Again in 2016, we requested ‘What’s Your Heritage’?
We realized your heritage may very well be locations you care about, tales you like or the language you converse. You instructed us that heritage issues for all types of causes. We realized folks need to learn how to discover their heritage, perceive it, have a good time it, and ensure it’s recognised.
If that’s what you need to do, our Speaking About Heritage Guides can assist.
Over the previous couple of years, we’ve introduced collectively concepts, data, and case research from throughout Scotland in a helpful toolkit.
Our on-line guides are in 4 elements and you may leap to the one which fits you or obtain our steering in full as a pdf.
Examine heritage
Do you ever surprise the right way to go about discovering out extra about your group’s heritage? And when you’ve investigated it, the way you may make a file of that?
Nicely, you would observe this instance from Shetland. In 2016, members of the Lerwick group got here collectively to make a file of the Lerwick Observatory. The group, which included a number of former staff and native supporters of the observatory, was involved that a large quantity of details about the positioning was vulnerable to being misplaced.
Lerwick Observatory opened round 1919-21 on the positioning of a First World Warfare naval station. Take a more in-depth look on Canmore.
Collectively, the group compiled an oral historical past, photograph archive and movie about Lerwick Observatory. Their efforts have a good time its significance within the historical past of science, and its half within the social historical past of the Shetland Isles.
“The truth that there’s this lengthy historical past, and this connection by means of the office that made such an impression on his private life is one thing that’s value a lot.” — Denise Nicolson, whose father labored on the observatory.
Discover out extra on this quick movie:
Investigating heritage is a journey of discovery. This journey may be fascinating and thrilling. Usually, additionally it is thought-provoking.
There’s plenty of sources on the market however it may be tough to know the place to begin. Our Examine Heritage sources will provide help to to analysis and file heritage. It brings collectively plenty of useful sources to discover and gives real-life examples.
Perceive heritage
When you’ve investigated and documented your heritage it’s time to grasp and interpret it. As an illustration, in the event you can present proof to point out that the place you like is culturally important or distinctive this can assist you entry an entire vary of assist. Should you’re approaching funders or asking us to schedule or listing a spot, this kind of data is significant.
For instance, when Scotland’s Traveller group wished to guard an essential a part of their heritage — The Tinkers’ Coronary heart — they labored collectively to file and exhibit its cultural significance.
The Tinkers’ Coronary heart photographed in 2012, earlier than the group utilized for funding to enhance the protecting fence.
The Tinkers’ Coronary heart is a coronary heart of quartz stones set into the tarmac of an previous street junction. The precise date that the center first got here into being is unknown. Oral custom among the many Scottish Traveller group says that the Tinkers’ Coronary heart was initially created by Traveller girls as a memorial to honour Traveller males who had fallen within the Jacobite Rising of 1745.
Once we had been first approached in regards to the Tinkers’ Coronary heart, we weren’t satisfied that it met the factors to be recognised as one among Scotland’s nationally essential websites. Nevertheless, the Scottish Traveller group labored arduous to assemble proof. Finally, they introduced a robust case and in 2015 we recognised the Tinkers’ Coronary heart as a scheduled monument.
“It was the place travellers married […] the place girls took their infants to be blessed […] the place the useless got here to be blessed earlier than they had been buried […] As a result of Travellers didn’t belong to any church, they didn’t have any explicit place.” — Jess Smith, Scottish Traveller.
Our Perceive Heritage sources have been designed that will help you present what makes an object, constructing or custom value taking care of.
Rejoice heritage
Have you ever ever wished folks understood you or your group higher? Society hasn’t at all times been nice at recognising and recording the historical past of marginalised, repressed or exploited communities. In lots of circumstances, it has been actively erased.
When extra folks study your heritage they can assist you to have a good time and defend it. Maybe it could actually assist improve compassion, construct bridges and begin conversations about constructive change. Sharing information provides to everybody’s understanding of our previous.
You’ll find out about contributing to archives, making use of for a commemorative plaque, or growing on web site interpretation and studying sources in our Share and Rejoice Heritage sources.
In 2019 the Scottish Civic Belief and group teams received collectively to file and have a good time the locations in Edinburgh and Glasgow which have significance to LGBT+ folks. Queering the Map not solely recorded the constructive experiences and historical past of individuals throughout the LGBT+ group, but in addition detrimental experiences. This helped contemplate how an atmosphere may be skilled very otherwise relying on who you’re.
Take care of heritage
Caring for Scotland’s heritage can imply plenty of various things. Itemizing and scheduling can put in place authorized protections. Investing in heritage by means of conservation or delicate repurposing retains Scotland’s historic locations on the coronary heart of our communities.
An awesome instance of this comes from Portsoy. There, the group is taking an modern method to taking advantage of their heritage. As an illustration, they’ve turned derelict harbour buildings right into a boat-building workshop and restored a former salmon home as a museum. As well as, they repaired and transformed a bunch of 18th-century listed buildings into 4-star hostel lodging to deal with residential college students at boat-building programs.
The hostel at Portsoy. © Paul Higson/NESPT.
Check out our Defend and Take care of Heritage sources for tips about:
- participating with the planning system,
- exploring how group initiatives can deliver heritage again to life,
- getting concerned in monitoring the situation of locations which can be essential to you,
Speaking About Heritage with us
We’re actually eager to assist extra folks to begin speaking about their heritage. It has so many advantages. From the enjoyment of reminiscing to the joy of studying from the previous to plan for the long run, speaking about heritage is absolutely essential. In different phrases, the social, cultural and financial advantages that come from speaking about heritage are actual!
Signal as much as the following Neighborhood Heritage Conversations occasion on 8 June to search out out extra about Speaking About Heritage.
