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HERITAGE AND HISTORY
IN PRACTICE
Enhancing Research Culture through Co-production and Public Participation
In 2026, UK Research and Innovation is funding a new project at the University of Lancashire that will bring members of the public together to co-produce an exhibition using their own family history stories and heritage materials, with academic expertise and support from Project Lead Dr Brandon Taylorian.
The project aims to develop a model of 'participatory heritage' that prioritises the community–university relationship in historical research and to foster local community identity.
Please join us for the Exhibition Launch Event starting at 6pm on Wednesday 24th June at the University of Lancashire's Student Centre in Preston.
ONLINE EXHIBITION
The Heritage and History in Practice Exhibition was hosted at the University of Lancashire Student Centre in Preston from 25th June to 31st July 2026. It began with a celebratory exhibition launch event on the evening of 24th June 2026 in which the 20 co-researchers involved in the project gathered to display their research projects. The launch event was attended by over 100 people, including University staff, students, friends and family of the co-researchers and members of the public.
Below are the exhibits produced from the Heritage and History in Practice programme. If you click on the exhibit board or image, it will take you either to an article or presentation developed by each co-researcher.
Banana Boats: The Journey of Caribbean Stowaways to Britain, 1959–1960
Victorian Apprenticeships: An 1849 Indenture Reveals Life in Liverpool's Pawnbroking Trade
Pupil Teachers: Insights on Victorian Schooling from a Pair of Exercise Books dated 1868 and 1870
1951 Scrapbook: How a School Scrapbook Inspired a Long-Distance Hiking Career
The Mill Murder: A Petition to Reprieve Arthur Birkett in Blackburn, 1912
The Mill Murder: A Petition to Reprieve Arthur Birkett in Blackburn, 1912
Rebel Catholics: The Opening of the Leyland Latin Mass Centre, 1974–1977
Windrush Legacies: Uncovering How Caribbean-Born British Citizens Shaped Community Life in Preston
Francis McMellon: The Artistic Legacy of a Bamber Bridge Schoolmaster
Irish Immigrants: What Life Was Like in Victorian Preston for Irish Families
Dating Antique Photographs: How To Read Old Images Like A Historian
The Lancashire Riots of 1812: Industrial Unrest Retold Through The Life and Times of Cavalryman Richard Turner (1783–1860)
Family History Methods: Approaches to Researching British Ancestry and Genealogy
Generational Impact of War: What Hugh McFadden's Story From Donegal to Preston Reveals About The Lasting Impact of War
Fulwood Barracks Murder: Insights on Violence in Military Communities in Victorian Preston
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Let's Be Civil
Jamaican Sugar Plantations: Insights on Changing Attitudes to Slavery in John Carr's 1802 Will
Lives on the Move: From 1878 to 1987, Preston Provided a Home and Opportunity to Four Relatives
Wartime Nursing: Retracing Romantic Connections in a Cumbrian Nurse's 1914 Autograph Book
The Tale of Two Sisters: “It was the Best of Times, it was the Worst of Times”
From Global RAF Wartime Service to Settling in Lancashire at the Dawn of the New Elizabeth Age
Preston Home Front: How Nursing and Military Service Shaped One Family During the First World War
Avenham Park to Rose Street: First Opened in 1976, Jalgos Sports and Social Club in Rose Street in Preston is Lancashire's Last Remaining Caribbean Social Club
The Portico Estate: Retracing the History of 3 Fields through Family Stories and a 1799 Indenture
WORKSHOP PRESENTATIONS
See below the full workshop programme for Heritage and History in Practice. To access, please enquire with Dr Brandon Taylorian at brtaylorian2@lancashire.ac.uk
Workshop 1: Heritage, Value and Research.
Delivered on 18th March 2026
Workshop 3: Interpreting Heritage for Public History. Delivered on 15th April 2026
Workshop 5: Exhibition Co-curation and Peer Review. Delivered on 13th May 2026
Workshop 2: Ethical Digitisation and Care of Materials. Delivered on 1st April 2026
Workshop 4: Storytelling and Audience Engagement. Delivered on 28th April 2026
Workshop 6: Reflection and Sharing Your Outputs. Delivered on 27th May 2026
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