Talking Points
Have you ever wondered why the person next to you in the reading room is spending days working through bundles of old correspondence, or what they find so fascinating about those registers?
Some of our readers explain here why they've been spending so much of their time in our reading rooms. You never know, maybe they will spark some ideas for new lines of research for you. There is such a wealth of material to explore. Click on the links to learn more. We are grateful to all of the contributors for sharing their experience and knowledge with us.
If you have made an intriguing discovery and would like to share it, why not get in touch with Tim Groom, Senior Archivist tim.groom@staffordshire.gov.uk.
Staffordshire's Historic Gardens : Dr Diane Barre has been digging around in the archives for evidence of the historic landscaping of Staffordshire's gardens and has unearthed some interesting results.
Researching Washington Family History : Joyce Moss has used a wide variety of sources to piece together the family tree and background of the Washington family of Cheshire and Staffordshire over the past six years.
The Bishop and his flock : Nigel Coulton is transcribing the correspondence register of Roger Northburgh, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, 1322-1358, and finding many interesting sidelights on church life and discipline in the fourteenth century.
Penkridge Re-visited : Michael Dawson has been researching his family history for many years and has discovered the many ups and downs of his ancestors' lives in the market town of Penkridge through a varied array of records.
Female criminal offenders in Stafford 1880-1920 : Jo Turner is researching the reform and reintegration of female criminal offenders in Stafford, 1880-1920, for a PhD. Her research will answer questions such as whether female offenders were able to return to their families, homes and jobs, or whether they felt the need to move on.
Thomas Peploe Wood : Randle Knight is transcribing the diaries of Thomas Peploe Wood (1817-1845), one of Staffordshire's most prolific artists, and has had some fascinating glimpses into his personal and professional life.
The development of a farming landscape in Stone : John Minkin is undertaking a survey of Stone Grange, a former property of Stone Priory later owned by the Leveson Gower family. This involves piecing together information from documents in a variety of collections in order to understand the history of individual farm holdings.
New light on parish apprenticeships in Staffordshire : Diana Grant has long experience of using parish pauper apprenticeship indentures for family history research, but more recently has been working on them more extensively. Here she sheds new light on the practice of parish apprenticeship in Staffordshire.
Using archives to support the teaching of history and citizenship : Maggie Brocklebank worked with Matthew Blake, Archivist (Learning and Access) to develop a History/Citizenship course used to stretch "gifted and talented" Year 13 students. She has also successfully used archives with Year 8 pupils.
School pupils talk about their experience of using archives : A variety of school pupils visit us - either entire classes or smaller groups of "gifted and talented" students. Here's what they thought about being given the opportunity to use original documents from the Tudor and Stuart periods.
Last Modified:
27/11/2008 11:33:42
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