Heritage is about everything that makes us who we are; this means it weaves an incredibly rich, varied and powerful tapestry. Sadly though, not all of its amazing colours and strands get included in every weaving. This can leave people whose story threads are missing feeling invisible, and the general tapestry is dimmer, even misleading for the gaps – like trying to read a story with several chapters missing. Earlier this year we attended a powerful workshop run by a project in Sheffield who are leading the way in working with communities to address these issues. We’re delighted to introduce you to them and their work here.

From Roman soldiers to a Regency era ferryman, the rich history of African people in our country is a long one. A project in the North East has been researching these stories, sharing them through a range of resources and events – including a taster walk over our festival. As we couldn’t attend the walk we asked them to share a few stories here, highlighting the wonderful work they do and resource they are creating.

From a dazzling cloak to the portrait of a Curling Captain there is more to our sporting heritage than you might think. Sport is a huge part of our culture, but its place in our heritage has sometimes been overlooked. Earlier this year though we came across a brilliant network working to change that. As they lead us in celebrating National Sporting Heritage Day, their Founding Director is here to introduce their work and some amazing sporting heritage collections you can visit.