Practising Reparative Histories in Rural Heritage Sites
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Nottingham
Department Name: Sch of Geography
Abstract
The UK countryside includes iconic sites of national heritage. Country houses represent long-standing elite rural lifestyles while water-powered textile mills refer to Britain's past as an industrial pioneer. However these sites suffer from a lack of diversity in the histories presented and the visitors they attract. Black and Asian groups are more typically resident in urban areas and report feelings of isolation and difference during visits to the countryside. Many feel their heritage is not sufficiently represented in rural sites, despite evidence existing of key connections. In country houses portraits of Black or Asian figures, 'exotic' products and plants suggest these connections, while textile mills display raw cotton supplies grown in warmer climates. Yet these histories are rarely explored or explained and are often seen as challenging to address due to associations with colonial and slave trade practices.
This project seeks to connect together heritage organisations, Black and Asian community groups and academics in a collaboration which aims to benefit all parties. Drawing on evidence of historical connections with people of African and Asian descent its goals are to produce more diverse representations of Black and Asian histories in rural heritage sites and to change their organisational cultures. Two key examples of rural textile and country estate heritage sites have been selected as venues for the collaboration. The first is Cromford Mills is a key location in the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site in Derbyshire, designated due to its pioneering cotton textile industry. The second is Newstead Abbey is a well-known country estate particularly due to its associations with the poet Bryon. In both cases the collaborating groups have committed to a series of discussions, visits and co-production of new ways of presenting these sites and enhancing their meaning and appeal for ethnic minority groups and wider society.
This project seeks to connect together heritage organisations, Black and Asian community groups and academics in a collaboration which aims to benefit all parties. Drawing on evidence of historical connections with people of African and Asian descent its goals are to produce more diverse representations of Black and Asian histories in rural heritage sites and to change their organisational cultures. Two key examples of rural textile and country estate heritage sites have been selected as venues for the collaboration. The first is Cromford Mills is a key location in the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site in Derbyshire, designated due to its pioneering cotton textile industry. The second is Newstead Abbey is a well-known country estate particularly due to its associations with the poet Bryon. In both cases the collaborating groups have committed to a series of discussions, visits and co-production of new ways of presenting these sites and enhancing their meaning and appeal for ethnic minority groups and wider society.
Planned Impact
The project seeks to create benefits for a range of non-academic and academic groups who operate at scales from the local to the international. A core group is Black and Asian Minority Ethnic groups (from Britain or international visitors) whose ancestors have links to the British cotton industry and/or country estates and whose histories are typically neglected in such heritage sites. Visitors from these groups will benefit through seeing their histories more deeply considered and the enhanced sense of value and belonging that this engenders.This could encourage more BAME people (adult and children) to visit or work in heritage sites. The actively participating local BAME groups (SHSH and NSTL) will benefit from further engagement with academic, public and third sector bodies, further reflection on their connections with country estate and/or cotton heritage sites, the development of new skills in creative displays of these connections, enhanced senses of collective esteem, belonging and achievement, strengthening of community and cross-cultural interactions.
The managers of the heritage sites, their staff and volunteer guides are also key potential beneficiaries as they play a central role in presenting the sites to public visitors, including school groups. Very few of this group are currently from BAME backgrounds. They will benefit from increased interaction with BAME groups, their histories and perspectives with the aim of creating institutional change in terms of ethnic diversity. These interactions will increase the range of histories and perspectives presented and enhance the ability to communicate on challenging topics such as enslavement and colonialism.
Visitors (British and international) to the heritage sites will also benefit from exposure to enriched and more internationally connected histories. School children, students and their teachers will benefit from more diverse educational resources and learning experiences at the sites. This may also impact on teaching within schools, colleges and universities.
International experts in the heritage field, including the invited guests, as well as audiences of professional journals and World Heritage Site networks will benefit from the sharing of the project outputs in person, through webpages or through presentations. The international guests will also be able to share their own experiences and enrich further the perspectives of British BAME groups and heritage managers. The sharing of these experiences may also have impacts on heritage management and HEI teaching in international as well as national contexts. Teaching at the host HEI will be further enhanced by use of the project's heritage outcomes in student modules. These will also be shared via professional discipline networks in Geography and History at institutional, national and international levels though relevant presentations and publications.
The managers of the heritage sites, their staff and volunteer guides are also key potential beneficiaries as they play a central role in presenting the sites to public visitors, including school groups. Very few of this group are currently from BAME backgrounds. They will benefit from increased interaction with BAME groups, their histories and perspectives with the aim of creating institutional change in terms of ethnic diversity. These interactions will increase the range of histories and perspectives presented and enhance the ability to communicate on challenging topics such as enslavement and colonialism.
Visitors (British and international) to the heritage sites will also benefit from exposure to enriched and more internationally connected histories. School children, students and their teachers will benefit from more diverse educational resources and learning experiences at the sites. This may also impact on teaching within schools, colleges and universities.
International experts in the heritage field, including the invited guests, as well as audiences of professional journals and World Heritage Site networks will benefit from the sharing of the project outputs in person, through webpages or through presentations. The international guests will also be able to share their own experiences and enrich further the perspectives of British BAME groups and heritage managers. The sharing of these experiences may also have impacts on heritage management and HEI teaching in international as well as national contexts. Teaching at the host HEI will be further enhanced by use of the project's heritage outcomes in student modules. These will also be shared via professional discipline networks in Geography and History at institutional, national and international levels though relevant presentations and publications.
| Title | Bengali Women's Support Group's cotton wall hanging |
| Description | A cotton wall hanging celebrating the Sheffield 'Spinning a Yarn, Weaving a Story' element of the PRH project, made by the Bengali Women's Support Group. A photograph of the hanging is included on p.43 of the 'Spinning a Yarn, Weaving a Poem' poetry collection (2018) edited by Debjani Chatterjee. |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | The cotton wall hanging has been used at the Sheffield Family Shakha's cotton project celebration event on 17 Mar 2018 held at the Sheffield Hindu Samaj Temple in Sheffield and at the PRH celebration events at Cromford Mills on 21 April 2018 which were open to the wider project team (including the Arkwright Society staff and volunteers, Nottingham Slave Trade Legacies group), international guests and visitors. |
| Title | Blood Sugar poem-based film |
| Description | This film has been produced by the Nottingham Slave Trade Legacies (NSTL) group in collaboration with Nottingham-based African Caribbean creative writer, Michelle Hubbard, Nottingham-based African Caribbean illustrator, Kim Thompson, and African Caribbean director, Dr Shawn Naphtali Sobers (UWE). It reflects creatively on the connections of Newstead Abbey with the transatlantic slave trade - through owner, Thomas Wildman's ownership of sugar plantations and enslaved African people in Jamaica. The poem was written by Michelle Hubbard drawing on creative workshops held with the NSTL group and she reads the narrative. Kim Thompson has provided creative visuals, again drawing on ideas from creative workshops held with the NSTL. The NSTL group perform to the story board created by Shawn Sobers in the setting of Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire. The film has been co-funded by Nottingham City Museums and Galleries. It was installed as part of the new interpretative displays in the Beckett room at Newstead Abbey in March 2018 and is freely available on Youtube (872 views - March 2019). |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | Blood Sugar was shortlisted for the AHRC Research in Film Awards 2018 in the People on the Move category. It was publicised at the awards evening in Nov 2018 and via the https://ahrc.ukri.org/research/readwatchlisten/features/rifa-2018-people-on-the-move-award-stories-of-new-beginnings-category/ It has been received favourably by the Curatorial Department of English Heritage. It has been used to inform a forthcoming ITV Central programme on Midlands country houses and the slave trade. It has been shown to those involved in its making, the Nottingham Slave trade Legacies group members, the local and national artists commissioned, and the academic and heritage partners. It has been shared with international experts in slavery heritage from Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, St Lucia; Howard University, Washington, USA; Georgia Southern University, Savannah, USA; and University of Mary Washington, Virginia, USA. It has been on display at Newstead Abbey from March 2018. It has been shown at the Nottingham Broadway cinema in Nov 2018. |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eos2yZxuYmY |
| Title | Cotton and Slavery embroidery and applique art work |
| Description | This material artwork of embroidery and applique reflects creatively on the linkages between Cromford Mills and mills in the wider Derwent Valley in Derbyshire, the slave trade triangle and cotton plantations in the Americas. It has been created by a member of the Nottingham Slave Trade Legacies group, Evadney Jalloh, drawing on a creative workshop held with the group. It highlights the historical linkages between cotton grown on the Caribbean island of Carriacou and the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site and reworks problematic plantation images from the slavery era. |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | This artwork is being used as an illustration in the new interpretation panels at the Gateway Visitor Centre of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site at Cromford Mills, which opened in April 2018. |
| Title | DVMWHS Gateway Visitor Centre, Cromford Mills Phase 2 |
| Description | Archival research from the GCC project and further processes of creative reflection on these historical materials under the PRH project led to the following further co-produced elements fed into Phase 2 of the DVMWHS Gateway Visitor Centre development: 1) a co-produced interpretative panel added to the global workers' mural in response to heritage professional and volunteer guide feedback; 2) a BAME-community volunteer focused interpretative space focused on the links of cotton to the transatlantic slave trade and the Indian sub-continent involving visual and audio materials (the latter described further in the DVD Voices of Global Cotton Connection). This material has been developed collaboratively with the Nottingham-based Slave Trade Legacies group and Sheffield South Asian groups, in liaison with the Arkwright Society and its heritage consultants, Tandem and the DVMWHS. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | The new Visitor Centre materials were positively received by the BAME groups involved in the process and their wider families and friends, the Arkwright Society and the international guests at the PRH celebration event held at Cromford Mills in April 2018. BAME volunteers and their families and friends have reported enhanced self-esteem and self-determination through the process and have been encouraged to visit Cromford more in future: "I'd never been before and now I'm more likely to go and I'm more likely to take people there to see because I've said to people that you haven't been to Cromford and there's wonderful work, I've said you must visit Cromford, make a trip it's a nice place to visit", STL volunteer, 2018. Other visitor feedback is currently being monitored. |
| Title | Input into the Beckett Room, Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire |
| Description | The PRH project has provided the following inputs into the Beckett Room a new interpretative space at Newstead Abbey: 1) an historical narrative of the connections of the Wildman family to transatlantic slavery; 2) the co-produced poem-based film, Blood Sugar, led by the Nottingham-based Slave Trade Legacies volunteers and supported by historical research. The Blood Sugar film is more fully described in a separate entry. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | Newstead's Curator described this as "a transformative project" in 2018. Visitor feedback at the site is currently being monitored. |
| Title | Sheffield Family Shakha's cotton collage display |
| Description | A cotton collage made by families from the Sheffield Family Shakha which celebrates South Asian cotton culture in a creative display. A photograph and description of the collage is included on pp.43-44 of the 'Spinning a Yarn, Weaving a Poem' poetry collection (2018) edited by Debjani Chatterjee. |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Impact | The cotton collage display has been used at various Sheffield Family Shakha events in 2017 and 2018, including the cotton project celebration event on 17 Mar 2018 held at the Sheffield Hindu Samaj Temple in Sheffield. It was also displayed at the PRH celebration events at Cromford Mills on 21 April 2018 which were open to the wider project team (including the Arkwright Society staff and volunteers, Nottingham Slave Trade Legacies group), international guests and visitors. |
| Title | Spinning a Yarn, Weaving a Poem, poetry collection edited by Debjani Chatterjee |
| Description | A collection of cotton-related poetry created by members of South Asian groups in Sheffield through workshops facilitated by Sheffield-based Indian heritage writer, Dr Debjani Chatterjee. These poems reflect on the cultural, political, religious and economic importance of cotton in the Indian subcontinent. |
| Type Of Art | Creative Writing |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | This publication has been reviewed by Barry Tebb, Poet & Publisher (Sixties Press) in the literary magazine A Restricted View From Under The Hedge ('ARFUR' for short) by Hedgehog Press in October/November 2018. |
| Title | Voices of the Global Cotton Connections |
| Description | A DVD slideshow featuring audio histories about the global cotton connections of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site and project member perspectives on the GCC and PRH projects, supported by illustrations from the projects. The recordings feature: interviews with project representatives from the Nottingham Slave Trade Legacies (Vivinne Bramwell) and Sheffield South Asian group (Debjani Chatterjee) volunteers, the PI (Susanne Seymour, University of Nottingham), and the Arkwright Society (Hannah Steggles, Head of Heritage); Sheffield South Asian volunteers' reflections in poetry on cotton connections of the Indian sub-continent; Nottingham Slave Trade Legacies volunteers' reflections on enslaved life on cotton plantations in the Americas, inspired by real life narratives; family testimony from descendants of enslaved African people on the Mount Pleasant Plantation Carriacou which supplied raw cotton to the Strutt family business in the DVMWHS; and Michelle 'Mother' Hubbard reading her poem 'A Sack Full of Cotton', commissioned as part of the GCC project in 2015 and included in the Global Cotton Connections (2015) film. These recordings are slightly expanded versions of those found on the audio points installed in the DVMWHS Gateway Visitor Centre at Cromford Mills in April 2018. |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | Copies of the DVD slideshow were distributed to project members (Nottingham Slave Trade Legacies volunteers; Sheffield South Asian volunteers; the Arkwright Society staff and volunteers; Bright Ideas Nottingham, university partners), the wider family and friends of volunteers and the international guests at the PRH cotton project celebration event held at Cromford Mills on 21 April 2018. |
| Description | The main developments of this grant have been as follows. 1) The heritage outputs detailed elsewhere (cotton heritage interpretation panels and audios at DVMWHS Gateway Visitor Centre, Cromford Mills; the country house and slavery interpretation and Blood Sugar poem film at Newstead Abbey; the Sheffield cotton poetry collection; the Nottingham cotton art work). 2)The development (Newstead Abbey) and enhancement (Cromford Mills) of research and heritage interpretation collaborations between heritage professionals, BAME community groups and university researchers, as evidenced through the heritage materials produced to date for the sites. Of particular note here has been the use of terminology and visual imagery derived from BAME groups for use in heritage interpretation and the co-writing of text. 3) The sharing of the new heritage materials and the research process through site visits and workshops with international rural heritage experts; through the AHRC Research in Film Awards 2018 event and online sharing of Blood Sugar film with national heritage experts and academics; and through a Nottingham free public showing of the Blood Sugar film to local academic and African Caribbean audiences. 4) The identification of further avenues of research and heritage interpretation both within the DVMWHS and at Newstead Abbey. Some further historical research has been undertaken on cotton suppliers in the DVMWHS, funded by a small grant from the Arkwright Society, with a report submitted in Dec 2018. An Arts Council, Nottingham City Council and University of Nottingham supported part-time Academic Residency at Newstead Abbey was agreed in 2018 and undertaken in 2019. This has examined the slavery, colonial and black history of Newstead Abbey and involved Seymour as PI and Bates as PDR and an unpublished report produced for Nottingham City Museums and Galleries service. A successful NLHF grant application led by Bates, Bright Ideas Nottingham and the Slave Trade Legacies group, with the support of Seymour, is now investigating the slavery associations of Darley Abbey and the Evans family cotton textile mills in the DVMWHS. Seymour joined the DVMWHS Research sub-group in 2018 and the DVMWHS Vital Valley Scheme Board in 2017 and is promoting BAME-focused history and heritage initiatives in these roles. |
| Exploitation Route | These findings have the potential be taken further by all the collaborating partners (heritage professionals, BAME community groups and academics) in their future work, for example through the development by heritage professionals of co-production protocols for future BAME heritage interpretation and through the commissioning of BAME creative artists. They also hold interest as examples of collaboration over so-called 'difficult histories' for other heritage, academic and community groups in the UK and internationally - an element encouraged through the project's international workshop and presentations at other national events and in the development of publications. The findings are of interest to academic colleagues for teaching and research purposes. |
| Sectors | Creative Economy Leisure Activities including Sports Recreation and Tourism Culture Heritage Museums and Collections Other |
| URL | http://ancestorsvoices.home.blog/derwent-valley-mills/ |
| Description | The project first developed societal impact, with subsequent economic impact following the opening of the new heritage interpretation materials. This has been achieved in the following ways. Firstly through support of BAME community heritage groups in Nottingham and Sheffield to develop heritage materials relating to cotton histories (both groups) and country estate, slavery and sugar histories (Nottingham group) and to contribute to the development of heritage interpretation at the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site Gateway Visitor Centre at Cromford Mills, Derbyshire (second phase - both groups) and at Newstead Abbey (Nottingham group). The key products here are: interpretation panels and audios developed for the DVMWHS Gateway Visitor Centre, Cromford Mills (both groups) (opened April 2018); a 2018 cotton poetry collection (Sheffield South Asian groups); a cotton art work (Nottingham Slave Trade Legacies group); a 2018 film of the poem Blood Sugar (NSTL group); and contributions to the heritage interpretation in the Beckett room at Newstead Abbey, including the Blood Sugar film (on display from late Mar 2018). The creative materials have been produced mainly in collaboration with local artists, writers and creative makers commissioned from the BAME communities, with input also from a national film expert from the African Caribbean community. Secondly, through the enhanced (DVMWHS) and new (Newstead Abbey) heritage interpretation materials (panels and audios - DVMWHS - and Blood Sugar film and narrative interpretation - Newstead Abbey) - both of which opened to visitors in spring 2018. This includes advisory input into a new film for visitors at Cromford Mills issued in 2022. Thirdly through the on-going support of institutional cultural change as evidenced in collaborations with the heritage teams at The Arkwright Society and Newstead Abbey over the development of new on-site heritage materials and ongoing involvement in the DVMWHS through advice on research and policy development and new heritage interpretation materials. Fourthly by a new collaboration with sculptor, Rachel Carter, and her Standing in This Place project on which I have acted as an historical advisor. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2018 |
| Sector | Creative Economy,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Other |
| Impact Types | Cultural Societal Economic |
| Description | DVMWHS Enslavement Acknowledgement, Diversity and Representation Workshop 8 June 2021 |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site Research Sub-group |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Description | Natural England workshop 11 Nov 2021 |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Royal Geographical Society, Historical Geography Research Group PGR Training event |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Vital Valley (DVMWHS) Scheme Board member |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Description | Academic Residency with Nottingham City Museums and Galleries on Newstead Abbey's Slavery, Colonial and Black Histories |
| Amount | £9,816 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Arts Council England |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2019 |
| End | 01/2020 |
| Description | Archival research on Derwent Valley Mills cotton |
| Amount | £4,075 (GBP) |
| Organisation | The Arkwright Society |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2017 |
| End | 12/2018 |
| Description | ESRC Festival of Social Science event 2022 |
| Amount | £1,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Nottingham |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 06/2022 |
| End | 11/2022 |
| Description | Local Collaboration Fund: Research Grant Co-Development Workshop on Slavery, Cotton and Lace |
| Amount | £800 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Nottingham |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2020 |
| End | 03/2020 |
| Description | The Arkwrights and Slavery: A scoping Report |
| Amount | £3,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Derbyshire County Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2021 |
| End | 07/2021 |
| Description | Nottingham City Museums and Galleries |
| Organisation | Nottingham City Council |
| Department | Museums, Galleries and Attractions |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Under this partnership the Practising Reparative Histories project supported the work of NCMG at Newstead Abbey through the provision of new historical background materials and creative writing and film heritage interpretation materials on sugar, slavery and the Wildmans for use in the new interpretation rooms at Newstead and on the Newstead website; through facilitating interactions and cultural learning with other project partners, including African Caribbean community groups; and through facilitating the sharing of this project work more widely. The 2019 Academic Residency which followed has led to a substantial research report on the Slavery, Colonial and Black Histories of Newstead Abbey. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Nottingham City Museums and Galleries representatives joined the Practising Reparative Histories project Steering Group and contributed to the co-design of PRH activities. They hosted community group visits from the Nottingham Slave Trade Legacies group to Newstead Abbey and facilitated interactions with NCMG staff and volunteers. They contributed exhibition space for the project activities at Newstead Abbey and on the Newstead website. They provided expert input and additional funding in relation to the NSTL group film of the poem Blood Sugar. They have displayed the Blood Sugar film at Newstead Abbey from March 2018. They have provided Arts Council funding for the 2019 Academic Residency and are using the report findings in the re-interpretation of Newstead Abbey. |
| Impact | The main outputs to date are: Heritage interpretation materials on sugar, slavery and the Wildmans in the Beckett room at Newstead Abbey (opened in March 2018); Creative heritage materials in the form of the film of the Blood Sugar poem in the Beckett room at Newstead Abbey (opened in March 2018). An unpublished research report (2020) from the Arts Council funded Academic Residency. The disciplines involved are: geography, history, heritage. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Sheffield South Asian groups |
| Organisation | Bengali Women's Support Group |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Practising Reparative Histories project staff have built on the previous GCC collaboration with the Sheffield Hindu Samaj and developed links with new South Asian groups from Sheffield through facilitating engagement with cotton heritage venues and staff, including contributions to the design of heritage interpretation facilities in the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site (DVMWHS) Gateway Visitor Centre at Cromford Mills (opened in April 2018).They have supported the groups in the realisation of key outputs: a new poetry collection published in 2018 Spinning a Yarn, Weaving a Poem, edited by Debjani Chatterjee; the Bengali Women's Group's cotton wall hanging and the Sheffield Family Shakha's cotton collage display. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Members of the Sheffield Hindu Samaj and other South Asian groups in Sheffield (Sheffield Family Shakha, Aastha over 50s group, the Healing Word, Sheffield Stanza and the Bengali Women's Support Group) have been involved in a third strand of heritage focused work on cotton, under the Practising Reparative Histories (PRH) grant. They have called their part of the project, Spinning a Yarn, Weaving a Story, and have brought South Asian historical, artistic and creative perspectives to the impact and engagement work. Under this grant they have contributed to the design of interpretation panels and audio points in the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site at Cromford Mills (opened in April 2018), put together a poetry collection (published in 2018, entitled Spinning a Yarn, Weaving a Poem, edited by Debjani Chatterjee), created a cotton wall hanging and a cotton collage and run events involving story telling, poetry reading, creative textile work and children's puppet shows. A member of the Sheffield Hindu Samaj has facilitated the PRH grant work in Sheffield, sitting on the project steering group, organising involvement in visits and workshops and running poetry and story-telling events. |
| Impact | The preparation of a volume of poetry entitled, 'Spinning a Yarn, Weaving a Story' (published in 2018); the Bengali Women's Support Group cotton wall hanging (2018) and the Sheffield Family Shakha's cotton collage display (2017). Input into the second phase of the DVMWHS Gateway Visitor Centre at Cromford Mills through audio recordings and interpretation panels (opened in April 2018). Disciplines involved are: geography, history, creative writing, heritage. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Sheffield South Asian groups |
| Organisation | Hindu Samaj Sheffield & District |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Practising Reparative Histories project staff have built on the previous GCC collaboration with the Sheffield Hindu Samaj and developed links with new South Asian groups from Sheffield through facilitating engagement with cotton heritage venues and staff, including contributions to the design of heritage interpretation facilities in the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site (DVMWHS) Gateway Visitor Centre at Cromford Mills (opened in April 2018).They have supported the groups in the realisation of key outputs: a new poetry collection published in 2018 Spinning a Yarn, Weaving a Poem, edited by Debjani Chatterjee; the Bengali Women's Group's cotton wall hanging and the Sheffield Family Shakha's cotton collage display. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Members of the Sheffield Hindu Samaj and other South Asian groups in Sheffield (Sheffield Family Shakha, Aastha over 50s group, the Healing Word, Sheffield Stanza and the Bengali Women's Support Group) have been involved in a third strand of heritage focused work on cotton, under the Practising Reparative Histories (PRH) grant. They have called their part of the project, Spinning a Yarn, Weaving a Story, and have brought South Asian historical, artistic and creative perspectives to the impact and engagement work. Under this grant they have contributed to the design of interpretation panels and audio points in the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site at Cromford Mills (opened in April 2018), put together a poetry collection (published in 2018, entitled Spinning a Yarn, Weaving a Poem, edited by Debjani Chatterjee), created a cotton wall hanging and a cotton collage and run events involving story telling, poetry reading, creative textile work and children's puppet shows. A member of the Sheffield Hindu Samaj has facilitated the PRH grant work in Sheffield, sitting on the project steering group, organising involvement in visits and workshops and running poetry and story-telling events. |
| Impact | The preparation of a volume of poetry entitled, 'Spinning a Yarn, Weaving a Story' (published in 2018); the Bengali Women's Support Group cotton wall hanging (2018) and the Sheffield Family Shakha's cotton collage display (2017). Input into the second phase of the DVMWHS Gateway Visitor Centre at Cromford Mills through audio recordings and interpretation panels (opened in April 2018). Disciplines involved are: geography, history, creative writing, heritage. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Sheffield South Asian groups |
| Organisation | Sheffield Mental Health Guide |
| Department | The Healing Word |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Practising Reparative Histories project staff have built on the previous GCC collaboration with the Sheffield Hindu Samaj and developed links with new South Asian groups from Sheffield through facilitating engagement with cotton heritage venues and staff, including contributions to the design of heritage interpretation facilities in the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site (DVMWHS) Gateway Visitor Centre at Cromford Mills (opened in April 2018).They have supported the groups in the realisation of key outputs: a new poetry collection published in 2018 Spinning a Yarn, Weaving a Poem, edited by Debjani Chatterjee; the Bengali Women's Group's cotton wall hanging and the Sheffield Family Shakha's cotton collage display. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Members of the Sheffield Hindu Samaj and other South Asian groups in Sheffield (Sheffield Family Shakha, Aastha over 50s group, the Healing Word, Sheffield Stanza and the Bengali Women's Support Group) have been involved in a third strand of heritage focused work on cotton, under the Practising Reparative Histories (PRH) grant. They have called their part of the project, Spinning a Yarn, Weaving a Story, and have brought South Asian historical, artistic and creative perspectives to the impact and engagement work. Under this grant they have contributed to the design of interpretation panels and audio points in the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site at Cromford Mills (opened in April 2018), put together a poetry collection (published in 2018, entitled Spinning a Yarn, Weaving a Poem, edited by Debjani Chatterjee), created a cotton wall hanging and a cotton collage and run events involving story telling, poetry reading, creative textile work and children's puppet shows. A member of the Sheffield Hindu Samaj has facilitated the PRH grant work in Sheffield, sitting on the project steering group, organising involvement in visits and workshops and running poetry and story-telling events. |
| Impact | The preparation of a volume of poetry entitled, 'Spinning a Yarn, Weaving a Story' (published in 2018); the Bengali Women's Support Group cotton wall hanging (2018) and the Sheffield Family Shakha's cotton collage display (2017). Input into the second phase of the DVMWHS Gateway Visitor Centre at Cromford Mills through audio recordings and interpretation panels (opened in April 2018). Disciplines involved are: geography, history, creative writing, heritage. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | The Arkwright Society |
| Organisation | Cromford Mill |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This official partnership builds on previous collaboration through the GCC project. Under the Practising Reparative Histories project, a representative of the Arkwright Society was a member of the project Steering Group. The PRH project supported the work of The Arkwright Society and the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site (DVMWHS) more broadly through the provision of new interpretative materials on the global cotton story for use in the DVMWHS Gateway Visitor Centre located at Cromford Mills, Derbyshire and on the Arkwright Society website, through facilitating interactions and cultural learning with other project partners, including African Caribbean and South Asian community groups, and through facilitating the sharing of this project work more widely. New archival materials were also provided through funding from HLF through the Arkwright Society. The NLHF project, Legacy Makers, ran a day of Black History month events at Cromford Mills on the connections between the DVM and slavery in October 2019. Susanne Seymour made a presentation on the Strutt family's cotton textile mills and slavery. |
| Collaborator Contribution | A member of the Arkwright Society heritage staff was a Co-Investigator on the Practising Reparative Histories project and sat on the Project Steering group. The Arkwright Society has contributed to the co-design of the cotton-related project activities based in the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site (DVMWHS), Derbyshire. The Arkwright Society has hosted community group visits to Cromford Mills and facilitated interactions with its staff and volunteers, contributed exhibition space for the project activities in the DVMWHS Gateway Visitor Centre at Cromford Mills and on its website, and provided expert input and additional funding in relation to the development of interpretation panels and audio points in the DVMWHS Gateway Visitor Centre. Volunteers and staff from the Arkwright Society manage and provide interpretation of the materials developed through the Global Cotton Connections and Practising Reparative Histories projects. The Arkwright Society hosted a day of Black History month events at Cromford Mills in collaboration with the Bright Ideas-led Legacy Makers project (funded by NLHF) in October 2019. |
| Impact | The main outputs are: Heritage interpretation panels in the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site (DVMWHS) Gateway Visitor Centre, Cromford Mills (opened in April 2018); Audio point recordings in the DVMWHS Gateway Visitor Centre, Cromford Mills (opened in April 2018). Black History Month day event (Oct 2019) as part of the Legacy Makers project. Advisory input into a new visitor film at Cromford Mills (2022). The disciplines involved are: geography, history, heritage. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | BBC Songs of Praise Newstead Abbey 30 May 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Susanne Seymour and colleagues from the Legacy Makers community group featured on a special issue of BBC Songs of Praise programme from Newstead Abbey. They discussed their research on the Abbey's slavery connections, their involvement in heritage interpretation and why it is important and their film Blood Sugar (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eos2yZxuYmY) made in 2018 which is on display at Newstead. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Black History Month talk for Belper North Mill Trust, Oct 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Supporters |
| Results and Impact | Susanne Seymour was invited to speak at this Black History Month event hosted by Belper North Mill Trust. It was advertised by the Trust to its volunteers, members of the DVMWHS team and wider publics. It was intended to disseminate further understanding of the historical research and heritage interpretation work undertaken through the Global Cotton Connections and Practising Reparative Rural Histories projects. The talk entitled, Recognising the contribution of enslaved African lives to the Strutts' cotton spinning industry at Belper: historical research and heritage interpretation in the Derwent Valley, sparked questions and discussion afterwards and on-going interest in the topic area from Belper North Mill Trust volunteers and DVMWHS staff. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.belpertowncouncil.gov.uk/news/2020/10/a-talk-for-black-history-month-by-dr-susanne-seymo... |
| Description | Blood Sugar film show Broadway Nottingham, 24 Nov 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Public screening and discussion of the PRH project film Blood Sugar at Broadway, Nottingham. This allowed members of the Nottingham Slave Trade Legacies group and the PRH project team to share their experiences of making the film and their wider research and impact activities and to collect audience and volunteer feedback. It also acted as a venue for the presentation to the STL group volunteers of the University of Nottingham Longstanding Volunteer Award 2018. There were several questions about the research process and plans for future activities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/blood-sugar-a-co-produced-film-on-the-slavery-history-of-newstead-abb... |
| Description | Cotton audio recordings, Cromford, 3 Feb 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Representatives of the Nottingham Slave Trade Legacies group, Sheffield South Asian groups, the Arkwright Society and Carriacou descendants met to record audios for use in the DVMWHS Gateway Visitor Centre at Cromford Mills, Derbyshire. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Cotton-on podcast: Links from Derbyshire Mills to the global slave trade Oct 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A podcast for the Fleet Arts project with Belper Youth Council (Derbyshire) whose activities included pop-up exhibitions in Belper during Black History Month 2022 and website materials. Members of Belper Youth Council interviewed me and two other experts to explore Belper's links with transatlantic slavery, cotton mill life and protest and activism today. A key outcome was the engagement of young people with these issues. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://fleet-arts.org/cotton-on/ |
| Description | Country estate workshop Newstead, 12 Sept 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Around 20 members of the Nottingham Slave Trade Legacies group, including Michelle Hubbard and Kim Thompson, met to discuss and refine poetry and illustrations suggested for use in the interpretation at Newstead Abbey, hosted by the Newstead curator. Michelle performed a new poem, Blood Sugar, inspired by her previous workshop with the group.The heritage partners and the group agreed on the use of the poem at Newstead in a film format. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Country estate workshop Nottingham, 22 July 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Around 15 members of the Nottingham Slave Trade Legacies group discussed historical materials (words and images) on sugar production and enslaved sugar workers and explored the potential of creative writing and illustration for use in the interpretation of Newstead Abbey. The creative writing was facilitated by Michelle Hubbard and a group poem drafted; the creative illustration was facilitated by Kim Thompson and ideas proposed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Cromford Mills visit 29 April 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Members of Nottingham Slave Trade Legacies group and Sheffield South Asian groups visited Cromford Mills, the project's key cotton heritage site, hosted by The Arkwright Society. The visit allowed the Nottingham and Sheffield groups to view and provide feedback on the heritage interpretation work achieved as part of the Global Cotton Connections project, to interact with heritage partners, to make suggestions for further interpretation and to collect materials relevant to further interpretative work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Derby Museums: In Conversation Audio interview, Feb 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Susanne Seymour was invited to take part Derby Museum's 'In Conversation' audio interview series. She spoke with Derby Museums' Executive Director Tony Butler about her research on the histories and legacies of historical transatlantic slavery in cotton mills and rural estates in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire and initiatives to tell these stories in heritage sites. The purpose was to share details of this research and to promote further understanding of the the impacts of slavery and colonialism in the countryside and its on-going legacies. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.derbymuseumsfromhome.com/podcast/in-conversation-tony-butler-and-dr-susanne-seymour |
| Description | Evans talk for Legacy Makers project, Darley Abbey Derbyshire, 27 July 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Presentation to the Legacy Makers (National Lottery Heritage Fund) project participants and members of the public, including many from BME backgrounds and local residents, at Darley Abbey, Derbyshire on 'Slavery and supplies of raw cotton to the Evans family in the Derwent Valley' on 27/7/19. The purpose was to provide a baseline of existing research on the topic from which the archival research of the Legacy Makers project could build. The Legacy Makers project is on-going. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://legacymakers.home.blog/blog-feed/ |
| Description | Festival of Social Science 2022: Remembering transatlantic cotton workers 12 Nov 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Film shows and panel discussion with community partners, Legacy Makers and Rachel Carter reflecting on the history and legacies of transatlantic slavery and female employment in the East Midlands textile industries. The films were made through the Legacy Makers NHLF project on Darley Abbey Mills in the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site, Derbyshire and Rachel Carter's Arts Council project Standing in This Place. The latter film was also supported by a small grant from the Political Geography funding hub, School of Geography, University of Nottingham. The event attracted a strong audience of c.70 people, many of African Caribbean heritage, and positive audience engagement and subsequent feedback, such as "I'm much more well informed about the project and learnt details about the slave trade legacy that I didn't know before ! Keep up the good work guys !" and "It made me realise that there were a number of further ways in which I could join in the work of these groups ... and finding out how to spread/share ideas and ensure the work is ongoing". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://festivalofsocialscience.com/events/remembering-transatlantic-cotton-workers-the-enslaved-and... |
| Description | Filming at Newstead for ITV Central, 15 February 2019 and 1 April 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | The Slave Trade Legacies group volunteers, Susanne Seymour and curator Simon Brown took part in filming at Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire, reflecting on our experiences and achievements at the site. The coverage featured on Peter Bearne's Central ITV News special series, A Place in the Country, in April/May 2019. This considered the relationship between the English countryside and ethnic minority groups: https://www.itv.com/news/central/2019-05-01/a-place-in-the-country-part-2/.on country houses and slavery legacies in the Midlands. The filming was also supported by Nottingham City Museums and Galleries. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.itv.com/news/central/2019-05-01/a-place-in-the-country-part-2/ |
| Description | Global Cotton Connections presentation, DVMWHS Partnership Forum, 4 June 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Short presentation entitled 'Global Cotton Connections: Histories, Legacies and Diverse Communities', an update on past and future research, made to the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site Partnership Forum day event on 4 June 2019. The audience included a mix of heritage and local authority professionals, including those working with schools, members of the public and other groups with an interest in the World Heritage Site. The talk generated discussion and interest in the GCC research to date and future developments. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Global Cotton Connections presentation, National Museum of Wales, 9 July 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation entitled 'Challenging rural textile heritage? Collaborative strategies between academics, BAME communities and heritage professionals in the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site, UK', at the 'Clothing the Enslaved in the Eighteenth-Century Atlantic World' conference held at the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, 8-10 July 2019. The audience was a combination of academics, heritage professionals and community volunteers. The presentation generated questions and discussion and helped develop new contacts with community projects, including the NLHF project, 'From Sheep to Sugar'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | History workshops for Rachel Carter's Standing in This Place project 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | History workshops for participants in Rachel Carter's Standing in This Place project, funded by the Arts Council. The talks focused on the experiences of enslaved female cotton plantation workers in the Americas and female cotton mill workers in the East Midlands. The talks informed the Dance and Movement group aspects of the project which formed the basis for Rachel's sculpture output. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.rachelcarter.co.uk/community |
| Description | International Heritage Experts Visit 17-22 April 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The purpose of the event was to share the project impacts with international rural heritage experts through visits to the facilities and displays developed through the project at Cromford Mills and Newstead Abbey and to share understanding of mutual interests in rural heritage through presentations and project workshops. Four international experts took part in the visit: Professor Ana Lucia, Department of History of Howard University in Washington DC whose research explores the history, memory, and heritage of slavery; Dr Winston F Phulgence, a lecturer in History at the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College in Saint Lucia with expertise in the commemoration of slavery and plantation heritage in the Caribbean; and Dr Amy Potter from Georgia Southern University, Savannah, USA and Professor Stephen Hanna, University of Mary Washington, Virginia, USA, geographers researching the heritage tourism experience and its relation to historic enslavement and its legacies at 15 US plantations museums and 2 sites of counter-memory in Louisiana, South Carolina and Virginia. Positive feedback and constructive criticism was received from the international visitors. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Kemetfm Radio Show - 20th April 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | The four international guests and members of the project team were interviewed by Christine Belle during her hour long Kemetfm programme. The purpose was to share insights into the work of the international guests on slavery heritage and reparations and to highlight the achievements of the Practising Reparative Histories project at Cromford Mills and Newstead Abbey. Kemetfm is a radio station aimed at the African Caribbean communities in and around Nottingham. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | London Group of Historical Geographers seminar, 8 Oct 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation entitled 'Practising reparative historical geographies of enslavement in rural heritage sites in the English East Midlands' made to the London Group of Historical Geographers on 8 October 2019 in its series on Geographies of Slavery and Freedom. The audience included scholars and practitioners from across the arts, humanities, and social sciences. The talk generated questions and discussion on reparative heritage and community engagement. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | New Lanark A Living Legacy conference presentation 2 Mar 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Helen Bates and Lisa Robinson presentation at New Lanark, A Living Legacy conference. Presentation title: 'Engaging with the textile industry's challenging histories of slavery and colonialism: The Global Cotton Connections projects in the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site' and roundtable discussion on Challenging Histories in Industrial Heritage. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Newstead Abbey visit 9 May 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Around 25 members of the Nottingham Slave Trade Legacies group visited Newstead Abbey, hosted by Nottingham City Museums and Galleries, including the curator for Newstead. The main purpose was to allow the group to view the site through a tour led by the curator, to provide feedback on the tour, to gather ideas and make suggestions for further interpretation at the site and to share their perspectives with heritage staff and volunteers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Newstead slavery heritage film planning, 20 Dec 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Members of Nottingham Slave Trade Legacies group, African Caribbean poet Michelle Hubbard and illustrator Kim Thompson met with film maker Shawn Sobers and heritage partners at Newstead to plan approach to film of Blood Sugar poem. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Newstead slavery heritage filming, 9 Jan 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Around 20 members of the Nottingham Slave Trade Legacies group, including poet Michelle Hubbard, took part in the filming of Blood Sugar poem at Newstead Abbey with film maker, Shawn Sobers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Nottingham cotton workshop I, 14 July 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Around 12 members of the Nottingham Slave Trade Legacies group took part in a workshop which involved the discussion of historical materials on cotton plantations, reflection on key images and words for inclusion in interpretation panels at Cromford Mills and exploration of creative ways of engaging with cotton and slavery histories using textiles (led by Evadney Jalloh, STL group member). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Nottingham cotton workshop II, 14 Oct 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Around 18 members of the Nottingham Slave Trade Legacies group met to hear the ancestor stories of Abigail Bernard and Daniel Shade whose families are from Carriacou and develop/select materials for use in the proposed interpretation panels at Cromford Mills. The group discussed and amended drafts of interpretation panel texts and identified and prioritised image for inclusion in the Cromford panels. The project also shared its work with Abigail Bernard and Daniel Shade. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Nottingham cotton workshop III, 10 Nov 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Around 15 members of the Nottingham Slave Trade Legacies group met to discuss materials for inclusion in the proposed audio points at Cromford Mills, including using the words of formerly enslaved people and African Caribbean songs. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Podcast: Cotton: where did it come from? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Podcast for Rachel Carter's Standing in This Place Arts Council-funded project focused on developing a sculpture of an enslaved female cotton plantation worker from the Americas and a female cotton mill worker from the East Midlands, working with community groups. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
| URL | https://www.rachelcarter.co.uk/sitppodcast |
| Description | Presentation at RGS-IBG Annual conference session on Decolonsing Participatory Geographies, London, 30 Aug 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The presentation entitled 'Decolonising without recolonising?: practising reparative historical geographies in rural heritage sites' was co-delivered by Susanne Seymour (University of Nottingham) and Lisa Robinson (Bright Ideas, Nottingham). Lisa was a non-academic activist guest of the Participatory Geographers Research Group for this Fuller Geographies session on 'Decolonising Participatory Geographies'. The purpose was to examine the challenges of research and engagement collaborations which seek to enhance the coverage of colonial, enslavement and Black histories in rural heritage venues, as a form of 'reparative' work (see Bergin and Rupprecht, 2016; Beckles, 2012). It considered especially the challenges of collaborations between academia and heritage organisations, typically characterised by few BAME employees and dominated by white-centred ways of thinking (Alexander and Arday, 2015; BOP Consulting, 2012) and BAME community groups and organisations. The presentation and discussion was attended by c.30 international conference delegates and generated many questions and further discussion in and beyond the session. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Presentation at The Arkwright Society conference, 7 Nov 2020. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Supporters |
| Results and Impact | Invited presentation at The Arkwright Society conference (2020) Hidden Histories of the Industrial Revolution: Enslaved People and Women. Talk entitled The Derwent Valley and the threads of enslavement: the Strutts' early cotton manufacturing business. The purpose was to share the research from the Global Cotton Connections and Practising Reparative Rural Histories projects with Arkwright Society members, staff and wider publics. The talk sparked a number of further questions and online discussion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.cromfordmills.org.uk/events/arkwright-society-industrial-revolution-conference-%E2%80%98... |
| Description | Prof Ana Lucia Araujo ISOS Annual Public Lecture - University of Nottingham 20 April 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The PRH international guest, Professor Ana Lucia Aruajo gave the University of Nottingham's Institute for the Study of Slavery Annual Public Lecture 2018. The lecture explored ideas of symbolic, financial and material reparations using examples from different former slave societies in the Americas, Europe, and Africa. It drew a diverse audience, including from the wider BAME community and PRH project volunteers. It generated considerable discussion over reparations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Project launch with Nottingham Slave Trade Legacies group 29 Mar 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Around 35 members of Nottingham's African Caribbean community attended this launch of the Nottingham strand of the Practising Reparative Histories project. Some had been involved with the Nottingham Slave Trade Legacies (NSTL) initiative previously; others were new to the group. The main purpose was to relaunch the NSTL initiative, to introduce the cotton and country house heritage partners, to outline the scope for work to enhance interpretation at the heritage sites, and to gather ideas for types of interpretative and creative approaches. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Project launch with Sheffield South Asian groups 7 Mar 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Around 20 members of Sheffield South Asian groups attended this launch of the Sheffield strand of the Practising Reparative Histories project. Some had been involved with the Sheffield Hindu Samaj heritage projects previously; others were new to the projects. The main purpose was to introduce the PRH project in relation to cotton, to outline the scope for work to enhance interpretation at the heritage sites, and to gather ideas for types of interpretative and creative approaches. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Quarry Bank Mill visit 21 May 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Around 40 members of Nottingham Slave Trade Legacies and Sheffield South Asian groups visited Quarry Bank Mill, Cheshire, hosted by the National Trust. The main purpose of the visit was to examine the extent and nature of coverage of global cotton history at this important cotton heritage site (particularly histories related to enslavement in the Americas and India's cotton industry), to learn about the National Trust's heritage interpretation strategies, to gather materials to inform the groups' interpretative strategies at Cromford Mills and to share the groups' perspectives and feedback with the National Trust. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | RIFA ceremony London, 8 Nov 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The event involved attendance at the RIFA 2018, London, for which the film Blood Sugar, made through the Practising Reparative Histories project, was shortlisted in the People on the Move category. The project attendees were the PI, the film maker, the creative writer and eight representatives of the Slave Trade Legacies volunteer group who all helped make the film. The event involved highlights from the film and allowed us to share our experiences of making the film and our wider research and impact activities with other guests at the awards. It generated discussions and interest from other participants. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://ahrc.ukri.org/research/readwatchlisten/features/rifa-2018-people-on-the-move-award-stories-o... |
| Description | Sharing and Celebration event - Cromford Mills 21 April 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | The event was staged to celebrate and share the work of the volunteers from Sheffield South Asian groups and the Nottingham Slave Trade Legacies group and other project members at Cromford Mills with wider local BAME audiences, international experts and other visitors. It featured the project team and guests viewing the new heritage installations in the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site Gateway Visitor Centre at Cromford Mills, including co-designed panels and audio recordings, made collaboratively through the project. It also involved readings from the Sheffield groups' poetry collection 'Spinning a Yarn, Weaving a Poem', cotton stories by Debjani Chatterjee and a creative painting and embroidery workshop by Evadney Jalloh, all open to the public. The visit sparked interest, questions and feedback on the installations and the poetry. It also sparked interest in future visits to the Derwent Valley and further work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Sharing and Celebration event - Newstead Abbey 19 April 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | The event was staged to celebrate and share the work of the Nottingham Slave Trade Legacies group volunteers and other project members at Newstead Abbey with wider local BAME audiences and international experts. It featured the project team and guests viewing the new heritage installations at Newstead, including the film Blood Sugar, made collaboratively through the project. The visit sparked interest, questions and feedback on the film, its positioning in the wider heritage installation and the telling of slavery history at Newstead Abbey. It also sparked interest in future visits to Newstead and further work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Sheffield Family Shaka cotton project celebration event, Sheffield Hindu Samaj Temple, 17 Mar 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Celebration event for Sheffield Family Shakha and related South Asian groups in Sheffield to share and discuss with their wider membership the activities undertaken as part of the PRH cotton project, 'Spinning a Yarn, Weaving a Story'. The activities included cotton-related story-telling, a shadow puppet show, discussion of the Bengali Women's Group cotton wall hanging and discussion of the Sheffield Family Shakha's cotton collage display. The event sparked discussion over the project and its outputs and further interest in the activities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Sheffield Kabir Jayanti, 11 June 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | This event was held to celebrate the birth of the Indian cotton weaver-saint Kabir. It involved story-telling about Kabir's life (by Debjani Chatterjee), dance and readings about Kabir (by Hindu Samaj children) and an informal painting workshop (by Aastha Over 50s group). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.burngreavemessenger.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/burngreace-messenger-july-2017-web.pd... |
| Description | Sheffield cotton story-telling and writing workshop I, 7 May 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | The workshop led by Dr Debjani Chatterjee was held with Bal Gokulam, a Hindu parents and children group. It involved cotton-related storytelling and creative writing and stimulated interest in storytelling and shadow puppet shows amongst the group. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Sheffield cotton storytelling and writing workshop II, 16 July 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Members of Bal Gokulam (a Hindu parents and children group) attended a creative writing and storytelling workshop led by Dr Debjani Chatterjee. It involved cotton-related story-telling and development of material for a shadow puppet show. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Sheffield cotton wall-hanging workshop I, 1 June 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Members of the Sheffield Family Shakha, the Aastha Over 50s group and Bengali Women's Support Group attended a creative cotton wall-hanging and painting workshop led by Dr Debjani Chatterjee and a community textile expert. This led to the development of the Sheffield Family Shakha's cotton collage display which was used at the Sheffield Family Shakha's cotton celebration event in Sheffield on 17 Mar 2018. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Sheffield cotton wall-hanging workshop II, 24 Feb 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | The workshop allowed the final production of the Bengali Women's Support Group's cotton wall-hanging. This was subsequently used in the Sheffield Family Shaka celebration event in Sheffield on 17 Mar 2018. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Sheffield cotton writing workshop I, 30 July 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Dr Debjani Chatterjee led a poetry writing workshop with members of for Bal Gokulam (Hindu parents and children group) and the Sheffield Hindu Samaj. The purpose was to develop materials for a collection of cotton-related poetry. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Slavery and landed estates talk, History at the Barn study day, Dunnington, Warwickshire, 12 Oct 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation on 'The connections of British landed estates with transatlantic slavery' as part of the 'History at the Barn' Dunnington, Warwickshire, study day on The Development of the English Landed Estates in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries' on 12 Oct 2019. The audience comprised c.25 members of the public, including some retired academics and heritage professionals, interested in historical topics. The presentation generated several questions and further discussion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Strutt talk for Legacy Makers' Black History Month event, Cromford Mills, Derbyshire, 26 Oct 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Presentation on 'Slavery and supplies of raw cotton to the Derwent Valley Mills: a case study of the Strutt family' as part of a day of Black History events on 26 Oct 2019, hosted at Cromford Mills, Derbyshire and organised through the Legacy Makers project. The purpose was to inform a general audience about slavery connections of the cotton industry of the Derwent Valley. The audience of c.40 included BME participants, including members of the Legacy Makers project and their friends and families, volunteers and staff from Cromford Mills and visitors from the wider public. The talk generated a series of questions about the Strutts and slavery and provided further context for the Legacy Makers project archival work on the Evans family which is on-going. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://legacymakers.home.blog/blog-feed/ |
| Description | Talk on Strutts to Derbyshire Record Society and Derbyshire VCH Trust, Matlock, Derbyshire, 13 July 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Supporters |
| Results and Impact | Presentation to the annual meeting of the Derbyshire Record Society and Derbyshire Victoria County History Trust on 'Slavery and supplies of raw cotton to the Strutt Mills in the Derwent Valley, 1790s-1810s' on 13 July 2019. The talk was attended by c.30 members and supporters of the organisations and generated several questions, considerable discussion and increased interest in the subject area. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |