Greater London

Barts Health NHS Trust Archives

A person looking at long photographs on a table in a reading room

Image credit: Barts Health NHS Trust Archives

While in the midst of the pandemic, Barts Health NHS Trust Archives moved over 27,000 items from 1.7km of shelving to a new archive space. The new and improved archive opened to the public earlier this year!

Brent Museum and Archives

Three people performing in the immersive theatre experience 'Coal, Dole and Dinner Ladies'

Image credit: Brent Museum and Archive

Delivered to improve wellbeing in the community, Brent Museum and Archives produced an immersive theatre experience in 2021 called Coal, Dole and Dinner Ladies. The performance told the story of how Brent residents supported the 1980s miners’ strike and was based on real events found in their Trades Union Archive.

City of Westminster Archives Service

School children dressed up and re-enacting a battle in a hall

Image credit: City of Westminster Archives

The City of Westminster Archives Service developed the 1066 project which was based around the Bayeux Tapestry. The project used the city’s history to address lockdown mental health issues and highlighted the importance of keeping positive through challenging times. 2000 children took part in sessions that involved drama and singing.

Haringey Archive and Museum Service

Older people sitting at tables looking at records

Image credit: Haringey Archive Service

Haringey Archive and Museum Service partnered with the NHS and community support teams to build a programme of dementia-friendly events funded by The Better Care Fund. Guest speakers used archive and museum items to explore local themes and participants shared their experiences of living in Haringey. The creative outputs of craft sessions were showcased in an exhibition at Bruce Castle Museum.

Museum of the Order of St John / St John Ambulance

A bookcase of old books

Image credit: Museum of the Order of St John, London

The Museum of the Order of St John Archive digitised and published a collection of Annual Reports from 1868 to 1970. These reports provide key information about the St John Ambulance charity, healthcare innovations and the health of the nation. The project has received almost 80,000 views since publishing the collection in July and attracted an international audience for the first time.

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

A sepia photograph of four men in uniform

Image credit: Photograph kindly loaned by the Westmaas Family

The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Local Studies & Archives created an exhibition, Windrush Generation: Unsung Heroes, showcasing stories and artefacts from local residents with Caribbean heritage. The project increased engagement with the archive material by housing the exhibition in two public libraries outside of the traditional archive space. It also challenged preconceptions about whose stories belong in council collections.

The Sainsbury Archive

The Sainsbury's Veterans visiting the Food Glorious Food exhibition

Image credit: Interference Art (Sainsbury’s Veterans Association co-creation workshop)

The Sainsbury Archive co-created an innovative project, Food For Talk, with several outreach partners and supported by the Linbury Trust. The project had several strands including an exhibition around food, participation workshops, a social media campaign to create user-generated content and comprehensive dementia and age-friendly packs.

Zoological Society of London

A display of leaflets, illustrations and other records

Image credit: Zoological Society of London Library & Archives

The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) Library & Archives announced the launch of a new archives website and catalogue, giving people access to the charity’s rich and varied records. The collections highlight ZSL’s main purpose, which is to empower people to prevent animal extinction. Since the website’s launch, the catalogue has already attracted 1,300 users.