Southern England

South East

Essex Record Office (ERO)

The ERO partnered with Deaf artist Damien Robinson to hold a series of workshops exploring the history of the D/deaf community in Southend-on-Sea. The project resulted in a zine telling the story of Southend’s Deaf history through existing archives, material collected through the workshops, and memories of the participants filmed in British Sign Language and now preserved in the Essex Sound and Video Archive.

A black and white map titled 'Borough of Southend on Sea', with various handmade place markers made from circular pieces of card and bulldog clips placed on it.

Image credit: Essex Record Office

Surrey History Centre (SHC)

SHC supported Freewheelers Theatre Company (FTC) to facilitate the Us and Them project. SHC provided Victorian-era photographs of patients with epilepsy, spina bifida and learning disabilities from Surrey’s asylums. Eight disabled artists (with the same conditions) then worked with a tintype photographer and an oral historian to co-create portraits of themselves which could be paired with the original Victorian images. SHC also ran workshops with the artists exploring the history of patient photography.

A black and white photo of a man in a light-coloured sweater, with a dark-coloured polo shirt collar visible, sitting in a wooden chair. He is wearing a pair of large black sunglasses, and has several caps stacked atop one another balanced on his head.

Image credit: Emma Brown Photography

University of Kent Special Collections and Archives

University of Kent collaborated with the Public Engagement Team from the Canterbury Festival to welcome over 100 students from EKC Canterbury College to view the David Drummond Pantomime collection and use it as inspiration for their coursework. Students of fashion textiles, film, graphics and fine art attended workshops in the University’s archives and used them as inspiration for an end-of-year fashion show/exhibition of work which was open to the public.

Colour illustration of a two-headed person - the head on the left has dark, short hair and a red nose, while the head on the right has blond, shoulder-length hair and rosy cheeks. They are wearing the same dress but the left half is brown and the right half is light blue.

Image credit: University of Kent Special Collections and Archives: David Drummond Pantomime Collection, catalogue reference DDP

West Sussex Records Office (WSRO)

Throughout 2024, WSRO focused on surveying at-risk private HIV archive collections across the UK. The project archivist identified almost 40 collections and shared professional advice on the management and preservation of the collections where requested, with some now being transferred to archive repositories.

Front cover illustration of five groups of people, all illustrated using only white and black, each on a green background. The text on the front cover reads 'AVERT', 'AIDS Education and Research Trust', 'The Best Hope Yet...'

Image credit: West Sussex Record Office

Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)

In 2024, the CWGC launched an oral history project titled Voices of the Commission, documenting the memories of 13 retired staff members. This initiative aligns closely with the CWGC’s strategic priority of ‘Sharing the Stories’ and helps fill potential gaps in its historical collection.

A man with white hair and glasses sits at a white table, in a white room. There is a microphone in front of him, and a laptop open to the left of the microphone. A second, bearded man is standing next to him, hunched over and pointing at the laptop screen.

Image credit: Commonwealth War Graves Commission

South West

Alberta Research Project (ARP) at Mapperton House

ARP recruited volunteers from around the world to digitise and transcribe the correspondence of Alberta Sturges Montagu, 9th Countess of Sandwich, an American Heiress from the Gilded Age. Montagu’s large collection of letters, diaries and journal entries are accessible at Mapperton House and will soon be online. Mapperton is also the first historic house to create an Alberta AI who answers questions based on content from the transcribed letters.

A woman poses for a photo, sitting sideways on a chair with her torso twisted round to face the camera. Her left hand is resting on the top of the chair backrest.

Image credit: Mapperton House

Historic England Archive (HEA)

After the HEA discovered a collection of photographs from the opening event of the Leeds Caribbean and African Centre in 1983, it commissioned a Photographer-in-Residence to create a contemporary snapshot of Chapeltown’s African and Caribbean community.  A selection of images from the residency were added to the HEA in Autumn 2024, creating a legacy for the community and generations to come.

A group of dancers in the middle of a street, dancing in formation. They are wearing matching blue and white costumes and headdresses.

Image credit: Solomon Charles-Kelly, catalogue reference HEC01/134/02/02/03

University of Bath Archives and Research Collections

University of Bath welcomed retired astronaut and Lead for Space Sustainability at NASA Headquarters, Colonel Alvin Drew, to explore its Pitman collection. The archive contains records of the New British Alphabet Competition and the historic correspondence of Sir Isaac Pitman, a passionate advocate of spelling reform and the inventor of a globally adopted shorthand. Colonel Drew was examining ways to improve communication for collaborative space exploration of the future.

A man stands, smiling, posing for a photo next to a bronze bust of a bearded man. The man posing for the photo is holding his hands behind his back, and several hardback-bound documents are on shelves behind him.

Image credit: University of Bath Archives and Research Collections

University of St Mark and St John (Plymouth Marjon) Archive

Plymouth Marjon University collaborated with Plymouth and Devon Racial Equality Council on Authoring Our Own Stories; a youth recovery project examining how young people’s racial heritages impact on their access to services. Over five years, this project will deliver arts-based workshops with young people and youth work professionals to explore how services can be reshaped locally, regionally, and nationally to improve accessibility and break cycles of inequality.

Two boys sat on chairs lean forward, looking down at a book that is resting on the green-grey carpet floor. The book contains black and white aerial photographs, and the boy on the left is reaching with his right arm to turn the page.

Image credit: Hannah Jordan, Plymouth and Devon Racial Equality Council

Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre (WSHC)

In 2023, WSHC set up The Wiltshire Inclusion Panel with the aim of diversifying the Centre’s collections and strengthening relationships with communities across the country. Panel members have been learning research skills and creating exhibitions so they can share case studies of people and communities that they have discovered in the Centre’s collections, and through online resources.

Three adult people at around the corner of a table, all looking at a bound document that is resting on a cushion on the table. The person in the middle is handling the document, and is in the process of turning a page.

Image credit: Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre