History brought to life for young people in new £42,000 project

A £42,000 project which brings Derbyshire’s history to life for young people and their families will be launched at this weekend’s Wirksworth Festival.

Derbyshire County Council is running the Amazing Pop Up Archives project after securing Heritage Lottery Funding.

A series of events will showcase Derbyshire’s fascinating history to young people from the age of five to those in their early twenties, by bringing it to life through music, poetry and storytelling.

Over three million documents that explore the county’s history are held by the Council’s record office but they’re a resource unexplored by many young people. The pop-up events will make the archives accessible around the county, with residents able to discover the history of the place they live through the stories of people who lived in the past.

The first event will take place on Saturday and Sunday (10 and 11 September) at Wirksworth Festival where festival-goers will get to hear what life was like for a Georgian maid working at Chatsworth House through a storytelling performance. Younger visitors can go on a treasure hunt.

Visitors will also be able to become part of Derbyshire’s history by adding to a commonplace book − a traditional way to record anything about life today from recipes to news stories and diary entries to anecdotes. The book will go on display at the record office at the end of project and will then be archived for future generations to look back on.

Cabinet member for health and communities councillor Dave Allen said: “Our county has played an important role in history as the birthplace of the industrial revolution and our record office has a wealth of personal stories that helps us understand what life was like for ordinary people.

“But many young people in particular haven’t had chance to explore our archives. This project will take our history out into communities so young people and their families find it easier to understand what life would have been like for them at different points in Derbyshire’s history.”