Past goes online with Bedfordshire Community Histories

A series of new introductory videos are being released by Bedfordshire Archives as their Community Archives are relaunched as Community Histories.

Despite having to restrict services during the pandemic, Bedfordshire Archives is continuing to find new ways for communities to explore its wealth of historical records.

This project has been put together by staff and volunteers and provides hundreds of web pages packed with information on the history over 180 Bedfordshire towns, villages, and hamlets.

Information ranges from general introductory accounts to histories of individual buildings and people.

Bedfordshire Archives will be releasing a series of videos on their Facebook page (@bedfordshirearchives) to make it easier to access the information. The videos will provide an introduction to the Community Histories, how to get the most out of the information available there and how to help the project grow.

Videos will cover the following topics:

- Community Histories: Find out more and advice on compiling a page for the website - this video is out now

- Tips and tricks to get the most out of our online catalogue - this video will be released on Monday, November, 16

- Reveal stories from the archives with these Local History sources - this video will be released on Monday, November 23.

Mayor of Bedford Borough Dave Hodgson said: “Bedfordshire Archives provide a fantastic insight in to the county’s past. It’s great to see this information available online through the Community Histories.

"I hope these videos will provide a welcome introduction to the history of Bedfordshire, its towns, villages and hamlets and helps these records to grow.”

You can visit the Bedfordshire Archives website at bedsarchives.bedford.gov.uk.