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Award
Your Heritage, £50,000
Background
The 200th anniversary of Joseph Priestley’s death in 2004 sparked a variety of commemorative activities both in the UK and the United States. Priestley was an important figure in Birmingham history and in Leeds, and the publicity that the anniversary generated offered an opportunity to create a project that would explore in depth, Priestley’s life in Birmingham, his contribution to 18th century philosophy and science, as well as his involvement with the abolitionist movement.
The Birmingham District Local History Association is a collective of heritage organisations across the West Midlands. They are a voluntary organisation without headquarters who wanted to do something more substantial around Priestley, so they decided to find a partner to put in a funding bid. Birmingham University were in favour of supporting the project and the University offered resources in-kind as well as the hosting of a staff post.
Project Outcomes
The aim of the project was to record, present and publicise Joseph Priestley's contribution to Birmingham, Britain and the wider world. It would present Priestley's importance to local people and the wider community in Birmingham via electronic, printed and visual media.
So far, a whole host of activities and resources have been delivered, including:
Two versions of the exhibition, which have been touring in libraries and museums including: Birmingham Central Library, Soho House and Erasmus House in Litchfield.
A publication – originally envisaged as a special edition of the Birmingham Historian and consequently turned into a book – Joseph Priestley of Birmingham.
A town trail of Priestley’s Birmingham, which will be promoted during heritage week.
Historical events and lectures to local organisations such as U3A and other historical societies.
A range of new links and partnerships with other organisations has been created. The local Unitarian church, for example, supported one of the project’s key launches, and the research on Priestley is prominently featured on the West Midlands historical website www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk.
’Joseph Priestley and Birmingham’ has been extremely valuable in contributing research to local history events and programmes - helping to raise the profile of Joseph Priestley, particularly with regard to highlighting his interest in social issues including abolitionism. It has involved people from different communities who weren’t aware of his relationship to movements such as anti-slavery.
The project has also helped to realise some of the possibilities for using different media for local historical activities.
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