Case Study - Home Spun Yarns: Home Crafts & Skills 1920–70

Programme: Your Heritage
Applicant: Age Concern Calderdale
Grant awarded: £49,800
Project length: 12 Months

Home Spun Yarns - printable (MS Word, 4.29MB)

Summary

Age Concern Calderdale & Kirklees (ACC&K) provides a range of services for the over-50s, and has an aim of ‘making more of life’ for the older people in their area. ACC&K have successfully run two HLF funded oral history projects undertaken with local schools, focusing on immigration in to the St John’s area of Halifax and on sporting activities and pastimes. Following on from these earlier projects, this living history project involved older people investigating, cataloguing and recording a range of local crafts and learned skills passed on through the generations at home and in adult learning classes between the 1920s and 1970s. These craft skills, now very much in decline, were once a vital part of everyday life and included rug making, lace making, embroidery, darning, knitting, woodwork and pottery. Older volunteers went into local schools to help the pupils learn knitting, rug-making, ceramics and spinning, while the young people interviewed the older ones about their memories of crafts on film. A Home Spun Yarns exhibition was put on in the Piece Hall, Halifax.

The aims of the project

To work with older people to document, promote and celebrate their memories, experiences and skills in a range of local crafts.
To produce multimedia resources including archive and contemporary film footage of craft activities and oral history recordings.
To involve socially isolated older people from across the community, with schools, arts, heritage and education partners such as the Yorkshire Film Archive (YFA) and Workers Education Association.
Up to 20 volunteers and 40 school children will interview up to 30 older people to collect oral history recordings and video craft demonstrations.
To train volunteers in oral history techniques, local history research into prevailing social and economic conditions to put crafts into context, and conservation of artefacts.

Benefits for heritage

Traditional local craft skills, part of Calderdale’s rich cultural tradition of home-produced, hand-made artefacts using local, easily available or recycled materials, have been preserved for the future by oral history accounts, video recording and passing on skills to younger people.
Recorded interviews, archive documents and photographs deposited with, and are available for future research at the West Yorkshire Archive Service.
All material created during the project have been catalogued on the YFA’s database and the video is available for view at the YFA.

Benefits for people

Socially isolated older members of the community have had an opportunity to participate in their own diverse heritage
Young people and other volunteers have been trained in oral history techniques.
Intergenerational work saw almost forgotten skills and memories shared with younger generations.

Lessons learnt

Good partnership working was essential to the success of the project which developed a great relationship with Calderdale Museums Department.
The importance of older people being able to pass on their memories and skills to younger people and children – it was surprising how much both sides gained from the experience.
Good preparation for volunteers is essential, so they are clear about their roles.
Be prepared to be flexible and realistic when putting ideas in to practice.

Long term benefits

Resource packs were distributed to local schools and organisations
All material was deposited at WYAS and YFA
As a result of being involved in the project, Whitehill Primary school have carried on the intergenerational work and have asked local older people into school regularly, to pass on their memories and stories to the children.
Two long term groups have emerged from the project – a textile art and craft group and a reminiscence group, who will be supported by ACC&K staff. They will further develop the craft and intergenerational work skills they have learnt on the project.
The exhibition boards will be available for future displays and events.

The budget

Main Project Costs	£	Funding	£
Staff Costs	20,065	Other Grants/Cash	3,418
Consultancy and fees	9,915	Non Cash Contributions	3,000
Training	4,262	HLF Grant (56%)	49,800
Equipment & materials	2,476	Total	56,218

A volunteer demonstrating rugging at a local school

Sector

Cultures and Memories

Activity

Conservation