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Launched in 2006, the Community Archives website is a national database of local history and archive sites, bringing together groups, individuals, and local community archives and histories that makes up our local and national picture.
The website hosts an ever growing bank of local archive and local history groups’ sites, at present around 800, and provides a legacy of local history built up by local communities and individuals who want to keep their past alive.
Community Archives also offers resources, hints and tips for anyone looking to set up their own site or to discover local community history, exchange news, events, and ideas from all over the country. The initiative, motivation, and ownership of these community archives is independent of the website which allows a community archivist to still maintain control of their history and yet be part of a national database of community histories around the country that brings their local history to a wider audience.
There are plenty of local community archivists out there, estimates range between 1,000 and 5,000 groups currently operating in the UK who are beavering away in isolation. To this end the website is set up with a broad definition of 'community archive' so that any local heritage initiative (large or small), professional or voluntary, the long-established or the novice, group or individual busy recording a unique interpretation of local history of any kind: local; occupational; ethnic; religious; national; or special interest with collections that include photographs, documents, scripts, oral histories, artefacts etc – everything and (almost) anything is welcome.
Some of the local community archives that can be found include the Alan
Acykbourn’s writing career in the Bob Watson Archive which, among many
other records, holds all his original scripts and reflects his time as a playwright and theatre director; the Durham Miners Heritage Group which provides an exhibition of mining memorabilia collected over the last 20 years; an archive built around a knitted map of the 1792 Map of Brighton, looking at the local geography of Kemp Town, images of the streets of Bournemouth endorsed by Bill Bryson and much more.
Acykbourn’s writing career in the Bob Watson Archive which, among many
other records, holds all his original scripts and reflects his time as a playwright and theatre director; the Durham Miners Heritage Group which provides an exhibition of mining memorabilia collected over the last 20 years; an archive built around a knitted map of the 1792 Map of Brighton, looking at the local geography of Kemp Town, images of the streets of Bournemouth endorsed by Bill Bryson and much more.
Dedicated volunteer editors are at the heart of the website. A team of a dozen enthusiasts seek out local archive groups across the country to build on the current list, linking new sites and increasing the depth of knowledge that’s out there. As the website grows and establishes itself as a national local history database, the volunteers attend history events where the public can meet them and find out more about Community Archives such as the Who Do You Think You Are? event held in February, and hold their own annual Community Archives Conference held in July.
But let’s not forget the many local community archive sites without whom the website could not exist or grow in importance. It is thanks to them that the Community Archives website can work towards turning a local, community, sense of identity into a national sense of identity; building a national database of local community history: a living working picture of our local history, a useful national resource, and making the past come to life in the present.
Community Archives needs you
Want to become a volunteer or are you one of the many sites who are working away in isolation, building a history of your area? Can the Community Archives website help you, or can you help them? Well our local heritage needs you to build up the national picture of our history, culture and
ever-changing world.
Want to become a volunteer or are you one of the many sites who are working away in isolation, building a history of your area? Can the Community Archives website help you, or can you help them? Well our local heritage needs you to build up the national picture of our history, culture and
ever-changing world.
Find out more at www.communityarchives.co.uk
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