A three-year community-driven heritage project called Local Landscapes & Hidden Histories is calling on Lincoln residents to help preserve its green space heritage through a new online legacy archive.
The Local Landscapes & Hidden Histories project is being paid for by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and City of Lincoln Council, and is designed to celebrate the history of seven of Lincoln’s green spaces, each with its own unique landscape character and set of tangible and intangible heritage assets.
The spaces are Lincoln Arboretum, South Common and Cow Paddle, Boultham Park, Hartsholme Park, Birchwood Nature Park, and West Common
To build a publicly available online archive, the Local Landscapes & Hidden Histories team invites contributions from the community, including old photographs, journal entries, postcards, letters, maps, documents, personal stories, and memories; anything that acts as a clue to the past and is related to one of the seven green spaces encompassed in the project.
Every piece, no matter how small, serves as a vital clue to uncovering the past and preserving it for future generations.
The Local Landscapes & Hidden Histories team asks that all potential donors provide as much information as possible about their items so they can be processed as efficiently as possible.
Members of the public can share their memories and items in person at the Archive Repository Days, held monthly at The Grandstand Community Centre. The first session is scheduled for 27 January 2025, from 10:30am to 1:30pm.
Following this, other repository mornings will take place at The Grandstand Community Centre between the same hours on:
- 24 February 2025.
- 24 March 2025
- 14 April 2025
- 12 May 2025
- 9 June 2025
- 30 July 2025
If you can’t attend, you can get in touch by emailing LL.HH@lincoln.gov.uk to discuss alternative ways to contribute.
Local Landscapes & Hidden Histories aims to make history accessible to all, fostering inclusivity through engaging activities such as history cafés, walking tours, and nature walks. By involving underrepresented groups, the project ensures that Lincoln’s green spaces remain a shared treasure for everyone.
Cllr Bob Bushell at City of Lincoln Council said: “We’re seeing parts of Lincoln’s heritage slowly fade with time with fewer people having knowledge about the history our parks and open spaces represent.
“The goal of this project is to create an accessible, user-friendly archive that belongs to everyone, ensuring our city’s history remains vibrant and alive for years to come. Thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund and to National Lottery players for making this all possible.”
