(Photo: Bretton housing estate, Peterborough, 1975 from Town & Country Planning Association)
Four new scoping grants have been awarded as part of the wider Archives Revealed fund, which focuses on transforming access to archives for a wide range of users, enabling more people to engage with the UK’s rich documentary heritage. The programme is administered by The National Archives, and supported by the Foundation and The Pilgrim Trust.
The recipients of the latest round of scoping grants are the Muslim Council of Britain, The Town and Country Planning Association, The Horse Hospital and The Keep Military Museum.
A scoping grant of £3,000 funds a report that incorporates expert advice on a range of areas relating to collections management and the development of an organisation’s collection.
For further information on the scheme, please see The National Archives website.
In response to receiving their scoping grants, the recipients said the following:
Muslim Council of Britain
“The MCB archival collection has been gradually organised over several years by volunteers committed to preserving community histories, and with the scoping grant this foundation can now be built upon and professionalised. The archives provide a valuable insight into the history of the organisation and its members, representing a broad cross-section of British Muslim communities across the UK, and we look forward to making it publicly available for the benefit of researchers in the fields of religion and faith in Britain and related areas. Through this project, we also hope to provide increased awareness and appreciation within British Muslim communities of the importance of preserving heritage and history, in order to positively contribute towards the growing and rich tapestry of archival collections across Britain’s diverse faith communities.”
The Town and Country Planning Association
The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) was founded in 1899 as the Garden City Association by Sir Ebenezer Howard, an English urban planner and founder of the Garden City movement. This movement focused on improving the conditions under which most people live, work and play through the creation of new, sustainable places. Today the Association is an independent charity that continues to put social justice and the environment at the heart of place-making. Due to this rich history, as well as the Association’s many achievements, the issues that are covered by the TCPA’s archive continue to be of relevance in policy and practice.
Fiona Howie, Chief Executive of the TCPA: “We are delighted to receive this grant, which will support us to make important progress towards securing the protection of our archives. The challenge of delivering the homes and communities people need is more topical than ever and making our archives more accessible will ensure we can learn from the past to inform how we best tackle current challenges.”
The Horse Hospital
‘We are incredibly grateful to have been awarded an Archives Revealed Scoping Grant as this brings us a step closer to ensuring that The Horse Hospital’s legacy of more than 27 years of ‘writing histories from below’ can reach and inspire many generations to come. At a time when the survival of self-organised, artist-led cultures is being undermined by profit-driven imperatives, it is particularly important for our community to see the historical value of our work being recognised and supported.’ Letitia Calin, Co-Director, The Horse Hospital
The Horse Hospital is a grade II listed not-for-profit arts organisation with a focus on counter-cultural histories, subcultures, outsider as well as emerging art. Since its foundation in 1993, it has been committed to championing underrepresented practices and amplifying artist-led and DIY culture through its open-door policy towards collaborators irrespective of their socio-economic, cultural or artistic backgrounds. The Horse Hospital was awarded an Asset of Community Value (ACV) by Camden Council in both 2014 and 2019.
The Keep Military Museum
“We at The Keep Military Museum are incredibly excited to have been awarded an Archives Revealed scoping grant. Our archive is an extensive and remarkable collection of around 50,000 diaries, papers, maps and photographs relating to our regiments and their role and impact locally, nationally and internationally over more than 300 years. This grant will open up more opportunities for us to plan for and to ensure the future preservation of this significant resource. It will also help us gain better insight into the material we hold and therefore able to engage a wider audience with, what we feel, is a unique and very much under-used collection.”
