2011 Local Trading History Project
During 2011 Cheltenham Connect partnered with the St Philips and St James Area Residents Association (SPJARA) to run an oral history project with the four local primary schools. This was funded by a National Lottery Sustainability grant that was an extension of the Norwood Triangle Project.
The children learnt about the history of the area and particularly how shopping and food production has changed over the last century. They were involved in lots of fun activities that helped them think about the issues and they then interviewed older residents about their own memories. On this page you can see the films that were made of these interview sessions and can read and order a copy of the book that tells the story of the project.
The children learnt about the history of the area and particularly how shopping and food production has changed over the last century. They were involved in lots of fun activities that helped them think about the issues and they then interviewed older residents about their own memories. On this page you can see the films that were made of these interview sessions and can read and order a copy of the book that tells the story of the project.
The Book
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The children of Leckhampton Primary School interviewing local residents
The Children of Richard Pate and Naunton Park Primary Schools interviewing local residents
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About the Project
The history of the project stems from a collaboration between two local organizations – The St Philips and St James Area Residents Association (SPJARA) and Cheltenham Connect. The aim was to bring to life the fascinating trading history of the area, to help local schoolchildren understand the enormous changes that have happened to shopping and food production over the last century and to explore both the positive and negative impacts of these changes.
In 2011 SPJARA was given a National Lottery Sustainability grant as an outreach project for the local Norwood Triangle Project. The two organisations decided that it would be a good idea to work with all the local primary schools so that the children could find out more about the impact of the tramroad and how shopping and food production has changed over the last 80 years. They decided to do this as an ‘oral history project’ with the children interviewing older residents about their own memories of the area. History graduate Cecily Etherington then joined the team to help develop the project.
Over a period of two months four local schools were involved with more than 400 children participating. Each school first had a 90 minute presentation about the history of shopping and the changes that had happened over the last century. They included a number of fun challenges and exercises that helped the children think more deeply about the issues. Every child then took a letter home asking if there were any older members of the family that would like to take part in recorded history mornings. Two mornings were held where the schools came together with a panel of children asking pre-set questions, that they had helped to create, to an invited panel of older residents. The sessions were professionally recorded with the final films then shown on this website. The 'Exploring Local History' book was also created to tell the story of the project and to reveal some of the fascinating history and memories that the children helped to uncover.
In 2011 SPJARA was given a National Lottery Sustainability grant as an outreach project for the local Norwood Triangle Project. The two organisations decided that it would be a good idea to work with all the local primary schools so that the children could find out more about the impact of the tramroad and how shopping and food production has changed over the last 80 years. They decided to do this as an ‘oral history project’ with the children interviewing older residents about their own memories of the area. History graduate Cecily Etherington then joined the team to help develop the project.
Over a period of two months four local schools were involved with more than 400 children participating. Each school first had a 90 minute presentation about the history of shopping and the changes that had happened over the last century. They included a number of fun challenges and exercises that helped the children think more deeply about the issues. Every child then took a letter home asking if there were any older members of the family that would like to take part in recorded history mornings. Two mornings were held where the schools came together with a panel of children asking pre-set questions, that they had helped to create, to an invited panel of older residents. The sessions were professionally recorded with the final films then shown on this website. The 'Exploring Local History' book was also created to tell the story of the project and to reveal some of the fascinating history and memories that the children helped to uncover.