Cash grant for a King's Lynn museum

It'll help fund a new project

Author: Sharon PlummerPublished 7th Oct 2020

True's Yard Fisherfolk Museum has received £3,900 support from the Sustaining Engagement for Collections Fund. A grant created by Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund and managed by the Museums Association.

True's Yard Fisherfolk Museum has received £3,900 from The Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund for an ambitious new oral history project: Great Change- The Last Generation.

This project will compare the present with the past by collecting both the Last Generations' stories of the slum clearance but also the stories of the Last Generation to experience the world Pre-Covid-19 and their experiences throughout the pandemic. This project is the largest oral history project the museum has ever attempted.

Lindsey Bavin, Museum Curator at True's Yard Fisherfolk Museum said:

"One thing the pandemic has highlighted is that so many personal histories have been lost because they were not recorded. The so called slum clearances of the North End took place between 1930-70 which means that the people who grew up in the North End are now in the higher risk bracket for Covid-19 (60+). Time is running out to record their stories and this might be the last opportunity to do it. They experienced a period of great change which is what we are living through right now which is why it is important not only to record the stories of the past but also the stories of the present because we are living through a global historic event."

Dr Paul Richards, Trust Chairman added:

"Oral history as the people's voice has always been important for True's Yard and this exciting project will allow the Museum to further develop such activity."