Nottinghamshire Oral History

Information about oral history projects in Nottinghamshire

If you would like to add details of your project to this page, email us at emoha@le.ac.uk. For all projects that have been granted Local Heritage Initiative grants, look at the LHI East Midlands page. For information about oral history in the other counties of the East Midlands have a look at the East Midlands Projects page.

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Acres In Time - The agricultural heritage of Rushcliffe. A living history of the lives of people who work or worked on the land will be created through the collection of old photographs, film and new collected material including oral reminiscences. The present landscape will be captured on film through the changing seasons, also capturing the wildlife within it to illustrate how it copes with its environment, comparing it to the past and likely changes for the future. The present and past use of agricultural buildings will also be investigated. The final outcomes will include a video, project survey data (history of sites, uses etc), a project booklet and an improved website. Group Name: Rushcliffe Barn Owl Project. Project Contact: Clive James Address: c/o 38 St. Marys Crescent, Ruddington, Nottinghamshire NG11 6FR. Finishing Date 31 Dec 2006. The Group received a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £21,418.

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Bingham Heritage Archive Project. Phase 2 of this project will enlarge and diversify the archive on Bingham’s heritage, involving substantial expansion of the website developed in Phase 1. A composite trails leaflet will be added to the leaflet series developed in Phase 1 and an audio library of oral histories will build on the work of the Bingham Tape Scheme. Training and a series of free lectures are being offered to local people to encourage and enable them to become actively involved in surveying & database design. Group Name: Bingham Heritage Trails Association. Project Postcode NG13 8SE. Finishing Date 28/02/2004. The Group received a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £13,053.

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Bombs To Butterflies. The project is researching, recording and interpreting a major military installation. The military installation impacted upon its local environment and community for 50 years until its closure in 1990 and subsequent transformation into a Country Park. The project is gathering the reminiscences of people connected with the Ordnance Supply and Disposal Depot in order to raise awareness of the importance of the establishment to the area and the local community.

The local community is fully involved in recording memories and collating historical data. A booklet is being produced, and a CD ROM, audio visual display, temporary mobile exhibition and events will be held throughout the community. The booklet will eventually be sold for a modest fee, which will be used to develop future heritage initiatives. The project will ultimately benefit the local and wider community, and will also give information to the large number of visitors to the Country Park. Group Name:
Ruddington Local History & Amenity Society, with Friends of Rushcliffe Country Park Address: Ruddington, Nottinghamshire. The Group received a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £11,350.

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Festival of the Beck - The villages of Caunton, Maplebeck, Eakring, Norwell and Carlton on Trent all lie along the course of The Beck – a stream in north Nottinghamshire. The Festival of The Beck aims to link these villages through a series of community events, including guided walks and historical talks along the Beck and additional activities organised by each village. A performance will be created by each of the villages reflecting the heritage and character of each community. A book will be produced collating and recording historical facts, local stories and anecdotes from all 5 of The Beck Villages and will include maps and local walks. Finishing date 28 Feb 2006. HLF grant of £10,593.

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The Children of the Croft is a project which will explore the stories of women who were lone parents in the 1960s and 1970s, and who lived at The Croft, Alexandra Park. The Croft was a non-institutional shared house, consisting of 8 flatlets which offered a 'safe haven' to young mums and their babies. It was run by the pioneering housing charity, Family First, and was described at the time by the Home Office as a 'revolutionary idea'. This project will record the oral histories of up to 30 former residents of The Croft, and seek to discover how the support they received helped them to shape positive futures for themselves and their babies. The group have been awarded £20,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Contact: Emma Golby-Kirk via email Emma@NowHeritage.org

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Colston Bassett Local History Group. 'Colston Bassett Captures the Past' was a project initiated by residents. The project researched the village's history, developed an oral history record, collated and captured documents and photographs into a digital format, created a website and published a booklet. Finishing date: 31 Jul 06. Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £20130. The Group now has around 15 interviews, with transcripts, covering subjects such as: Growing up in Colston Bassett; Colston Bassett Hall and the influence of the Estate; the village school; St. Mary's Church and St. John's Church; farming and agriculture; village buildings (shop, pub, institute etc); transport; working lives; the War years; sports and events; entertainment. For further information email:  Buntyfletcher@hotmail.com . Website: www.colstonbassetthistory.org.uk

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The Dukes Wood Oil Drilling site is claimed to be Sir Winston Churchill’s ‘Best Kept Secret of the War’. The site had 215 oil wells producing 4 million barrels of oil, which was crucial to World War II. There is a small portacabin on the site, which is ‘the museum’ - the only oilfield museum in the UK and features crude oil samples, cores, historical photographs, drilling implements and military montages. It is managed by a dedicated group of ex-oilfield workers who run the museum for school groups and other visitors. The site is also an SSSI & is managed by the Wildlife Trust.

The applicant group plan two exhibitions to help promote the industrial and natural heritage of the site and this project and encourage others to get involved. They plan to capture reminiscences from ex-oilfield workers and produce a leaflet about the site. The information gathered will also be presented in the form of video, a CD-ROM and a website. A large number of guided walks and outside lectures and exhibitions will be held throughout the project to help visitors enjoy and appreciate the site. There will also be events to promote the natural heritage of the site such as moth watches, nature walks and pond dipping. Group Name: Friends of the Plantation. Project Contact Mr Kevin Topham. Address: Fairfield, Mansfield Road, EDINGLEY. Nottinghamshire. NG22 8BG. Finishing Date 31 Jul 07. The Group received a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £15290.

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The Elston Heritage Project. The Pentagon Local History Society have been awarded £48,100 from the Your Heritage programme of the Heritage Lottery Fund. They will involve the school and other village organisations to record Elston's history in a number of ways: 1. A photographic record in cataolgue and DVD format, with Powerpoint presentations to other societies and schools; 2. A heritage trail, leaflet and video identifying the oldest buildings and places of historic interest in and around the village; 3. An oral history recording the memories of the oldest residents or those with long associations with the village, including the Darwins; 4. A website communicating all aspects of the project to the widest possible audience; 5. Exhibitions involving the school, church, Parish Council and other village organisations

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The Changing Face of Education in Flintham. The Flintham Society will celebrate the existence of Robert Thoroton School by gathering oral memories, staging an exhibition and producing a booklet. The natural heritage connected with a dewpond at the side of a small 18th Century building will also be investigated and interpreted. Group Name: The Flintham Society. Project Contact: Sue Clayton Address: The Flintham Museum, Inholms Road, Flintham, Newark, Nottinghamshire NG23 5LF. The Group received a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £24536.

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Gamston's Early Schooling. Gamston primary school is moving to new & modern premises next year. Very few people know that the 5th Duke of Newcastle paid for the school to be built in 1876 and Nottingham Archives actually house 2 of the Gamston School logbooks from 1876 onwards. The idea for the project began as a way to thank the villagers and surrounding community for their kindness and support to the school over its long history and more and more people have expressed an interest in being involved in research into its history and memory recording. Mrs Kath Sutton, Gamston Primary School Parents & Friends Association. Finishing date 30 Nov 2007. HLF grant of £14795.

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Hucknall Heritage Archive Project. Hucknall Library Local History Group will record the heritage of this former mining and textile town by carrying out a variety of projects, linked to a month long Local History Fair. The aim is to get the whole community involved by offering them a variety of events, including a project led by a professional playwright; material will be gathered through a combination of research and interviews with individuals and community groups. The material will be used to create a performance that combines stories with images of places and people both past and present. There will be an adult story telling event based on the local community and a number of family history sessions to help beginner and more advanced research. The reminiscences will be transcribed and held on tape and added to the archive. The youth of the town will be involved through a photographic competition focussing on the heritage of the town.

The oral history project entitled 'Locally Speaking' is looking for local people who were living in the Hucknall area during the 1930s and 40s. We want to hear from you so we can record your memories to create an oral history archive for future generations. Contact Ray Bickel or Sharon Wells on 0115 9632035 or e-mail hucknall.library@nottscc.gov.uk. Group Name:
Hucknall Library Local History Group. Project Contact: Ray Bickel Address: Hucknall Library, South Street, Hucknall, Nottinghamshire NG15 7BS. Finishing Date 10 Dec 2006. The Group received a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £8371. Sponsorship has been kindly donated by Kodak, Rolls-Royce and Councillor Chris Baron of Nottinghamshire County Council.

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The Hyson Green History Project (Nottingham) is being funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and run by Radford-based charity the Partnership Council. The project is focusing on the life and times of Hyson Green flats, which were built in 1965 and demolished in 1988, as a way of exploring what life was like in Hyson Green during those decades. The website is full of memories of the area - http://hysongreenhistory.org/

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Jacksdale Area Culture & Heritage are a non-profit making heritage group who organise heritage display days and have been collecting photographs, newspaper articles and documents relating to the history of Jacksdale and Westwood, Notts since 2001. They have been recording oral histories since 2011 and have a collection of over 60 recordings. More information about the group is on the website: http://www.jacksdale.org.uk/jachs-jacksdale-area-culture-heritage

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Lambley Historic Heritage Project. The village, which is recorded in the Domesday Book, was built around a large orchard. Volunteers will be involved in field-walking and geophysical survey of the Pingle Field, thought to be the location of the ancient Lambley Manor, working alongside professional archaeologists. The project involves a planned programme of activities, research and local events involving the local community in a wide range of aspects of local heritage in the Lambley area. The aim is to set up an accessible digital archive of documents, photographs, oral histories and film. Lambley History Group, 24 Cromwell Crescent. Lambley. Nottingham. Nottinghamshire NG4 4JP. Finishing date 30 Sep 07. Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £17677.

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Laxton History Group was recently awarded £4000 by Nottinghamshire Community Foundation, from its Grass Roots Fund, for the purchase of oral history facilities, display and display making equipment, meeting related expenses. The Oral History project includes a small number of video interviews, which have been completed and are awaiting transcription, and the purchase of sound recording equipment to enable on-going making of audio recordings. This element of the project is yet to be started in earnest, although the equipment was trailed in parallel with the video recordings so that valuable material was not lost during familiarisation. The interviewing team will soon be finalising their plans and making a start on recordings. History Group website: http://www.laxtonhistorygroup.org.uk/

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Mansfield Audio Trail - Take a step back in time in Mansfield with a heritage audio trail telling tales of the town's colourful past. Local people’s memories reveal how life has changed in the last 60 years, while experts reveal the changes over a much longer period. Mansfield is a fine example of a town that has been important in the area for many centuries. At one time a small rural settlement based around a church, the town saw many changes with the onset of the Industrial Revolution before becoming the thriving market town that it is today. The audio trail can be downloaded onto a mobile phone or MP3 player and anyone with the relevant video technology can also watch short video clips, complete with local’s memories of the event depicted.

Developed by Audio Trails (www.audiotrails.co.uk) the guide can be downloaded from http://www.mansfield.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=3652.
Interviews conducted for this project can be requested by contacting enquiries@audiotrails.co.uk.

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Nottingham - Hip Hop Heritage is a project funded by the HLF where Take 1 Studios is documenting the history of hip hop in the Nottingham region. We are interviewing people that played an active role in the hip hop scene, documenting their thoughts and putting together a DVD that can be used as a educational tool at schools youth clubs etc. We are also doing workshops at different centres, schools etc promoting hip hop and the history behind the different themes. Take 1 Studios website - http://www.take1studios.co.uk/Home.html

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Nottingham Living History Archive. Nottinghamshire County Council was awarded £337, 000 by the Millennium Commission to help individuals record the modern history of a Nottinghamshire community in sound or vision. The Nottinghamshire Living History Archive Millennium Awards Scheme operated from 1999 to 2002, enabling nearly 90 local people to design and execute their own projects on any topic within the county. The Scheme was managed by a small group selected from a consortium of local authorities, organisations and individuals. It employed two people, based at Mansfield Library, to provide the mentoring and administration.

The awardees were given expenses, training and mentoring. Working either as individuals or in groups, they produced a range of outcomes from books and edited videos to websites and exhibitions, all based on sound and/or video recordings. All the original recordings on minidisk and video are stored at Nottinghamshire Archives, but copies are available for loan from Local Studies or the nearest appropriate County Library. Examples of themes covered by the projects include the Ukrainian community in Nottingham, childhood games, Clipstone and Manton collieries, evacuees in Nottinghamshire, and the Mansfield business community.

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The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender history project for Nottingham & Nottinghamshire. This project began in 2000 as part of Nottingham Living History Archives through which it produced a set of recorded oral histories, a book, photographs and other resources. It is now part of the Nottinghamshire's Rainbow Heritage website: http://www.nottsrh.webeden.co.uk/

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Notts Coal Mining Memories - Memories of six Nottinghamshire mining communities: Ollerton, Rufford, Blidworth, Newstead, Hucknall and Linby. 'This site is not about kings and queens, castles or barons, lords, ladies, dancing and banquets in great houses. It is about the coalminers of Nottinghamshire. It’s about the people, their mining lives, stories, jokes, laughter and heartbreak. You will find videos, photos and audio recordings of the men and women we have interviewed.' Website: http://www.nottscoalminingmemories.org.uk/index.aspx

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The Nottinghamshire Oral History Collection is stored in Nottingham Local Studies library and is accessed on a regular basis by students and readers, either at the library or by using the loan system. The Oral History Collection contains recorded interviews with ordinary people, plus some well-known names, who have lived and worked in the City and County. They recall their own memories of work at Boots, Players or the Raleigh, in the lace and textile industries, in the countryside, down the mines and in a variety of other jobs. They also tell of life on the dole, home life, schooldays, entertainments and social life: personal accounts of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire during the 20th century. 

These personal recollections can then be used as a resource for research, school projects, reminiscence work with the elderly, as a basis for plays, radio and television programmes, web pages, museum displays, or simply for enjoyment by people interested in local history. Examples of this use are as follows:

• Recordings showing the range of jobs and industries within Nottingham were recently used at the library with a class of teenagers for a school project.
• The recordings about DH Lawrence, of interviews with his elder brother George and his niece, continue to be used in exhibitions about the writer.
• Transcripts of the oral history collection recordings continue to be used for research and also in publications, especially those that relate to the lace industry.

For information contact Christina Raven-Conn, Team Librarian, Local Studies Library, Nottingham Central Library, Angel Row, Nottingham NG1 6HP Tel: 0115 9152873 Email: Christina.Raven-Conn@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

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Agriculture on the Nottinghamshire Wolds is a project carried out by Sandra Ford under the auspices of The Nottinghamshire Living History Archive Millennium Award Scheme. Looks at nine villages in south Nottinghamshire where today's inhabitants are mainly commuters and agricultural life is in decline. Website: http://www.sandraford.btinternet.co.uk/

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Ollerton of Yesteryear. This project will preserve the history of New Ollerton, which developed solely as a result of the sinking of the colliery. It will enable the present and future generations to be aware of this development and to be able to preserve the important common link that they have with the past.

So far the group has over 200 photographs which have been donated by residents of New Ollerton, some dating back to the 1920’s. It is the intention that these will be preserved for posterity through correct cataloguing and storage. They will then be displayed in a variety of formats accessible to the public. Using the photographs as a prompt, the group plan to interview and record various people and preserve their memories and anecdotal evidence of the past. It is anticipated that the school and other local organisations will be involved. Ollerton of Yesteryear, Greendale. 67 Mansfield Road. EDWINSTOWE. Nottinghamshire. NG21 9NW. Tel: 01623 822054. Finishing date 30 Jun 07. HLF grant of £24952.

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Passing on the Past - Celebrating 70 years of Jesse Boot Primary School 1935 - 2005. Jesse Boot, the largest inner city primary school in Nottingham, celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2005. Initial research uncovered very little recorded history on Jesse Boot so letters, posters, leaflets and a small press article were used to measure interest in a history project about the school.

The response from old pupils and local people willing to help has been overwhelming. An exhibition of old photographs will provide an excellent trigger for memories which will be recorded and this material will be used for a community play with a professional scriptwriter, director and artists working alongside volunteers at all stages. A commemorative booklet will be printed and a copy given to everyone involved in the project. A room within the school will be set up in the 1930s style with artefacts bought and hired and this will be accessible by the local community as well as other local schools. Sarah Kerry - Community and Arts Development Co -ordinator, Jesse Boot Primary School. Finishing date: 31 Mar 07. HLF grant of £21790

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Selston Living Heritage Project aims to bring people of all ages and experience  living within the Parish together and to increase the skills base and aspirations of residents through the medium of our recorded memories. The community archive created by collecting the memories of people in Selston Parish will then be used by volunteers in a variety of ways to bring the stories to life and make them accessible to all. These will involve such things as plays, stories, art work, songs, films, CDs, DVDs and a range of other computer based materials. Website: http://www.selstonia.org.uk/index.html

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Southwell Workhouse has a collection of interviews with 38 people about life and times at the Workhouse. Website: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-theworkhouse

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The St Anns Allotments, Nottingham, is a very special and unique allotment site. It is the oldest and largest area of Victorian detached town gardens in the world and has recently been listed with a Grade 2* by English Heritage. The site covers 75 acres and sits in the heart of the one of the most deprived inner-city communities in the country. They have recently (autumn 2008) secured funds from the Heritage Lottery Fund to help preserve the heritage of the site and this will include the creation of an oral history archive. The project is looking for volunteers to help with the oral history and a variety of other works. Tel: 0115 9110207 Email: mo_heritage@staa-allotments.org.uk Website: http://www.staa-allotments.org.uk/index.htm

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Tuxford School. The aim of the project is to gather eyewitness accounts of life in the school from its foundation in 1958 to the move to new premises in 2007 and to record the heritage of this important building. School archives, currently almost non-existent, will be developed by tracing photographs and documents in the local museum, library and private ownership. These findings will be published in a book and DVD. Tuxford School PTA, Tuxford School. Lincoln Road. Tuxford, Newark. Nottinghamshire NG22 0JG. Finishing date: 31 Dec 07. Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £24750.

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The History of Tollerton Airfield From Inception to The Present. Tollerton is one of the oldest licensed airfields in the country and a significant local landmark. This project grew from attempts to identify people in old photographs of airfield personnel. Research will result in a book dvd, website and archive of oral history recordings. Copies and transcripts of the interviews have been deposited with Nottingham Local History Library and EMOHA. Keyworth & District Local History Society, Bob Hammond, 10 Beaumont Close. KEYWORTH. Nottinghamshire NG12 5JJ. Finishing date: 31 Dec 07. Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £21125.

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Warsop Main Colliery, Warsop Vale Village and its inhabitants from 1900 - Present Day. This project came about because of plans to demolish some 100 unoccupied properties within Warsop Vale and replace these with new houses. Coal mining was once the heartbeat of the local community and the group wishes to raise awareness of the impact mining had on the area both in its working life and its demise.

The intention is to interview members of the community, record their memories and photograph residents of the village and their surroundings. They will then produce a book and an oral history archive. A welcome pack will also be produced for the newcomers to the village in the new houses with information on the village and its history. Jack Winfield, Warsop Vale Local History Society. Finishing date: 31 Dec 2007. HLF grant of £18,150.

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