Grants Awarded 2020
Oxford Brookes University
Paul Hereford Oliver (1927-2017) was an architect, artist, scholar, folklorist, and collector, widely regarded as the most important blues scholar of the 20th and 21st centuries. Oliver pioneered research into the origins and development of the music and uncovered hidden lives of African Americans during Jim Crow segregation. The Paul Oliver Archive of African American Music is a mixed media collection that includes books, music recordings, music scores, audio reel recordings, and research papers. The audio reels include interviews and recordings of blues artists (and social contemporaries) made by Oliver in 1960 and the research papers also include a photograph collection.
This project will create an online catalogue for the audio reels and research papers which will enable the use of this influential collection not only by internal and visiting researchers, but also by a wider popular audience through exhibitions, educational workshops, online outreach activities and community engagement in conjunction with the European Blues Association.
‘Oxford Brookes University is delighted to have been awarded an Archives Revealed grant to enable us to undertake the cataloguing of Paul Oliver’s audio reels and research papers. As well as its significance in relation to the blues as a musical genre, the collection offers a unique commentary on the relationship between the music and African American history, which is of particular relevance as we work to better represent marginalised voices within our collections. The funding will enable the reach and use of this significant collection to be considerably extended.’ – Dr Helen Workman, Director of Learning Resources, Oxford Brookes University
West Yorkshire Archive Service
The Creating Kirklees project will transform the access, preservation, engagement and profile of the archives of the 11 local authorities that merged to form the Borough of Kirklees almost 50 years ago. This ambitious project will catalogue over 170 cubic metres of archives that comprehensively tell the unique story of the development of the entire Kirklees area from the 1820s to the 1970s and beyond. The extensive collections cover town planning, public health, schools and education, child welfare, transport, water and energy supplies, cemeteries and crematoriums, emergency services, wartime services and defence, and much more. Democracy is the beating heart of these collections and so strengthening local democracy is a key objective of the project.
Alongside the cataloguing work, the project will also deliver an innovative engagement programme that will help local residents to use these collections to uphold their rights and to support democratic accountability. In the longer term, the archives and stories discovered by the project will help to transform the delivery of the archive service by significantly contributing towards the celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of Kirklees in 2024 and the plans to develop a brand new archive facility as part of Kirklees Council’s Huddersfield Blueprint redevelopment project.
‘Whether through the architectural plans of homes, schools and workplaces, the records of war memorials and military tribunals, or local adoption and fostering records, these collections relate to every individual, family and community in Kirklees today. We cannot wait to start exploring and sharing these fascinating archives with the people of Kirklees to help them understand more about their past, present and future, to celebrate their identity and to support their democratic rights.’ – Robert Clegg, Kirklees Archivist, West Yorkshire Archive Service
Chatsworth House Trust
This project will open up access to six outstanding archives held by the Chatsworth House Trust. These collections span over 450 years and contain papers created by prominent family members from Bess of Hardwick in the 16th century to the 8th Duke of Devonshire, a leading Victorian statesman. However, their content extends far beyond the family: the collections also reflect the wider circles in which the family moved – locally, nationally and internationally – and the people who worked for them.
The archives consequently touch on many aspects of British social, political, economic and cultural history. There are letters of several monarchs, aristocrats, politicians and statesmen from Pitt the Elder to Gladstone, along with architects, designers, artists and writers. The papers of philosopher Thomas Hobbes are included – one of our greatest philosophers and also an employee of the family – as are 17th-century estate papers shedding light on lesser-known servants.
Our Archives Revealed project will make detailed catalogues of these collections available online for the first time, and we will also deliver a range of engagement initiatives, including social media campaigns, onsite and online displays, internships, talks and tours.
‘This project recognises the centrality of the archives at the heart of Chatsworth as a cultural organisation. It will unlock stories about the past that can be used both to engage existing audiences and reach new ones. The funding will enable us to make a significant step forward in making the rich collections we care for more accessible, which is a strategic priority for the charity.’ – Kate Brindley, Director of Collections & Exhibitions
‘These archives are fundamental to understanding and telling the histories of the Cavendish family, Chatsworth House, the family’s estates and the people who have lived and worked on them over centuries. The Chatsworth House Trust is committed to making the collections more widely accessible and increasing their digital presence. Sharing the collections and engaging people in learning and enlightenment are also core ambitions of the Trust and of my family. I am delighted that this funding will facilitate a project which does all of these things.’ – the Duke of Devonshire
Lapworth Museum of Geology
The Unlocking Lapworth’s Legacy project will fund an archivist to catalogue Professor Charles Lapworth’s archive, the most complete of any Victorian or Edwardian geologist in the UK. The archive covers popular and topical themes such as fossils, dinosaurs, natural hazards, environmental change, evolution, and extinctions. This diverse content extends beyond the scientific subjects covered to record how geology and science influenced late 19th and early 20th century life and society in the Midlands and the UK. The project will unlock the potential of this incredible, interdisciplinary resource.
An online catalogue will provide access to its unique content and linked museum objects, while an innovative public engagement programme, including online exhibitions, will engage new and existing archive users. The project will bring about a transformational change, creating a new, user-friendly museum archive service, and provide significant improvements in collection management and access. The project will enrich the Lapworth Museum’s staff and volunteers, allowing them to unlock potential within our other collections and use them creatively to engage diverse audiences. This cataloguing project will therefore not only have an immediate positive impact, but will also create a lasting legacy for the museum, its enhanced archive service and its users.
‘This unique archive at the University of Birmingham records the interaction between geology, sciences, education, arts, people and wider society in the late 19th and early 20th century. This Archives Revealed funding will help to unlock this wonderful resource, allowing researchers, schools and the wider community to explore and share in its inspiring content.’ – Professor William Bloss, Head of the School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences at the University of Birmingham
The Garden Museum
The Garden Museum is the UK’s only museum dedicated to the art, history and design of British gardens. In 2017 we opened the country’s first Archive of Garden Design, housing the archives of the most influential figures in British gardening of the 20th century. Thanks to Archives Revealed funding, the museum will be able to catalogue one of the most significant collections that it holds: the archive of Beth Chatto (1923-2018). Chatto was one of the country’s most important gardeners and plantswomen, who became a household name for her ecological “right plant, right place” mantra.
This cataloguing project will make her records accessible to the public for the first time – from garden and horticulture students to archive enthusiasts, and from school groups to landscape design professionals. Her archive is a treasure trove containing a wide array of works, including correspondence with Derek Jarman, Cedric Morris and George Harrison, Chatto’s professional diaries, press clippings, plant lists for her commissions, invitations, awards, flower arrangements, financial materials, and much more, painting a full picture of who Chatto was and why she was so important to the history of British horticulture.
‘The Beth Chatto Archive is a founding collection of the museum, integral in tying together other archives and objects in our collection through Chatto’s wide network of high profile friends in the horticultural community. Being one of the first to donate her archive, she encouraged her friends to do so too. We are therefore so excited to be able to catalogue her archive and make it accessible to the public, improving the research potential of the Archive of Garden Design as a whole and attracting new audiences through Chatto’s prominence in the field. Since Chatto’s ecological approach to planting links really well to the GCSE science curriculum and horticultural courses, the newly catalogued material will form the basis of innovative outreach and engagement programmes. We can’t wait to get started!’ – Rosie Vizor, Archivist at the Garden Museum
Writing on the Wall
The L8 Archive project will employ a full-time archivist who will work with a team of volunteers to bring into public access two nationally significant collections relating to Black History in the UK. The L8 Law Centre and LAARCA were anti-racist organisations, central to the defence and empowerment of Liverpool’s communities, who lived under extreme institutional racism in one of the country’s poorest areas. The collections speak of the inner-city uprisings of 1980–1985 which swept the UK, of the conditions that gave rise to those events and of the tenacity Liverpool’s black community, one of the oldest in Europe and distinct in its development.
‘We are delighted to have received this level of support from Archives Revealed, which in partnership with Liverpool Records Office, will ensure that this important collection is preserved and made available to younger generations who will benefit from understanding the rich history of Liverpool 8 and the activism and resilience of those who went before them. These archives contain invaluable lessons which can inform the today’s Black Lives Matter movement and future campaigns for equality.’ – Madeline Heneghan, Co-Director of Writing on the Wall
Leicestershire County Council
This project will make freely accessible to the world the remarkable wealth of information, human stories, images and memories which make up the Thomas Cook Archive. A dedicated archivist, supported by the staff of the Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland, will explore this priceless collection. It will be conserved and preserved and, thanks to this generous grant, fully catalogued to secure and bring into the light every facet and detail of the remarkable Thomas Cook story.
‘This funding will contribute to a full cataloguing and developing of the digital content in the Thomas Cook archive, making it more accessible for visitors and online audiences around the world. This unique archive is not only an important part of local heritage, but is valuable to millions of people around the world who either worked for Thomas Cook, travelled on holiday with the company or who live and work in countries which became destinations for Cook’s Tours.’ – Nick Rushton, Leader of Leicestershire County Council
Essex Record Office
Harlow was among the first post-war New Towns, designated in 1947, and cataloguing the wealth of records generated by the Corporation will provide an invaluable resource for users of the Essex Record Office. Studying the development of New Towns gives an insight in to the social, economic, political and cultural influences across the decades, taking us back to the great social change of the immediate post-war period and beyond, informing the learning of current and future town planners, historians and local people. The project will generate new usage, reach out to new audiences and cement Essex as central in New Town studies.
‘We’re absolutely delighted that the Essex Record Office has been successful with its funding bid. The records of the Harlow Development Corporation, which shaped the town, are one of the most significant resources for 20th century Essex, and looking at the development of new towns provides a fascinating insight into the political and cultural influences over the years.’ – Councillor Susan Barker, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Customer, Corporate, Culture and Communities.
Grants Awarded 2021
Culture Perth and Kinross
Perth & Kinross Sound Collection contains audio recordings, photographs and papers relating to the rich rural and cultural heritage of Perth and Kinross. The collection captures the memories of many rural residents, documenting changing traditions in farming, fishing, forestry, vernacular building, home life and recreation throughout the twentieth century. Their reminiscences are also a rich resource for local place-name history and for Perthshire Gaelic and Scots language and dialect.
The collection also includes recordings of Perth Burns Club Supper recitals, reminiscences from Perth Theatre staff, actors and audiences spanning 70 years of Scotland’s oldest theatre, and a variety of other recordings relating to local people, organisations and events.
The ‘In our own words’ project will create an online catalogue of the collection and an online portal will provide access to a selection of recordings and images, opening it up to worldwide audiences. An associated engagement programme will include talks, story-telling sessions, family activities, oral history workshops, and the creation of learning and reminiscence materials.
‘Culture Perth and Kinross is delighted to have been awarded a grant to catalogue our sound collection. The collection contains the stories of local people as told in their own words and, once catalogued, will add a new dimension to related material in our archive and museum collections, enriching understanding of our local heritage and the ways that people can engage with it. The subject matter will be of interest to a wide range of researchers and the creation of schools and reminiscence materials will support learning and inter-generational activities which will bring people and communities together.’ – Helen Smout, Chief Executive, Culture Perth and Kinross
University of Stirling
The University of Stirling Archives and Aberlour Children’s Charity are working together to open up access to Aberlour’s archives which preserve a detailed record of their work caring for children across Scotland. This funding will improve access for those with direct experience of care and will also provide new opportunities for the wider research community. The project will support current research at the university into creating a more inclusive approach to recordkeeping in the care sector. It will also support the upcoming 150th anniversary of the establishment of the original Aberlour Orphanage, with the archive providing a key resource for a period of celebration, reflection and analysis.
The archives will make a significant difference to individuals with a personal connection to the organisation through direct experience of growing up in the orphanage or through having a family member raised there. They will enable the archive to supplement and enhance their responses to individual’s requests for access to their records in line with data protection, with photographs, contemporary magazine articles or other information about life in the orphanage. Records of the lives of children in the current care system are much more comprehensive than in the past and they aim, through these archives, to enhance knowledge and insight for past residents and for their families.
‘Aberlour Children’s Charity is delighted to have been awarded a grant from the Archives Revealed fund which will enable us to maximise the potential of our archives. As well as being an important source of information for our 150th anniversary reflections, these archives are important for their potential contribution to our collective understanding of social care and social work history.’ – Sally Ann Kelly, Chief Executive, Aberlour Children’s Charity
University of Liverpool Library
Transforming the Mac Lua and the Irish Archival Landscape in Britain: History, Heritage and Community
The University of Liverpool’s Mac Lua Archive represents a rich repository of significant collections related to Anglo-Irish relations from the mid-twentieth century to the present, in particular the Northern Irish conflict and the peace process, labour relations and union activity, and Irish emigration to Britain, particularly Liverpool. Much of this material is unique or rare, and is of immense value to researchers of Irish history and to the Irish diaspora community in Liverpool, Britain and globally.
This Archives Revealed grant will see the collection transferred from the University’s Institute of Irish Studies to Special Collections & Archives, where a project archivist will catalogue it, ensuring its availability for teaching, research and community engagement activities. The intensifying national debate around British-Irish relations stimulated by Brexit has produced a surge of enquiries from researchers and journalists wishing to use the collection. As part of its long-term strategic vision, the Institute of Irish Studies will establish the Mac Lua as a global hub for primary research on the Troubles whilst promoting its function as a site of heritage for Merseyside and the Irish community in Britain.
‘The University is delighted to receive this award from The National Archives, which will enable us to transform access to the rich resource of the Mac Lua archive for the benefit of many communities, in line with our institutional commitment to place heritage at the heart of our research and civic engagement strategies.’ – Professor Dinah Birch CBE, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Cultural Engagement
Manchester Art Gallery
The Manchester Together Archive (MTA) is made up of the thousands of tributes left across the city centre at spontaneous memorials by members of the public following the Manchester Arena attack on 22 May 2017. This includes cards, letters, written notes, photographs, drawings, paintings, poems, personal mementos, candles, soft toys, artworks, decorative objects, artificial and dried flowers, textiles and other objects.
The collection, which is housed in the Manchester Art Gallery, holds great cultural and emotional significance to the people of Manchester and those closely affected by the attack, as well as the many people from across the UK and the world who brought or sent items to Manchester to be added to the spontaneous memorials. Different facets of Mancunian identity are present in the collection, including strong connections to music, football and art, and a diverse range of people spanning different ages, religions and cultural backgrounds are represented through the items they chose to leave. These items demonstrate a huge range of creative expression, embodying the outpouring of love, solidarity and grief that followed the attack. Collectively, this body of material forms a record of personal and collective responses to the attack. The collection provides opportunities for people to access and engage with heritage for the purposes of remembrance, and opportunities for researchers to explore subjects including public memorialisation, grief, solidarity, resilience, active bystanders, trauma, healing and disaster response.
This project will be led by the Manchester Art Gallery, with the support of Archives+, and the University of Manchester. The project will continue and complete the cataloguing of the MTA, so that it becomes available online in its entirety for people affected by the attack, schools and colleges, researchers, and other members of the public locally, nationally and internationally. A key theme represented in the collection is connection, and the material presents opportunities for audiences to explore themes related to empathy, love, solidarity and our common humanity. This means there is great potential for the archive to be used as a resource that can support people’s emotional wellbeing. The MTA’s cataloguing will also allow Manchester Art Gallery staff to develop a deeper understanding of the different communities who contributed to the spontaneous memorials, and devise new programmes of engagement working with these communities across Manchester.
Acme
Supporting artists since 1972, Acme is a charity based in London which provides affordable studios, work/live space and a programme of residencies and awards. The Artist Tenancy Collection is a mixed-media collection, consisting of organisational documents and correspondence, architectural drawings, original artworks, photographs and digital files that records this rich history of studio provision within the changing built and cultural landscapes of London. Collected over the past fifty years, this living archive documents the voices of studio-based artists through a focus on the material conditions (the studio) that enable their labour.
This project ‘Everyday Artists: Uncovering 50 years of Acme’ will create a searchable online catalogue, making this unique collection accessible to researchers, curators, artists and a wider popular audience. Cataloguing the collection will also be the basis of a substantial programme of artistic engagement and educational outreach as part of Acme’s upcoming fiftieth anniversary.
‘This project recognises the centrality of the archive to Acme’s mission of supporting artists. It will uncover the experiences of artists in their studios, allowing us to rewrite the narrative of London’s emergence as an arts capital with their voices at the heart. The funding will enable us to make this rich resource accessible in time for our fiftieth anniversary, which will place the archive at the centre of an exciting programme of talks, exhibitions and commissions – bringing together artists of the past with those of the present, and the future.’ – Lea O’Loughlin, Acme Co-Director
Yorkshire Film Archives
The Ukrainian Video Archives Society (UVAS) Collection was created in 1983 with the mission to record the life of the Ukrainian community in Bradford to pass on to future generations, capturing their cultures, traditions and communities in over 500 films made over a period of thirty years. Recorded on video tape formats, the original collection is now being preserved and prioritised for digitisation by the Yorkshire Film Archive.
‘We are incredibly excited to begin work on this significant collection being preserved at the archive to give everyone the opportunity to learn about the history of the Ukrainian community and its contribution to the rich, diverse culture of the city of Bradford. The UVAS have always wanted their collection to be seen, to share their stories and, thanks to the Archives Revealed fund, we can now take that first step in making that possible.’ – Megan McCooley, Collections Manager at Yorkshire Film Archive
London Metropolitan Archives
The Africa Centre educates about, connects to and advocates for Africa and its diaspora. Cataloguing the Africa Centre Archives will memorialise and showcase the rich history and valuable work of the Africa Centre, helping people understand more about how the past social and political activism links with and positively impacts on the challenges of today.
The collection consists of a wide variety of records from the establishment of the Africa Centre in 1958 onwards, including minutes and annual reports to building plans, photographs of events and artists, events programmes, posters, menus, and audio visual material covering themes such as African society, politics, art and culture, people and beliefs.
The project will engage people with the Africa Centre enabling them to explore and disseminate the archives with wider audiences, develop interactive displays, remove barriers to access, and collaborate with educational, academic, arts, culture and heritage partners.
The Archives and Cornish Studies Service
The George Ellis collection is one of Cornwall’s foremost photographic collections. It contains approximately 95,000 glass plate negatives and 30 handwritten index ledgers, covering 1939-1982, and is an unparalleled visual record of the people and communities of central and east Cornwall. George Ellis moved to Cornwall from London in 1939 and worked as commercial and newspaper photographer for over 40 years. Based in Bodmin, he travelled widely around the area, capturing private and public lives, the everyday alongside the surprising. Its coverage means it is one of the most significant and representative collections at Kresen Kernow, including images of individuals and families, weddings, shops and business, community and major events, sports and schools. Pilot projects have also uncovered unexpected images, revealing hidden or forgotten stories, and showing diversity in Cornwall’s history. This project, ‘A Cornish camera’, will catalogue the incredible George Ellis Photographic Archive.
‘This remarkable collection is a rich and intimate record of life in the mid-20th century, showing the effect of the Second World War, the rapid social change of post-war Britain and the impact of local and national developments on Cornwall. We are delighted to have been awarded this grant from Archives Revealed which will help us to transform access and open up the collection for people to explore their history and respond in new and creative new ways.’ – Tamzyn Smith, Principal Lead for Culture & Creative Industries.