Community archives update, 01/01/2016

Happy New Year to you all from everyone at Hampshire Record Office. We are looking forward to another successful year of community archives work in 2016.

Things to look forward to include:-

An exhibition in the Record Office foyer ‘Swanmore Remembers‘ produced by Swanmore Village Archive illustrating the impact the First World War had on the village and Hampshire more broadly. Access is free and it will be on show from 5 January until 30 March.

Archive Ambassador training day on 24 February including sessions on cataloguing archive collections, the conservation and preservation of archives, digital archives and oral history recording. To book a place ring 01962 846154.

We have plans to put together a Community Archives Forum, open to groups from across the county. A chance to get together, share ideas and learn from each others experiences. More information will follow as plans develop. Do get in touch if you want to be kept up to date, have ideas about what form such an event should take or would like to volunteer to present a case study on some element of your work.

Last year I met with an officer of Hampshire Cultural Trust to discuss their proposed Gosport High St project which aims to engage young people from Gosport with their local cultural heritage, by helping them to explore the changing face of Gosport High Street and the impact that changes in retail and household names have had on the local community over the last 100 years. We were able to provide a letter of support for their Heritage Lottery Fund bid and we await the outcome. If successful activities could begin in the second half of 2016.

Also last year I met with members of the Bordon Reflections team to discuss the potential deposit of archive material relating to the original project which reached a successful conclusion earlier in the year. It was mentioned that a proposed follow up project involving local school groups was  being considered and we await to hear whether their funding bid has been successful.

If you have any questions about community archives then do get in touch via e-mail, mark.pitchforth@hants.gov.uk.

Mark Pitchforth, archivist
Hampshire Record Office