Developing a Local History Study
A big part of developing a great history curriculum is considering the implications that the events of the past have had on us. When delivering history to our children in Primary schools, it is important that we make this relatable to them. Now I know they can’t relate necessarily to being a soldier as part of an Anglo Saxon shield wall taking the full force of a Viking attack, but we need to show the relevance of the Anglo Saxons to the children’s lives. This might mean doing some fieldwork by making field sketches of a local Anglo Saxon built church that is still standing. It might mean looking at the development of place names across the country that have Anglo Saxon origins and if there are any that are specifically more local to them. When we build a curriculum, we are trying to design a way of delivering knowledge and skills so that they will be retained and useable in further studies. By making it relevant to the children, we are giving them a marker in their minds to attach new knowledge to and this is critically important to developing life-long learners.
Telling a story
Now local history is obviously completely dependent on your locality. This is the same with fieldwork in geography – you can’t visit a local river if there isn’t one locally. What we have to remember with local history is that history is everywhere. There has been a past for every place. As educators, it is our job to find out what that past is and find a way of delivering it in a relatable way.
Another side to this is storytelling. Something that I strongly believe is that making history relatable is not just about including local history, but telling the story of that history so that it gives it a purpose. If we consider the impact the Romans had on Britain by invading and occupying for several hundred years, it’s not enough to simply say they built a wall to keep the Scots and Picts out of England, show the children on a map and then move on. We need to make this relatable.
Now if I was based in a primary school that was right next door to Hadrian’s wall, I don’t think you have to ask where I would be taking my class on their first lesson when studying the Romans! Obviously, we’re not all able to do this, but my point is that the experience of going to the actual place of interest is invaluable. It opens the children’s eyes to the reality that people built this wall hundreds or thousands of years ago. It’s then about making it relatable by explaining the story behind why the Roman’s built this wall, or a story that is a big part of the history of Hadrian’s wall. For example, the Roman’s continuously had problems with the Celtic people’s of Britain who were further from reach. In Wales and Scotland, the Roman’s had a lot of work to do. There were also uprisings from people like Boudicca, which is another story that can be told to make the clash between Romans and Britons more relatable. The Celtic peoples of Scotland were continuously raiding Roman settlements in the North of England so they had to do something about this, and so Hadrian’s wall was constructed. There are further stories that can be told in order to develop an understanding of who manned the wall. The Aurelian Moors were a group of soldiers sent to man a part of the wall at the fort of Aballava – there is evidence there in the form of an inscription – and these men were auxiliaries in the Roman army who had essentially travelled from Africa to protect Roman Britain. Delivering the narrative of your local history through these stories gives the children a great starting point; one that is memorable and allows them to develop their knowledge successfully around the impact the Romans had on Britain.
Hadrian’s Wall
Developing an approach to local history
Not everyone has a Hadrian’s Wall on their doorstep, but you know the local area that you are teaching in. If you don’t, make use of the other staff in your school who probably do, and begin to create a picture of the areas of study that could be developed as a local history study. I’m based in Oldham which is full of old mills. This presents an ideal opportunity for a local history study because whichever school you work in, you are probably within walking distance (or at least a very short drive from one of these mills. Some of these mills are derelict, some have burned down or been removed, others have been completely repurposed into warehouses, offices or even a market or supermarket of sorts. This provides such a great opportunity for a local history study, and I would approach it like this:
1. Map investigation
The children could do some geography here, finding and identifying the mills on maps and looking at aerial photographs if possible to see how they fit in with their location. This could lead to further study on what has developed around the mill by looking at historical maps and photographs alongside modern maps.
2. Fieldwork opportunities
By seeing the mill in its current state, children can look at the materials it is built out of and compare those to the other buildings around it (getting those science links in!). They could undertake field sketching and observational drawing of the building (and of other surrounding buildings for later comparison). If possible, they could go inside and look at how it is used first hand in order to demonstrate just how real these mills are.
3. Consider its use through time.
Discuss with children what the mills’ initial purposes were, what they were used to produce and the impact they had on the local economy and workforce. This could lead to discussions around the reasons why the cotton mills were largely based in the North rather than the South of England.
4. Relate the history to stories of the past.
Talk to the children about the need for this industry in the area and the impact that the great cotton famine had on the people of the North West. This can then lead to further discussion around why the famine happened and links can be made to the Atlantic slave trade and the cotton plantations based in America with an enslaved workforce. The stories of how all of this impacted on the locality are arguably the most significant part in order for the children to put this into perspective and really begin to understand the key substantive concepts of cause and consequence etc. You could also look at historical census to see the people who lived nearby the mill and what their professions were. This could enable the children to really consider the stories of the people that gre up, lived and worked in their local area.
Ultimately, having a sensible approach towards local history involves building the pieces of the picture up slowly and steadily and ensuring that the children can put everything into a context that they understand.
Linking to geography - maps
When we talk about developing a local history study, I strongly feel that it is impossible to do well without considering geography too. If it’s local history, then we are looking at the area that is significant to the children, the changes that have happened over time, the causes of those changes and the consequences of them – ultimately, the impact that something has had on their locality. As I have said already, we should be starting by looking at maps of the local area where appropriate.
There are some brilliant resources out there that can be accessed. If you’ve heard of the ‘Heritage School’s Project’ it’s a great, free way to gain CPD, network with other local teachers and get mapping and aerial photograph resources relating to your local area and more specifically that are centred around your school. It’s run by Historic England, and here is a link for more information:
https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/education/heritage-schools/
There are some amazing digital mapping resources out there too. Lot’s of schools use Digimaps which you can purchase a license for. There is also a great free resource called NLS maps which shows you two maps of the same place alongside each other. You can use it to look at different types of map of your local area, including OS maps, or you can compare more modern maps with those which are historical. Here is an example comparing Oldham in the early 1900s to Oldham now:
Using digital mapping software like this is an easy way of incorporating geography and mapwork into your local history project or topic. It also supports the children’s learning by placing it within their local context and it allows children to identify where points of interest are in relation to their school or home. It also supports with making judgements about how land use has changed over time. If you are looking at mills in Oldham, you could look further back and consider how things like land use or housebuilding developed over time as a result of industry booming. I always try to make links between history and geography, but as I’ve said already, if it’s local history we can’t avoid the natural links that exist.
History is all about developing a narrative. As the National Curriculum refers to, developing the narrative of the British Isles is a key focal point of the history that should be delivered. In order to make that narrative meaningful to the children, developing relevant stories around local history are key in supporting the children’s ability to relate to British and world history.