Ecclesfield Civil Parish Council which covers an area of several square miles is within the City of Sheffield's boundaries. It includes the main villages of Chapeltown, Ecclesfield, Grenoside and High Green. The parish has a rich historical heritage and there are several local groups who are active in researching and collating information about the area's history. The idea of bringing some of this material together into a parish wide archive resource similar to other local parishes was first put forward in 2012. This idea was developed into a funded archiving project.

The Ecclesfield Civil Parish's Past & Present Archiving project's main focus will be on creating a digital archive bringing together a diverse range of collected material relating to life and work from the mid eighteenth century onwards. The bulk of the material will relate to the current boundaries of the Ecclesfield Civil Parish area but we may include other material from former Parish Council areas. The project has received funding from HLF to run until October 2016. Amongst the large amount of material that has already been collected are prints and photographs, books, newspapers and other written documents, including diaries, maps, film and audio material. However most is not yet available electronically and the work will see the material digitised and made available on this website.

The heritage is important to local people, as it relates to their understanding of the social and economic development of the area, but also has a regional and national importance as local industries such as Newton Chambers were at the forefront of technological change in iron and coal related products. It is particularly important that the material is made available and accessible at this time to local schools and young people as many of the former industries were so important in shaping the character of the area.

 

We have set up a project blog and facebook group page which people can use to find out more and get involved with the project. You can contact us directly by using the contact page here on the website.