Toolkit to help to dig out local history
Warwickshire Museum Service is to introduce a new toolkit aimed specifically at providing guidance to people undertaking research into the history and heritage of their local area for the first time.
The Local Studies Toolkit has been created with the support of a number of experts from the county, including Historic Environment Record staff, Local Studies Librarians, archaeologists and archivists. It is hoped that the toolkit will enable people who have no, or very little, experience of research the chance to go out and conduct their own.
Within the toolkit, people will find expert hints and tips on how to conduct successful research and who to turn to for additional help. Illustrations are included to make some of the more complicated sources more understandable and a list of regularly used words and their meanings have been added at the back.
HER staff hope that using the toolkit will enable people to investigate their historic environment on their own without feeling too daunted. By beginning to understand historic documents people will be able to start investigating the history of their town, house or family.
Historic sources hold a wealth of information and by understanding them people can learn a great deal of information about the past such as why a town is a certain shape, when it was first inhabited and what was there before the town seen today.
The range of useful information includes;
A brief introduction to the history and landscape of Warwickshire
Advice about where to find historic documents and information both in hard copy and online
A catalogue of websites and useful links that can provide useful information
A list of people and organisations who can help and advise
Tarmac Ltd have kindly paid for 200 toolkits to be printed so people will shortly be able to view a copy in their local Warwickshire library or at the Historic Environment Record in Warwick.
The Local Studies Toolkit was created as part of the archaeological outreach project ‘Extracting Warwickshire’s Past’ which was funded by The English Heritage Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund.
Christina Evans, archaeological project manager at the Historic Environment Record (HER), said: “This toolkit enables people to begin to research their local history from scratch. No expertise or previous experience is required. We would like to acknowledge the contribution made by Tarmac – without their support we would not have been able to place copies in all Warwickshire’s libraries and make this toolkit so widely available to local communities.”
Mike Gale, Tarmac Mancetter Quarry manager said "The ‘Extracting Warwickshire’s Past’ project has revealed and preserved a colourful and fascinating history of quarrying at Mancetter including the first mechanisation, locally named steam engines Oldbury and Jubilee, and racing cars! The associated local history toolkit provides an invaluable guide for individuals and groups to investigate the past for the benefit of themselves and the whole community. Tarmac are pleased to contribute to this unique and rewarding project.”