02/09/03 - Cumbria Archive Service takes part in North West Festival : Cumbria County Council

Cumbria's archives treasures are in the spotlight this month as part of the North West Archives Festival.

A unique Cumbria notebook that paints a vivid and disturbing picture of the lives of women and child miners in the mid19th century has been awarded a place in the North West Archival Treasury, which was used to launch the festival this week. This is a list of the most important archives from across the region, as chosen by a panel of experts. The notebook, which is held at the Whitehaven Records Office and one of only 30 winning entries from across the whole north west region, was instrumental in leading to new restrictions in the control of child labour introduced in the first Coal Mines Act of 1842.

Two other archive treasures made it into the Treasury. One is a photograph book of 160 criminals with 713 different charges between them, 207 of which relate to crimes committed in Kendal between 1880 and 1910. This gives accounts of the crimes of local 'characters' such as 'Cock Eyed Billy' and photographs of criminals hands - possible an early form of finger printing. The other is a 16th Century Hawes Estate map, one of only two Tudor maps to survive locally for Westmorland and with rare pictorial details. These are both held in the Kendal Record Office.

A number of events are taking place throughout September as part of the festival, which is a month long celebration of the region's historical treasures. One is the 'Age of Emotion' on-line exhibition at Cumbria Archives website. This looks at the extremes of love and hate in a virtual exhibition of documents, cards, poems and letters, featuring juicy historical titbits from local historical love letters and diaries.

Another event is the English Lake District Website Quiz, a quiz based on www.cumbrialakes.org which capitalises on people's love of the Lake District and illustrates how archives can be used to help them understand the modern environment. The quiz aims to increase the use of archives and local studies images. Leaflets with questions on will be available from Cumbria Record Offices, libraries and major tourist information centres.

Councillor Tim Heslop, County Council spokesman for culture, said:

"The Archives Festival provides a unique opportunity for Cumbria Archive Service to share its many treasures with local people. Our winning entries in the Treasury are very different and show the variety of records held in Cumbria's 6,000 strong collection."

Anne Rowe, County Archivist, said:

"We hope that these events will capture the imagination of young and old alike. Our writer-in-residence, Marian Veevers, will be continuing to promote archives as a source of creative writing. Workshops targeting primary schools and higher education students will continue throughout September with an anthology of work being published at the end of the Festival."

Cumbria Archives in one of more than 30 archive partners supporting the North West Archives Festival. This is the first time that archives services, libraries, museums and community groups have celebrated the region's history together.

Janice Taylor, Archive Development Officer at the North West Museums Libraries and Archives Council, one of the organisers of the Festival, said:

"The North West Archives Festival is a vibrant celebration of local history, featuring events from Cumbria to Greater Manchester. The month long festival aims to promote interest in the region's hidden treasures and encourage visitors to use their local archives - the centre of community history!"