The Community Heritage Project

Bottesford Community Heritage Project was launched in September 2006 at an open meeting attended by around 50 people, including representatives from a range of local groups and organizations The project was funded by grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Nationwide Building Society and is run by a Project Team of about 20 enthusiastic and dedicated volunteers. Over the years Team members have put in thousands of hours of work, but everything that has been achieved has depended on the support and generosity of the people of Bottesford, who have contributed memories, knowledge, photographs, documents and above all interest and encouragement. So much material has been collected, loaned or donated that since the publication of the book ‘Not Forgetting’ in 2009 the main focus of the project has been the cataloguing of material and ensuring that it will be preserved for the future. Here is a summary of what has been achieved so far.

Project Materials

The Website The Bottesford Community Heritage Project Website (www.bottesfordhistory.org.uk) was launched in April 2007. The website allows users to add their own pages, photographs and comments and has put us in touch with old Bottesfordians and their descendents from all over the world. Visited by thousands it makes available an ever expanding wealth of information about Bottesford.

Project Website

The Digital Archive is a digital record of photos and other pictures and documents lent or donated. An on-line catalogue is being prepared and the website is being archived by the British Library.

Muston Overseers of the Poor

The Archive a collection of maps, photographs, documents and record books relevant to the history of Bottesford and Muston donated to the Project

Bottesford Band 1911

Training Under the terms of the Heritage Lottery grant the project was required to provide training for volunteers. Courses were set up in Oral History, Information Technology, Website Management and Local History.

Exhibitions In 2007 and 2008exhibitions of the work of the project were held to show the work of the project.

Noticeboard The Local branch of the Cooperative Society gave permission for a noticeboard on which Project Material could be made accessible to those without access to a computer.

Project Noticeboard

The Primary School Scrapbook was compiled by pupils from Bottesford School as a record of childhood in the village.

Primary School Scrapbook

Drama Event In May 2008 a promenade performance of ‘Our Day Out’, was staged with a script based on extracts from the oral history material collected by the project. The rehearsals and performance were filmed.

Our Day Out

Leaflets Three Heritage Trail Leaflets were produced, on Bottesford, Muston and Local Geology.

Book The Heritage Lottery funded part of the project culminated in the publication of ‘Not Forgetting—Aspects of Village Life in Bottesford, Easthorpe, Muston and Normanton.

It rapidly sold out but is now available on the website.