Kathryn Steenson
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An electrifying history of the East Midlands
November 27, 2013
As energy companies have announced another rise in prices, taking effect this month, we take a look at some of the early electricity company records in Manuscripts & Special Collections. Much like their modern counterparts, residents of Nottingham in 1901 could travel around the city on an electric tram service and walk streets illuminated with …
Mark Dorrington arrives as new Keeper
November 22, 2013
I am very pleased to have started work this week as the new Keeper of Manuscripts and Special Collections in succession to Dorothy Johnston. I have 30 years’ experience in local authority and ecclesiastical archives and libraries. My most recent post was as Team Manager for Archives and Local Studies with Nottinghamshire County Council, running …
Gunpowder, Treason & Plot
November 5, 2013
Four hundred and eight years ago, people in England awoke to news that a terrible plot to assassinate the King and his Parliament had been foiled. It gripped the popular imagination then, and today we still mark the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot with bonfires and fireworks. This engraving is taken from a children’s educational book, …
Cholera and Compassion in the Crimea
October 25, 2013
In the second of our posts marking the 160th anniversary of the Crimean War, we look at how although it achieved nothing in a geopolitical sense, the actions of one woman have undoubtedly touched the lives of millions of people. Very few people could name many of the battles the British Army fought in the …
The Crimean War on Camera
October 15, 2013
This month sees the 160th anniversary of the start of the Crimean War (October 1853 – February 1856), between the Russian Empire and an alliance of French, British, Sardinian and Ottoman forces. As the Ottoman Empire declined, various European nations attempted to assert their influence over its territories. Fighting took place mostly in the Crimean peninsula, …
Black History Month
October 1, 2013
To mark Black History Month, we’re focussing on one of Nottingham’s most famous black citizens; former slave turned entrepreneur George Africanus. His date and exact place of birth are unknown, but he was about three years old when he was brought to England in 1766, where he became a servant to the Molyneux family in …
Papers of a ‘Professional Revolutionary’
September 5, 2013
The next exhibition at Lakeside Arts Centre’s Weston Gallery features the papers of a local activist and Communist Party officer, Fred Westacott. Flyers, pamphlets and speeches in his personal archive document a lifetime of campaigning, as a supporter of a variety of local and international causes, from the Miners’ strikes to the Vietnam War protests. …
Manuscripts in the Media
August 19, 2013
As a University department, it’s not surprising that many of the enquirers who contact us and visitors to the Reading Room are academics and students, both from The University of Nottingham and other institutions. What people often don’t appreciate is how often we are approached by the media, either during their initial research or because …
All Work and No Play
July 15, 2013
Students using the Business Library over the summer exam season may, whilst taking a small break from revising, have noticed the display has changed from the subject of electricity to one probably closer to their hearts: the harsh reality of working life (albeit for children in the 18th and 19th centuries). The concept of childhood we have today is largely a modern …
Meet Nottinghamshire’s People
July 4, 2013
Nottinghamshire’s People – Ancestral Stories from the Archives celebrates the lives of Nottinghamshire’s people and their communities. Family history is enormously popular despite – or perhaps because – tracing ancestors can be quite a challenge. Genealogists often use the classic family history sources, such as parish registers and the census, without exploring the other documents …
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