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| Staffordshire Local History Society | |
|---|---|
| Name | Staffordshire Local History Society |
| Formation | 1920s |
| Type | Historical society |
| Headquarters | Stafford |
| Region served | Staffordshire |
| Language | English |
Staffordshire Local History Society is a county-based organization promoting the study of Staffordshire through research, publication, and outreach. Founded in the early twentieth century, it connects local historians with institutions, archives, and communities across Staffordshire, West Midlands and adjacent counties such as Shropshire, Derbyshire, Cheshire, Worcestershire, and Warwickshire. The Society fosters work on subjects ranging from medieval Stafford manorial records, industrial history of Stoke-on-Trent, to rural studies in the Peak District and canal studies along the Trent and Mersey Canal.
The Society emerged in the interwar period alongside contemporaries like the Victoria County History movement, the British Record Society, and county societies in Derbyshire and Cheshire Historical Society. Early members drew on collections at the Staffordshire Record Office, consulted materials from the Public Record Office and corresponded with scholars at the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum. During World War II the Society preserved parish registers, tithe maps, and local newspapers such as the Staffordshire Advertiser, collaborating with the Ministry of Information and local authorities including Stafford Borough Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council to safeguard cultural heritage.
The Society publishes an annual journal and occasional monographs similar in aim to publications by the Royal Historical Society and the Local Population Studies Society. Its transactions include articles on archaeological findings from sites near Lichfield Cathedral, industrial case studies of Burslem and the pottery towns of Longton and Tunstall, and studies of transport such as the West Coast Main Line and the Caldon Canal. Regular activities comprise lectures drawing on speakers from Keele University, Staffordshire University, the University of Birmingham, and curators from institutions like the National Trust and the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust.
Members include amateur historians, academic researchers from University of Oxford and University of Cambridge visiting for archival work, local government archivists, and volunteers from parish history groups in Burton upon Trent, Tamworth, and Rugeley. The Society’s governing council liaises with bodies such as the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Arts Council England, and the Council for British Archaeology. Officers have included former staff from the Staffordshire County Council archives service and collaborators who have worked with the Friends of the National Libraries.
Research priorities have ranged from medieval manorialization studies referencing the Domesday Book to industrial archaeology of the Staffordshire Potteries and coalfield studies tied to Cannock Chase. Projects have examined enclosure impact using records from the Tithe Commutation Act 1836 era, conservation of canal architecture along the Trent and Mersey Canal, and mapping historic landscapes with techniques discussed at conferences of the Royal Geographical Society. Collaborative excavations have taken place with teams from the Institute of Archaeology (UCL) and the Society of Antiquaries of London.
The Society runs public lectures, walking tours of historic town centres like Lichfield, school workshops linked to curricula inspired by the National Curriculum, and training in paleography using documents housed at the Staffordshire Record Office and parish churches such as St Mary’s Church, Stafford. It organizes themed days on pottery manufacture referencing firms like Wedgwood and Minton, and courses on interpreting census returns from the Office for National Statistics era, aimed at family historians and members of the Federation of Family History Societies.
Partnerships include work with the National Trust at properties in the county, joint seminars with the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust on historic landscapes, and digitization initiatives with the British Library and the Wellcome Collection. Grants and projects have involved funders such as the Heritage Lottery Fund and collaborations with museums including the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Lichfield Cathedral Close, and the Shire Hall, Stafford.
The Society maintains an archive of its journals, papers, and research notes deposited at the Staffordshire Record Office and supplements holdings in the National Monuments Record. Its collections complement parish registers from churches like St Michael’s Church, Lichfield and estate papers from families associated with Tamworth Castle and the Bagot family. Material includes maps such as those by Ordnance Survey and estate plans used in studies of enclosures and landscape change.
Category:History of Staffordshire Category:Historical societies of the United Kingdom