It’s said that only two things are certain in life: death and taxes. As we hurtle headlong towards the end of the financial year, we thought it might be interesting to know exactly why we have this current system whereby the calendar year starts on 1 January, but the tax year starts on 6 April.
Continue readingHappy New Year from all at Gloucestershire Archives and our Heritage Hub partners.
This blog details accessions received at Gloucestershire Archives during the second half of 2022. These can be from any place, person or organisation in Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire.
In that time we added 226 new accessions onto our online catalogue. This includes oral reminiscence recordings with members of different communities in Gloucester; documents concerning the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the Proclamation of King Charles III; research papers of local historians; Gloucester Rugby Football Club matchday programmes; cinema and theatre programmes; short films and other material concerning the Kindertransport hostel in Gloucester; records of the Ducarel family of Newland House; and Witts family papers, including correspondence and papers relating to the army and estate and finance, 20th century.
Continue readingRachel Wales ACR gets into the Halloween spirit…
As we approach Hallowe’en, we see lots of decorations featuring massive hairy spiders. As I fished yet another beefy specimen of Tegenaria domestica out of my bathtub the other morning, I wonder if this is because late summer and autumn are the times when we humans start spotting, and screaming at, house spiders as they roam about our kitchens, bathrooms and sitting rooms in search of mates. Autumn and spiders go hand in hand.
Continue readingOn Friday September 9th why not attend part or all of our History Festival/Voices Gloucester event, Innovations in Gloucester, in the Dunrossil Centre at Gloucestershire Heritage Hub?
It’s all free, although donations to Voices Gloucester are welcomed. Bring a picnic to enjoy in the Hub’s community garden. The building is fully accessible. There is some on-site parking (£3) – we’re also close to NCP car parks. For further details and to book a place see https://voicesgloucester.org.uk/events/innovations-in-gloucester/.
Continue readingFor day 26 of #Archive30 we are getting to know some of the amazing #ArchivePeople at Gloucestershire Heritage Hub. Learn more about some of our staff and volunteers below!
Continue readingAs Remembrance Day approaches, I thought I would share my findings in the Gloucester Borough Records (GBR/L6/23/B5018), on how the names of World War Two fallen on the Gloucester City War Memorial, in Gloucester Park, were collected by the Council using official sources and a public appeal.
My name is Natasha Young and I am a Digital Archive Trainee taking part in the 2021 cohort of Bridging the Digital Gap trainees. The traineeship is run by The National Archives and I have been seconded to Gloucestershire Archives to get hands-on archiving experience. I have had the privilege of learning traditional archiving skills from professional archivists and digital preservation experts in an active archive setting. As well as learning whilst working, The National Archives have also set up an online training program that teaches us how to be archivists and how to approach the various considerations for digital archiving and preservation.
Continue readingI was appointed as a Gloucestershire Archives trainee in January 2021 under the National Archives “Bridging the Digital Gap” scheme. My post has an emphasis on digital and technical skills and one of my tasks has focussed on the Cotswold Roundabout collection (D6112). This wonderful sound archive consists of programmes compiled and edited by the Cotswold Tape Recording Society from around 1960 to 1976. Originally called Hospital Roundabout, the programmes were designed to provide comfort and entertainment to hospital patients. The scope then widened to reach the elderly, the blind and the disabled, through clubs, homes and societies. .Despite being an amateur endeavour, the recordings were made in a professional manner and the quality of the audio is high. The content is extremely varied, showcasing the talents of local people and “characters”, from singing and stand up comedy to telling spooky tales. It also includes people’s reminiscences and unvarnished interviews about local trends.
On 7th December 2020 we signed the completion certificate for Gloucestershire Heritage Hub. This signified the end of the snagging period following the handover of the completed building and site in August 2019. It therefore seemed appropriate to bring to an end this series of Blogging a Building, started by Jill Shonk back in February 2017. You can read the whole series here by searching for Blogging a Building, and see a pictorial record of how the building project developed from January 2017 to December 2020. We accidently missed out number 18, ambitiously jumping from 17 to 19!
Continue readingI’m everyone’s volunteer. In normal times I would be dashing between Gloucester Cathedral, Berkeley Castle, Cheltenham College, Cobalt and of course Gloucestershire Archives. I like to use my brain to do something potentially useful, I like learning new things, meeting people with the same interests and chatting to fellow volunteers, friends I have made over the years. All that stopped with lockdown.
Gloucestershire Archives 