Stories of an old bacon factory in Wiltshire, a rollerskating hotspot in Birmingham and a pigeon fanciers’ enclave in West Yorkshire are to be celebrated as part of an attempt to preserve England’s working-class heritage.
A beloved north-west nightclub, a London pub that helped launch the careers of 1970s and 80s pop and rock stars, and the bravery of a volunteer lifesaving brigade will also star in more than 50 projects funded by Historic England.
While upper-class and middle-class Englishness tends to be cherished and carefully protected, the concern is that precious tales of the working class can slip away.
Sean Curran, the head of inclusion at Historic England, said: “The real danger is that it’s easy to overlook working-class stories. There’s the idea of working-class lives and stories being a bit more ephemeral, maybe – more based on story-telling traditions and the kind of things people don’t necessarily keep. It’s not that the stories aren’t there but we may take them for granted, which is where the risk of loss comes from.”
One project called 40 Years, 40 Stories will give an insight into “the hidden stories” of people working in Chinatown in London from 1985. “I think it’s such a culturally rich place and a relatively small, confined, discrete area,” said Curran. “It is built on the back of workers, whether that’s the people in the restaurants, people who hang up the decorations for Chinese new year.”
A touring exhibition is to tell the story of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities living in Greensand Country, Bedfordshire, the last remnants of ancient heathland. A charity and arts organisation will work with the communities to tell their stories at local libraries.
In Calne, Wiltshire, the memories of factory workers employed at the C&T Harris Bacon factory will be gathered. The factory was founded in the 18th century and became a vital part of the town’s identity, but was demolished in the 1980s.
A community documentary will be made about the history of rollerskating in the Tower Ballroom by the Edgbaston reservoir, which began in the 1870s. This has also been demolished and replaced with housing.
Another beloved but lost venue was the Quadrant Park nightclub in Bootle, Merseyside. A project there will bring together those who frequented the club in the 1980s and 1990s and young people living in Bootle today.
In east London, the role of the Bridge House pub in Canning Town in launching bands such as Iron Maiden, Dire Straits and Depeche Mode will be studied.
By way of contrast, a new trail will be produced in the North Yorkshire village of Skinningrove to tell the story of the area through the tales of its pigeon fanciers.
And primary school pupils in Jarrow will come together to explore South Tyneside’s rich coastal history at the South Shields Volunteer Life Brigade’s Watch House. They will use lifesaving equipment from the late 1800s on the beach to stage their own rescue mission.
The Everyday Heritage grants programme received more than 380 applications and has chosen to fund 56 community-led projects. The total amount of funding will be £875,000, ranging from £6,800 to £25,000 for each individual project.
