The importance of the stories and memories shared…

Once contributed at the Know Your Bristol events, memories, stories and images of objects are included in the Know Your Place project run by Bristol City Council. The stories become part of the archive, gathering together Bristol’s local history and bringing it together for everyone to access, through the Know Your Place online map, launched in March 2011.

The map brings together current and old maps to document the changing landscape of Bristol. Even more excitingly, images and information can be added to the map to enhance its historical interest and provide a deeper understanding of how Bristol has developed over the years. Individuals can now explore their local community and discover the history under their very feet through the contributions uploaded to the site.

This is where the Know Your Bristol project comes in. Anyone can contribute to the map, but these events provide an opportunity to focus on a specific area or site, such as Bristol Zoo and Kings Weston and encourage contributions relating to them. Historians and experts are on hand to discuss the history of the places with anyone who comes along and listen to the memories they have to share. Not only does this build up the Know Your Place local history archive, it also contributes to the areas own archive and influences current research on the places.

TV archaeologist Mark Horton sharing his expertise on Arnos Vale

The importance of local history and projects such as Know Your Bristol cannot be underestimated and each story, memory or image contributed adds to the history and understanding of a place- sometimes even correcting currently inaccurate records! Thanks to everyone who has made a contribution to the events so far, I hope there will be some equally exciting stories at Kings Weston, South Bristol and M Shed.