Our newest volunteer group are now up and running supporting a postgraduate research project. Hannah Smith is a current PhD student at Keele University whose research is focusing on the legacies of slavery in Staffordshire, in particularly how slavery and abolition are remembered within the county. Hannah is leading the Staffordshire & Slavery volunteer group and studying documents from our collections.

Hannah launched the project earlier this Autumn by giving a talk where she gave the audience an overview of her research so far, reviewed a recent study trip to Boston and shared an interesting case study from Bath Record Office.

Content warning these documents contain offensive language and discussion of enslaved people. Letter from the Sarah Smith collection.

The group are currently transcribing documents and discussing them with Hannah’s guidance. As the project progresses we will be working towards making our catalogue more accessible; understanding how catalogue descriptions should be presented, what language should be used, what is important about a document, and what people would like to learn further in relation to slavery. 

Content warning these documents contain offensive language and discussion of enslaved people. Accounts from the Sarah Smith collection.

Look out for more blog posts as the project develops over the next 6 months.

We would like extend our thanks to Arts Council England and the Art Fund who have funded the purchase of equipment for this group to use through the West Midlands Museum Development Small Grant Scheme 2023 .