Angel Row Historyfest success
Arnold Local History Group's Peter Hunt, with his colleague, Lynne Gadd, was an early arrival and put on an impressive display.
Maureen Newton from Hucknall Heritage Society is another history fair regular and one of the county's great contemporary local historians.
Gill Morral and Carole White were wearing two hats - Friends of Toton Fields and Beeston & District LHS. Their display was very impressive.
Peter Hammond and David Dunford from West Bridgford & District LHS have a friendly tussle over who will put this part of their display up, or is it take down? Another stalwart supporter of Angel Row history fairs.
Tracy Dodds of Notts FHS listened to Roger Tanner, whose interest in ancestry is linked to his passion for the history of the Pentrich Rising in 1817.
Cliff and Maureen Voisey on the left were founders of Lenton LHS back in the 1970s and Steve Zaleski has been publishing stories about Lenton's history since 1980. They work closely, but to the best of my knowledge, and Steve thinks I'm right, they have never before been photographed together, so this pic is really something special!
Liz Burr and Alison Montgomery were also wearing two hats. One for a Nottingham Community & Voluntary Service Lottery funded history project and one about Lenton Priory with the Dunkirk & Lenton Partnership Forum in partnership with Trent & Peak Archaeology.
Nottingham would not be Nottingham without its radical side and at the 2012 and 2015 Angel Row history fairs this has been represented by People's Histreh and their 'loaf on a stick' logo. They really do offer a different take on the city's history which is both refreshing and enlightening.
In 2012, Carrina Harrison and Graham Hopscroft came along on the day and were squeezed into corner. Then the Canalside Heritage Trust based at Beeston Lock was weeks old. Now they are a Lottery funded heritage project which may well be open this time next year and they had a very different story to tell at this year's fair.
Nottingham Women's History Group are another stalwart supporter and it was with them that I caught Dorothy Ritchie, talking with Miriam Jackson and Val Wood. Another radical group, very much in the Nottingham tradition with a great meetings and walks programme.
Nicola Holmes from the Local Studies Library sat at a table with maps and had a steady flow of visitors, including Siân Trafford in search of 'a secret garden' close to Nottingham city centre.
And no picture record of the 2015 Angel Row Historyfest could be complete without one showing visitors. There was a steady flow until towards the end when it became quieter but, by any measure, the day was a great success with folk asking when the next one would be? For my part, I am really proud of my small role in history fairs since the 1980s, but it is time for others to take over and I look forward to attending the next one as a visitor - which, for me, will be a novel experience!
If anyone encapsulated the Historyfest for me, it was Roger Tanner from Nottingham, who wearing his Pentrich & South Winfield Revolution Group hat, came despite the Group's display not being ready in time (the Group is planning a big event for 2017 - the 200th anniversary of the uprising, which had Nottinghamshire connections). He must have spoken to everyone at the Historyfest. His enthusiasm was palpable and had we just done it for Roger, then that would have been enough for me. In fact, everyone was like Roger and that is what made it a memorable event. Bring on the next history fair. I can't wait to attend as a visitor!
From across the conurbation they came
By Robert Howard
In May 2012, Nottinghamshire Local History Association's Angel Row Forum began a revival of sorts with a history fair in Nottingham Central Library with the support of Nottingham Local Studies Library. Both NLHA and the Library were pioneering partners back in the 1980s when a series of regional history fairs were organised and led by Sheila Cooke, the then City Local Studies Librarian, and Kate Thompson, the then Leicesershire County Archivist.
Dorothy Ritchie, who has just retired from Nottingham Local Studies Library after nearly fifty years, and I were involved in the first fairs and we thought it time for a revival of sorts. You can find a report of the 2012 Fair on this website on another page.
In 2013, the History Fair was reprised by County Libraries in Mansfield Library and again in 2014 and 2015. There have also been two history fairs at Lakeside on Nottingham University's main campus, and a year ago, Dorothy and I decided we would like to organise one final history fair in Nottingham Central Library, which we decided to call a 'historyfest', before handing over to others — hence the Angel Row Historyfest in Nottingham Central Library on Saturday 10 October 2015.
Dorothy ended up retiring a few months ago and her colleague, Nicola Holmes, took over working with me and my NLHA colleague, Jenny Page, who, when the historyfest ended, took over from me as NLHA's Angel Row History Forum Organiser.
Last year, on reaching 70, I decided no more committees and this year I resolved no more organising anything after the Historyfest. Central Library's Nicola and her colleague Kay have been fantastic to work with and really helped to make the 2015 Angel Row Historyfest a great day. The accompanying pics try to catch some of the day. There will be more pics on the NLHA Facebook page over the coming days and a full report in the next issue of The Nottinghamshire Historian.