Introduction

Primary sources available on the internet can be of great help in teaching and learning about local history. In many instances, they can be used within units of study that deal specifically with a local history topic, perhaps providing a focal point, as well as enabling comparisons to be made between one locality and another. In other instances, they can be incorporated into study units dealing with national history, thereby extending the opportunity for children to study particular aspects of the themes being covered.

To demonstrate the possibilities, eight examples are presented. Three concern local events that can be investigated using a variety of primary sources.

The Huskar Colliery Disaster, Silkstone, near Barnsley, 1839
The Exeter Blitz, 1942
The Rainhill Trials on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, 1829

The other five examples focus on different types of primary evidence that can be used in investigating a range of themes. Three relate to particular localities and the others to localities throughout Britain.

Somerset Voices Oral History Archive
Victorian education in Kelvedon Hatch, near Brentwood: school log books
History's clues: a postcard from Darwen, near Blackburn
WW2 People's War: an archive of memories
Heritage Explorer: Images for teaching

In each case, a link to the site is given and the site content is outlined. Brief comment is also made on the value and limitations of the material and of the ways in which it might be used in the classroom, bearing in mind the historical understanding that children might acquire