Local History News
From our blog
Original Property Deeds: A Key to Unlocking Local History
Published: 20th August 2023
Gavin Bowyer, a member of the Dulwich Society, Local History Study Group shares how original property deeds can be a key to unlocking local history.
From our blog
Digging up the early roots of Durham City FC
Published: 21st July 2023
Look at any history of Durham City Football Club and it will tell you that the Citizens were formed in 1918 after the First World War.
From our blog
Out on the Street: Investigating Fact or Fiction
Published: 14th July 2023
Using the 1921 Census to test sources and corroborate evidence.
From our blog
Online resources for local history: the Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH)
Published: 14th July 2023
Jenny Lelkes-Rarugal, editor for the Bibliography of British and Irish History shares how you can discover what’s already been published in your field.
From our blog
Local History Audio Post
Published: 13th July 2023
Sharon O’Connor, from the Dulwich Society local history group shares how they use an audio post to share local history with the public.
From our blog
Our local history society lives again
Published: 12th July 2023
When I agreed in 2017 to take on the role of secretary of our local history society, I appreciated the fact that the society ran a very small museum (a tiny room off the library) which was open for a couple of hours on a Saturday morning, and that they arranged talks most months on a variety of subjects, sometimes of a historical nature.
From our blog
Outlaws and Fugitives - A glimpse of some lesser-known Carlisle carvings
Published: 22nd May 2023
The Keep at Carlisle castle underwent a large-scale restoration and conservation project last year.
From our blog
Brambletye Ruins – Forest Row
Published: 7th May 2023
Where we grow up helps define who we become. As a child I grew up in the village of Forest Row in East Sussex on the border between West Sussex, Surrey and Kent. At first it is a somewhat unassuming village with everything a family may need. But just at the edge hidden close to the Forest Way, an old railway track turned footpath when the passenger rail was closed in 1967, lies the remains of a house.
From our blog
Scoring the Hales - Exploring the roots of Local Football in Northumberland
Published: 6th May 2023
Shrove Tuesday - The ball bounced awkwardly on the grass of the pastures and I chested it up before volleying just wide of the narrow greenery-clad goals. It was a moment that won't live in Alnwick Shrovetide football history but will stick long in my memory, not least because I was playing for St. Michael’s with my teenage son. I’d earlier beaten a man and squared for another player to screw a shot horribly wide so thought the next chance I get, I’m hitting it.
From our blog
Dulwich Society Online Talks
Published: 6th May 2023
Sharon O’Connor from the Dulwich Society local history group discusses how they came to run online talks, how others might do the same and what the impact has been on them.
From our blog
Little pearls of local history
Published: 6th May 2023
Simon Fowler explains how he has been researching and writing articles for a local online newspaper.
From our blog
Helping a society as a young person
Published: 6th May 2023
Joe Saunders shares his experience of getting involved in BALH and volunteering in a society in his twenties.
From our blog
Mapping Urban Britain from the Past to the Past: a Scottish view on three episodes in cartographic history
Published: 27th April 2023
In this third of four talks delivered in partnership with the Historic Towns Trust, John Moore spoke on the history of urban mapping in Great Britain, placing particular emphasis on Scottish urban centres. John is a Trustee of the Historic Towns Trust, has over 40 years’ experience in researching the history of cartography, and is currently working on the Historic Towns Trust volume for Perth. This fascinating session highlighted a number of key sources that can be used for researching the historic development of urban settings.
From our blog
Dulwich Society Twitter
Published: 6th April 2023
Sharon O’Connor, from the Dulwich Society local history group shares how to set up and run a local history Twitter account and how this has helped them.
From our blog
Creating Engaging YouTube Videos For Local and Family History
Published: 20th March 2023
In the latest instalment of the BALH’s series of Digital Skills webinars, Digital Content Coordinator and professional filmmaker Catherine Warr took audiences through some of the simple methods that those new to video making can use to produce short factual videos, with particular emphasis on the BALH’s programme of Ten Minute Talks.
