Heritage project will gather stories from suburbs

Stories from residents of York's suburbs are being collected for a new project exploring the heritage of previously "underrepresented communities" in the city.

To coincide with York Civic Trust's 80th anniversary, the charity launched its Acomb and Westfield project to "uncover hidden gems and local memories" in the area.

Christina Henzel, heritage engagement officer at the trust, said while the centre of York was well-known for its history, stories from the suburbs were just as important.

"Those outlying areas all have their piece of the jigsaw that makes up the York story; they have just as fascinating stories and hidden heritage that are underrepresented overall," she said.

The first phase of the project, which is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, involves a pop-up stall at Acomb Explore Library to gather residents' views.

People can drop in to share memories and highlight the buildings, spaces, and stories they feel deserve more recognition and care.

Henzel said the trust wanted to "challenge people's views about heritage".

"When you think about heritage, you think about really old buildings and York has plenty of them," she explained.

"That is heritage as well, but we're thinking about the everyday ones, so the shops, the green spaces, maybe where you walk your dog, things that give the area its identity."

Acomb was a former village which gradually merged with York, following a post-World War Two housing boom, Henzel said, and is a "tapestry of heritage" from multiple time periods.

A wider programme of events will run throughout summer, including creative workshops, guided walks and other community activities.

Later in the year, York Civic Trust will fund community-led heritage grants for projects in Acomb and Westfield that emerge as important during the first phase of the project.

"Heritage is a living thing, it doesn't stop at a certain point," Henzel said.

"Sometimes people can live in an area for quite a while and they forget actually how they interact with areas or what's important.

"I think if we don't identify it now, especially for the upcoming generations, we'll have a gap in sort of York's heritage for the future."

She added that if successful, the project could be "a blueprint" to look at other areas of York and "really pull in all those underrepresented communities".

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