Nottingham Theatre Archives Revealed
November 28, 2025
Manuscripts and Special Collections was recently granted Archives Revealed funding from The National Archives to catalogue and make accessible the archives of two theatre companies who both made an impact on children and communities in the Nottingham region and beyond. Nottingham Youth Theatre was established in 1988 and based at the College Street Arts Centre …
Outreach Diary
June 26, 2025
Here at MSC, our outreach calendar is always bursting with a wide range of events, visits and classes– here’s just a snapshot of a few highlights from the year so far… First up, we were proud to co-host the module ‘Exploring the German Archive’ alongside the School of Modern Languages and Cultures! Across 10 sessions, …
Introducing the Feminist Archive (East Midlands)
November 22, 2023
The Nottingham Feminist Archive Group and Manuscripts and Special Collections are delighted to announce the creation of: FME: The Feminist Archive (East Midlands) FPC: The Feminist Publications Collection The two new research collections are the result of a collaboration between the University and local activists who have been contributing their photos, papers and memories for …
Documenting the pandemic and beyond: website captures for the University Archives available to view
April 17, 2023
This is a post by Laura Peaurt, Digital Preservation Officer and Sarah Colborne, Archivist (Collections). Capture and Preservation In a previous blog we discussed using Preservica, our digital preservation platform, to successfully capture websites and social media for the archive. This is known as web archiving. The tools provided by the platform allow us to …
Advocates for animal welfare
December 1, 2022
Work has just finished on an 18-month project to catalogue papers held by Manuscripts and Special Collections which chart the progress made in promoting the concept of the Three Rs, the guiding principles of Reduction, Replacement and Refinement, in regards to the use of animals in scientific research. The work was made possible by a …
Last Orders at the Weston Gallery
June 7, 2022
This is a guest post by Dr David Beckingham, co-curator of the Last Orders exhibition, which opens at the Weston Gallery, Lakeside Arts in June. Last Orders examines cultures of alcohol consumption and abstinence in the East Midlands, with a particular focus on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Ubiquitous though pubs and drink may have …
Welcome Back Part 2: The Re-Re-Opening
March 29, 2021
For the last few months, only University of Nottingham staff/students have been able to visit the Reading Room, but as of the 13th April, we plan to reopen to the public, in line with Government advice. If you haven’t visited before or it’s been a while, here’s what to expect: Booking a Sit-and-Study space in …
Exhibition Fully Fashioned: Archival Remnants of the Textile Trade
September 24, 2019
Manuscripts and Special Collections’ latest exhibition entitled Fully Fashioned: Archival Remnants of the Textile Trade was officially opened by Professor Andy Long, Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor. The exhibition showcases the University of Nottingham’s business archives relating to lace and hosiery. Both of these industries were a major source of employment in the East Midlands and …
Look at our new Digital Gallery!
August 8, 2019
Around 1,500 digitised images from our collections are now available on the Manuscripts and Special Collections Digital Gallery. We have arranged the photographs, cartoons, portraits, maps, manuscripts, and pages from books into collections based on themes. These themes can be browsed from the front page of the Digital Gallery. Click the thumbnail to get to …
Ken Loach, Ken Coates and the European Union
July 6, 2017
In researching his 2016 British Academy award winning film ‘I, Daniel Blake’, director Ken Loach visited the St Ann’s Advice Centre in Nottingham (a community organisation offering advice on welfare benefits, employment and debt). Back in October 1966, two tutors of the University of Nottingham’s Adult Education Department, Ken Coates and Bill Silburn, had conducted …
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