2012-2013 HLF Trainees at Etherow Country Park. L-R: Emma Harrold, Juliette Griffiths, Emma Hadley, Katie Paton, Emma Key, Greg Booth. Rosie Brady should be here although she now has a job with English Heritage, which is brilliant!
Since January all of the trainees and I have wanted to meet up and experience half a day in each of the Skills for the Future jobs. First we met Emma and Katie at the Local Heritage Library to find out about researching family history and local archive records, and using the archive and library stack. Then everyone came to the heritage stores and I showed them Modes, searching for objects, retrieving and wrapping objects, object marking and image reference numbers. We then met Emma and Greg for a walk around Etherow Country Park to see the area maintained and patrolled by the Countryside rangers, and the issues which can arise (such as changing water levels, repairing walkways, animal rescue!) and yesterday our visits culminated in a walk around Stockport with Juliette to see conservation areas and parts of Stockport which have been improved due to the Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI). We learnt about planning permission, appraisals, and inappropriate tarmac on conservation area cobblestones (!). Some of the new intake of HLF trainees joined us on this trip, so it was nice to meet the newbies and for us all to offer them any pearls of wisdom for their upcoming year. Here are a few images from our visits – click the images to open a gallery slideshow.
Family History and archiving at the Local Heritage Library
Emma showing us how to conduct family history research
Juliette using a family history website under instruction of Katie
County archives records book
Books
Rosie looking at a bound book of old newspapers, under the supervision of Emma
Juliette opening a box in the archive
A TV guide in the archive
Looking for one of my favourite books in the library stack
…I found it in the library stack!
Emma and Katie showing us some Boy Scouts ephemera
Boy Scouts diaries
The Plaza Cinema archives
Collections Management at the Cheadle Collection Stores
Teaching Rosie how to use Modes to search for an object
Showing the others a donation object and an Entry form. This is a money box made from a shell casing – Trench Art. It is a money box honest!
Katie, Emma and I looking at some object history files
The Entry and Transit racks in the store, leading up to our ‘above the workshop’ space
Above the workshop – we are keeping some objects for the new display case at the Air Raid Shelters here until they can be installed at the site
Unpacking Emma’s chosen object
Emma with her located object – a woollen green dress c.1880s
Juliette unpacking her object
Juliette retrieves her object – a Sasha doll manufactured under license in Stockport c.1960s
Countryside Management walk around Etherow Country Park
Etherow Country Park
A mandarin duck
Greg talking about the Coal Barge
Interpretation board
The Paddle House
Aimee, Juliette and Greg looking at the River
Bird watching
Mr Heron
Conservation Management walk around Stockport – Hillgate, Crowther Street and Dodge Hill
The Salvation Army building on Hillgate. Facade of building restored as part of THI
Salvation Army building
Walking down Hillgate
Hillgate THI
Intricate drainpipe, Hillgate THI
Juliette holds up an image of Lowry’s ‘Crowther Street’ at the setting of the painting
Crowther Street
A building contractor talks to us about the re-reconstruction of a building on Hillgate which was subject to an arson attack last year when a renovation was close to completion
Tarmac on cobblestones at Dodge Hill – not conservation area appropriate!
A Victorian terraced house for sale in the Conservation Area of Dodge Hill. This is the only house on the street with the original leaded sash windows
A mix of new and old. 2012-2013 & 2013-2014 HLF trainees. L-R: Katie Senior, Steven McLeish, Lauren Field, Emma Hadley, Juliette Griffiths, Lauren Binnie, Greg Booth, Katie Paton and Emma Harrold
Museum Musings 