Here at Gloucestershire Archives, we are lucky enough to deal with many rare and unique items. One such item that recently made its way to us from Canada is the Catherine Dickinson sketchbook which has been assigned the reference D6/F172/5.
What is the connection between Gloucestershire, India and Canada you may very well ask?
Continue readingWorking out what you want to do in your career can feel like an impossible challenge. When I was at school, I had no idea what a good choice might be or what I was particularly interested in doing. Everything seemed appealing but nothing was jumping out to me. I wasn’t alone in this. The only people I knew who were certain of what they wanted to do with their lives all wanted to go into medicine. But they were the minority, everyone else was also drawing a blank.
Continue readingThe subject of mental health is very much in the news these days, but the historic record shows that the topic is anything but new. In fact, Gloucestershire Archives holds the largest collection of mental health records of any repository in the country. These are on the whole related to the City’s three mental health institutions Barnwood House Private Mental Hospital and Trust, Horton Road County Lunatic Asylum and Coney Hill Hospital.
Continue readingOur tale this time takes us to Cheltenham. Or as it was known when I was a wee boy “Chelpenum”. Cheltenham is the second biggest town in Gloucestershire after Gloucester which is the county town. Cheltenham is famed as a spa town and the home of the Cheltenham races. Cheltenham stands on the small River Chelt, which rises nearby at Dowdeswell and runs through the town on its way to the Severn. It was first recorded in 803, as Celtan hom; the meaning has not been resolved with certainty, but latest scholarship concludes that the first element preserves a Celtic noun cilta, ‘steep hill’, here referring to the Cotswold scarp; the second element may mean ‘settlement’ or ‘water-meadow’.
Continue readingIt is that time of the year again when we look at the accessions of the first quarter of the year, January to March 2024. The accessions can be from any place, person or organisation in Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire.
Continue readingI am so grateful to have a nose. Without having a nose and its scent detecting abilities, I would, for example, be unable to take in and fully appreciate the delightful, fragrant odours of hyacinth blooms in springtime.
But more importantly, without a nose there would be no way of easily homing in on hot dog stands with their alluring onion- and sausage-based aromas filling the air, acting as a huge smell-flag for me and my stomach to notice and then act upon.
Whilst we’re thinking about enticing food smells, one cannot fail to mention the ever-pleasurable sizzling bacon. Or the homely and comforting freshly baked bread. Recently brewed coffee too, that must be given plenty of consideration.
Actually, put all those three together, preferably into my stomach – bacon, fresh bread and coffee – and me and my nose will be satisfied for the rest of the day. Continue reading
In this blog post we want to welcome two new faces here at Gloucestershire Archives. We were recently joined by Archivist Briony and Apprentice Archives Assistant Ethan, they have both written a short piece to introduce themselves, read more below.
Continue readingThe records of the predecessor bodies to South Gloucestershire, Northavon Council and Kingswood Council have recently been catalogued and are fully available to view by the public.
I’m retiring after a very fulfilling and happy 36 (gulp!) years working at Gloucestershire Archives and have been asked to a write a farewell blog. So, here it is. I have eschewed any attempt at a chronological narrative, and instead have decided to focus on three collections which have run like threads throughout my career. My acquaintance with all three began early, during my ‘Collections’ era, and I’ve been able to reconnect with them several times as my role has become more outward focussed.
Continue readingBack in 2018, to commemorate 100 years of women’s suffrage, archive staff collectively worked on a PowerPoint exhibition, to highlight all types of activity by Gloucestershire women. There were slides on sportswomen, academics, teachers, musicians, writers, poets, and ladies who were not afraid to speak their minds, represent their communities and fight for change. This exhibition has been revisited whilst researching content for our forthcoming Saturday event, ‘Wonder Women’, 2 March 2024, 1-4pm.
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