staff and look at some of the wonderful documents, amazing maps, photographs and archived material kept at Gloucestershire Archives.

'Had a fascinating day at Gloucestershire Archives yesterday doing research on various types of maps...we are really enjoying the research side of this project!' TomatoJack Arts on Facebook www.facebook.com/TomatoJack

Natasha Houseago

The very large oak tree trunk lying on the ground in the community garden is the raw material for the new vertical sculpture to be carved by Cheltenham based sculptor Natasha Houseago. The oak tree was sourced from a country estate in Oxfordshire.

    

Natasha is sealing the ends to keep the moisture in and worms and critters out.  

Natasha will be on site for about 12 weeks in the summer and during this time visitors to the Archives will be able to watch her carve and talk to her about the emerging sculpture and her process. www.natasha-houseago.co.uk

TomatoJack Arts

Angela Williams and Lynda Knott (TomatoJack Arts) are Berkeley based mosaic artists and if you have visited the Jenner Museum recently you might have seen their beautiful obelisk standing in the middle of the museum’s herb garden.

Angela and Lynda have met with members of Gloucestershire Local History Association many of whom have sent photos and stories about their local community. They have worked with three care homes in Berkeley, Tockington and Westbury on Severn.

                            

   

Staff and residents in the care homes with the beautiful plaques and coasters made during their sessions.

   

Angela photographing one of the beautiful maps in the temporary search room here at Archives with John Putley, Hub Facilities Manager, looking on.

Angela and Lynda will be in residence at the Archives during half-term - Tuesday and Wednesday13th and 14th February. Visitors to the Archives will be able to drop in and have a go, learn about the mosaic making process and talk to the artists about their ideas for the mosaics they are designing and making for the community garden. We hope you can make it.

www.tomatojack.co.uk 

Julia O'Connell

Julia O'Connell, our textile artist, also visited a care home, this time in Chipping Campden.

 

 Julia is looking at the beautiful embroidery and lace made by one of the residents.

        

Like all of our artists, Julia has spent time at the Archives taking in the atmosphere, talking to staff, exploring the strong rooms and looking at the new space where the artwork will be sited.

Julia has also been experimenting with a laser cutter. Using the Gloucestershire family History Centre logo and text from A Song of Gloucestershire by F.W.Harvey, she has laser cut and engraved on fabric. She particularly liked the effect of the cut out words and how it mirrors the disintegration of iron gall text in old manuscripts (middle photograph).

                            

     Fabric being cut by the laser cutter                   Laser cut letters                                                The GFHS tree engraved on fabric

www.juliaoconnell.co.uk

Imogen Harvey-Lewis

Imogen Harvey-Lewis, our illustrator will be designing two murals for the Archives. One will be sited in the new entrance to the Heritage Hub and the other will be on the outside wall at the front of the building.

     

Imogen presenting her first ideas to the Friends of Gloucestershire Archives, volunteers and staff.

In the new year Imogen will be working with young people and staff at Kingsholm Primary School, Gloucester as part of their University modules. Children there will help her design the mural for the outside wall.

As soon as the builders have finished Imogen will be on site painting the mural. Visitors will be able to see her in action, talk to her about the mural and her work.

www.imogenharveylewis.co.uk

If you would like more information about the project or would like to get involved email kim.kenny2@gloucestershire.gov.uk 

We’re appy and we know it!

Archives staff have been working hard on EVOkE (Everyone Valuing Older FolKs Experience), an innovative 2 year reminiscence project to tackle memory loss and loneliness in older people.   It’s one of several “projects within a project”, which contribute to the “For the Record” activity plan.  Trained volunteers will deliver monthly reminiscences sessions in library clubs, care homes and other community settings using Liverpool Museum’s award winning House of Memories app.  

The app will enable older people and their friends or carers to engage with photos, adverts and other memorabilia from Gloucestershire Archives collections, sparking memories and conversation. We’ve spent the past few months preparing content for a Gloucestershire “package” of around 100 images, along with digital stories, sounds and videos.  Our package is now in the final stages of testing before it goes live.  We’re also recruiting an Engagement Manager for Older People to lead the project’s delivery phase.  S/he will deliver the initial reminiscence sessions, recruit and train volunteers and work with partners including Gloucestershire Libraries to make the project sustainable into the future. 

Gloucestershire package in the House of Memories app, ready to be downloaded.

The virtual Heritage Hub

The new Heritage Hub website went live just before Christmas at www.heritagehub.org.uk – you might even have seen it featured in this month’s Who Do You Think You Are magazine as a website to watch for 2018! We’ll be continually revising the site to ensure that it helps us achieve our aims. We want to provide online information about gathering, keeping, sharing and using local archives as well as to help people feel part of the Gloucestershire Heritage Hub community. Huge thanks to all the partners and volunteers who helped to get it up and running. Do have a look at it, and let me know what you think. claire.collins@gloucestershire.gov.uk

Another element of the virtual heritage hub is our social media channels. At the end of November we launched both Twitter and Facebook accounts. We began by celebrating Archives Awareness week with some lovely themes #hairyarchives -

 #ediblearchives, #lovearchives anyone?

Over Christmas we also ran a ‘12 days of Christmas’ extravaganza, featuring archival versions of all 12 items specified in the song (except perhaps the pipers – our own Hub Facilities Manager, John Putley featured in this one). If you’ve not connected with us yet why not consider following or liking us @GlosHeritageHub on Twitter or Facebook.

Our successful blog continues – my favourite picture (if it’s possible to have one) of last year was the ghost car at the Lansdown (Westal Green) roundabout in Cheltenham. Have a look at https://gloucestershirearchives.wordpress.com/2017/12/15/gloucestershires-archives-revealed-5/ and see if you can spot the car. Did you know that you can sign up to follow the blog? If you do, you’ll receive the latest instalment direct to your inbox.

 

 

New to Gloucestershire Archives online catalogue!

Watch out for our new customer registration and document ordering system, which will be coming on line at the beginning of February. We hope this will make ordering documents much easier for you. You can watch our demonstration on our online video at https://youtu.be/dlwmk3hrDJI

If you are an existing customer and would like to take advantage of the integrated catalogue and ordering facility, please get in touch and we’ll be able to provide your login details.

If you’ve not yet visited us, and want to consult the original archives, you’ll need to register with us. The new system will allow you to do this before you visit – or onsite if you’d rather.

Once we’ve moved into our new hub building we’ll be running regular help sessions in case you’d find this useful.

   

BM?

Have you ever looked at an old map and wondered what BM means? At our recent drop in session where we were using historic maps to inspire ideas and memories, lots of visitors wondered what the BM meant. It appeared very often on the old maps we were looking at and was usually followed by some numbers.

 

PH appeared quite a lot too!! (Public House just in case you're wondering). 

All can be revealed - BM stands for Bench Mark. And, of course now you are wondering what is one of those? 

A Bench Mark is a surveyor's mark cut into a wall, pillar, bridge or building and according to Ordnance Survey they are used as a reference point in measuring height above sea level. If the exact height of one BM is known, the exact height of the next can be found by measuring the difference in heights, through a process of spirit levelling.

They are most often found on the corner of a street and usually placed about a quarter of a mile apart. Or at least they used to be. Lots no longer exist because buildings and walls have been demolished or the marks have eroded.

          

This bench mark, situated near the Archives, is according to our Relief Site Manager, Henry, quite unusual because it's cast iron. We wondered if it had something to do with the foundry that used to be on Foundry Street. (On later maps Foundry Street no longer exists and instead Sweetbriar Street has been extended.)

 This bench mark is more usual and is carved into the wall about half a metre off the ground. Very handy for getting a crick in your neck if you are keen to spot one.

 If you would like to find out more about bench marks visit www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/benchmarks/benchmarks

Or to look at the benchmark database visit http://www.bench-marks.org.uk/

 

 

Gloucestershire Archives and Gloucestershire Heritage Hub: Opening Hours Consultation

From February 2018 we will be consulting on the opening hours for our new Heritage Hub. The new opening hours will be in place by the end of July, when the Hub is fully open and both Phase 1 and Phase 2 have been completed.

The consultation will last about 12 weeks, and will take the form of an online questionnaire, a user survey, discussions with focus groups and other means of consultation.

If readers of this newsletter would like to comment, please send an email to archives@gloucestershire.gov.uk by 30th April 2018 with the subject heading “Hub Opening Hours Consultation”. Please specify your preferred option and whether you are a regular, occasional or potential visitor. It would also help us to receive your full postcode so we can analyse coverage of our service.

The options are as follows:

Option A

  • Monday 10-4. Family history and project volunteers only – research room closed to the general public.
  • Tuesday – Friday inclusive 9-4.30. Open to the general public.
  • One Saturday a month 10-4. Open to the general public. Outreach events such as workshops or family focussed activities, offered on site.

Option B

  • As above, but opening 10-5.30 (instead of 9-4.30) on Tuesdays to Fridays inclusive

Option C

  • Monday to Friday inclusive 9-4.30. Open to the general public.
  • No Saturday opening.

Option D

  • We are open to other suggestions if we can support the proposed opening hours within existing resource levels.
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