Sharing our story at Scotland’s Community Heritage Conference 2017

~ Lucy Janes

The Arlington History Group held its first meeting in late 2016 so we’re just at the start of our journey.

One thing that has been really exciting for us over the past year has been making links with other people and organisations as we explore the place of our story in the wider narrative of the history of Glasgow, of swimming and water sports, and of local people and how they enjoyed their leisure time over the past (almost) 150 years.

We were delighted to be able to take part in Scotland’s Community Heritage Conference 2017 in November last year and share a bit of what we’ve done so far.  Our seminar was called Urban Projects and Sport and included really interesting talks from:

  • Doug Rocks-MacQueen, Archaeology Scotland, on Playing the Past: excavations at Cathkin Park
  • Andrew McConnell, Clydesdale Amateur Rowing Club, on Rejuvenating the West Boathouse: volunteer endeavours, momentum and making things happen!
  • Tom Heron, The Vennie, on The Vennie Skate Park: an urban discovery

Here’s my presentation, entitled Diving in: how volunteers are uncovering the stories of Arlington Baths:

Both days were packed with interesting and useful talks and workshops. It gave me lots of new things to think about such as:

  • How does heritage contribute to a sense of place?
  • What does that mean for communities?
  • How do ‘official’ archives, museums and heritage organisations interact with volunteers?
  • What is the role of the ‘interested amateurs’ in the heritage ‘ecosphere’?

Here’s just a few tweets to give you a flavour of the two days:

We’re looking forward to more linking and sharing this year, especially as we unearth more facts and stories from the Arlington’s past.

Lucy

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Published by Lucy Janes

Interested in archives, history, books, reading and writing. Lackadaisical swimmer at Victorian Arlington Baths in Glasgow, Scotland.

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