TOP TEN LOCAL HISTORY SOURCES
Here are the top ten sources to use in local history:
Books: Don’t forget the old technology as they may have covered the subject
you are researching and can provide you with facts, dates and references to
other sources. A standard history for most areas of the country is The Victoria
County History series, very useful for facts and dates – ask your local library if
they exist for your area. There are seven volumes of this covering the Hull and
East Yorkshire area. The best way of getting the information you want from
them is to use the index at the back of the book.
Useful for covering KS 1/2 subjects on Victorian period, fishing industry,
WWII; Tudor life. KS 3 subjects of Slavery, English Civil War, Medieval
Hull. As well as any local history subjects for children and adults.
Maps: these can date back as far as the year dot (but not always). They are
useful for showing the growth of towns/cities, location of particular buildings or
their uses (e.g. hospitals, schools), changing street names and routes. They
are a very good source, but until the publication of Ordnance Survey maps in
the 1850s the accuracy of maps can not always be relied upon.
Useful for covering KS 1/2 Victorian studies as they will show the
development of Hull with its Victorian housing, industries and social
amenities; WWII with the RAF maps showing the extent of the bombing
raids in Hull; the fishing industry with the increase in docks including
the new docks built for the trawling industry; KS 3 for the study of
Medieval Hull and the Civil War. Also for any subjects on the history and
development of Hull.
Newspapers: Don’t really get started until the late 1700s, but do come right
up to date. They are useful for finding out about the news of the day; major
events; minor events; prices; crime; adverts; births, marriages, deaths; and
stories about people. Most libraries keep old newspapers on microfilm with
some indexes depending on the newspaper and the library.
Will cover KS 1/2 subjects of the Victorian period showing opinions on
national events as well as local issues around employment, industry,
housing; WWII for the damage inflicted on Hull and the children
evacuated from the City; fishing industry for trawler accidents. As well
as many subjects for children and adults (e.g. royal visits,
theatres/pastimes, events, industrial change, education/social/cultural
events, famous people - e.g. Amy Johnson).
Census returns: begun in 1801 these are most useful for family history
research. However, they have other purposes, for example: population
statistics; trades/occupations; living conditions; demographics; family make
up; social history; the population changes of an area; finding out who lived on
a particular street; biography. The down side as a resource is that for cities
and large towns they are easier to search by personal name and street name
than by an area; and people’s personal details are not made public for 100
© 2006
Resource provided by: www.mylearning.org
years on the census so for this kind of information the most up to date census
is 1901 (also people’s personal details were not collected prior to 1841).
Coverage of KS 1/2 subjects on the Victorian period as they will provide
a history of an area, show population growth, trades/occupation no
longer undertaken. Also suitable for any subjects on demographics and
social change as well as the history of streets and houses.
Directories: often called trade directories or Kelly’s directories. For Hull they
exist between 1781 and 1939. They provide information on trades and
occupations, who lived on a particular street, transport links (e.g. stagecoach,
train, tide times) and often give a potted history of towns and villages.
Good coverage for KS 1/2 Victorian period subjects and trades and
occupations in the fishing industry. Also useful for tracing the history of
streets houses and businesses.
Photographs: photography has been around from approximately 1850 and
photographs are a good source of how fashions have changed, showing old
trades and occupations and of how buildings, streets, towns looked as well
showing lost buildings/streets. The Hull Local Studies Library has
approximately 12,000 images including 2,000 Health Department
Photographs showing lost streets in Hull.
Suitable for KS 1/2 Victorian studies as they could show housing
conditions, costume, types of transport (e.g. horse and cart, steam
ships, steam railways); and for showing war damage. Other subjects
covered for all age groups includes: lost buildings, lost streets,
architecture, housing conditions, famous people.
Posters and leaflets: how many of you pick up theatre and cinema listings or
advertising for companies and their products? Do you keep them or throw
them away? They are useful for showing the wealth and variety of
entertainments that have been provided over the centuries. For instance did
you know that because someone saved the “posters” in Hull we can trace
theatre performances back to 1770! Similar material exists for old businesses
in Hull showing where they had their premises and what products they sold.
This collection also includes pamphlets from the English Civil War describing
the siege of Hull and supporting the parliamentarian or royalist causes.
Could be used in KS 1/2 Victorian studies demonstrating cultural
activities and industry of the period; and KS 3 English Civil War studies.
Also any subjects on theatre, pastimes, leisure and business.
Letters: these are an individuals personal thoughts and opinions, but they can
tell us about what life was like in a certain period, what the attitudes of the
period were and what the trends were (e.g. music, cinema etc). As an
example the Hull Local Studies Library has letters for: Amy Johnson, written in
the 1920s they show what university life was like and attitudes to marriage;
from the Great War we have the Hohenrein letters which provide an insight
into the attitudes of the period; and the Winifred Holtby letters show social
campaigning and the fight against the introduction of apartheid in South
Africa.
© 2006
Resource provided by: www.mylearning.org
These sources would cover any social history subjects in the period
they are written (e.g. women’s studies, attitudes to war, KS 1/2 Victorian
studies, KS 3 English Civil War).
Diaries: another personal document, but they often cover many years of a
person’s life and the events that have affected that life. Therefore they can tell
us about a whole period, for example: the social attitudes of the time, major
events happening in the area or nationally. Diaries are “an eyewitness” type of
reporting dealing with events as they happened.
Possible coverage of social history subjects in the period they are
written (e.g. WWI KS 1/2 WWII, attitudes of the day, KS 1/2 Victorian
period).
War Records: Sources for soldiers who died in the two world wars (for
example, those serving in the East Yorkshire Regiment in WWI), as well as
other information on regiments (e.g. The Snapper the journal of the East
Yorkshire Regiment). There are also sources for civilian war casualties and
bombing raids on towns and cities. Local newspapers are a good source of
information for all aspects of war at home and abroad. However, a word of
caution: because of the sensitive nature of a war period some information is
censored or not reported for fear of affecting morale and some towns are not
specifically named as a security precaution – throughout WWII the newspapers
referred to Hull as “a north-east coast town”.
Good coverage for KS 1/2 WWII subjects (e.g. Hull in the blitz, bombing
raids and evacuated children); and for any age group studying
war/military history.
© 2006
Resource provided by: www.mylearning.org