Types of evidence
Printed sources
Books, articles, papers, pamphlets, newspapers, directories and all sorts of miscellaneous material, which is most likely to be found in the local studies collection of your library. Such material is often grouped together under the label 'secondary sources' because most of it has already been worked on and interpreted by historians and others in the past.
Most branch libraries have a small local history section, but the important collections will be at the central library or a main town library. The local studies collection is the essential starting point, and you should make sure that you make use of its resources.
Archives
The documentary sources, usually in manuscript or typescript form (and, increasingly, available on microfilm, microfiche or in electronic media) are the raw material of local history as they are of other aspects of historical research. These are usually labelled as 'primary sources'. They are endlessly interesting and challenging.
' Documentary research is the key to the local history trail ...'
Documentary material will normally be found in the county record office, the borough or district archives, or sometimes in a university or other library. In many places there has been a trend towards bringing printed material and archives together under one roof, in a local studies centre. Documentary research is the key to the local history trail, but it is necessary to find out the background and use the secondary sources first.
Oral testimony
Recording the memories of local people is increasingly seen as a valuable source of information. Since the mid-20th century people have been recording and transcribing memories and reminiscences, and for many parts of the country there is now a large collection of sound recordings and written transcripts that can be used by local historians. The local library or record office should know of the whereabouts of any such material.
Physical evidence
The landscape, the fields, the streets, the buildings, the market places and the factories, the riversides and the housing estates … all these are part of the historical record and help to tell their own story. Look around you and try to see your locality as though it were a document or a book. Try to read what it says and to understand its message.
Published: 2005-03-02
