Shortly after launching our Brighton & Hove street history research work in 2008 we were approached by local history groups interested to know how the project was structured and if it would work in other locations.
We were keen to help and quickly decided to make out project model and documentation available, free of charge, to anyone wanting to set up a similar initiative elsewhere.
Since then we have worked with organisations in a variety of countries, including 'Foundation Villa Fabrice’ in Italy and, much further afield, the Australian National Trust and Muzium Negara, the national museum of Malaysia.
Here in the UK, the project has been reported in the BBC’s ‘History’ magazine and in the Sunday Times. It has been extremely helpful to be able to quote from these publications at history and genealogical conferences to spread awareness of our work.
Similar projects now up and running include Pittville History Works in Cheltenham; one in Norbury and Crystal Palace run by The Norwood Society; and in the Who's Been Living in My House? managed by the Kemp Town Society on Brighton's eastern seafront.
If you would like to establish a similar project for your area, whether in a small village or a large urban space, do please contact us. We can offer you our own hard earned advice about the key issues and challenges you might face and will gladly make our recording methods, documents and systems available to you, free of charge.
If you would like to know more, please email nick@rth.org.uk.
