From St Mellitus to the Last Post: putting D/deaf history on the map
Between May and December 2024, I worked with the Essex Record Office and the Deaf community to explore Southend's D/deaf history. The project was set up by myself and Kate O’Neill. Kate is an archivist at Essex Record Office (ERO) The ERO is based in Chelmsford but looks after the archive for the whole county. We received funding from the National Archives to support this project.
Why did we start this project?
Kate and I worked together from 2021-23 on "A Kind of Vanishing" about a Deaf Man in Essex, and his life in the late nineteenth century. Through this project we both became aware of D/deaf history being told only from hearing perspectives.
Kate and I worked together from 2021-23 on "A Kind of Vanishing" about a Deaf Man in Essex, and his life in the late nineteenth century. Through this project we both became aware of D/deaf history being told only from hearing perspectives.
Through working with Damien, I came to see that the ERO doesn’t preserve very much from a D/deaf perspective. That history is at risk of being told by other people or lost completely. So together we applied for some funding from The National Archives, so we could run these workshops and see what you
(Deaf people) think.
(Deaf people) think.
What were the project aims?
What we did
Working with D/deaf participants from Southend and South Essex, we hosted three workshops the looking at material already preserved in archives, like newspapers, the census, and the records of organisations like RAD (previously RADD) and the Essex Deaf Council.
Using that material as a starting point, we then mapped out spaces that had been important to the Deaf community over the past hundred years, discussed material brought along by participants, and filmed short interviews in British Sign Language to record people's memories. These will be archived in the Essex Sound and Video Archive at the ERO.
We then created a sharable digital zine so that outcomes would be available to both participants and the wider public, to learn more about D/deaf history.
You can explore our findings via the ERO website (launched Dec 2024) or via this link. The project was supported by an Engagement Grant from The National Archives.
- To work with the Southend and South Essex Deaf community to find out more!
- To preserve a record of the D/deaf community in Southend, by collecting and copying material from the community and recording memories. Recording that history allows us to learn about it - now and in the future.
- We want Southend’s Deaf community to have access to Southend’s Deaf history.
What we did
Working with D/deaf participants from Southend and South Essex, we hosted three workshops the looking at material already preserved in archives, like newspapers, the census, and the records of organisations like RAD (previously RADD) and the Essex Deaf Council.
Using that material as a starting point, we then mapped out spaces that had been important to the Deaf community over the past hundred years, discussed material brought along by participants, and filmed short interviews in British Sign Language to record people's memories. These will be archived in the Essex Sound and Video Archive at the ERO.
We then created a sharable digital zine so that outcomes would be available to both participants and the wider public, to learn more about D/deaf history.
You can explore our findings via the ERO website (launched Dec 2024) or via this link. The project was supported by an Engagement Grant from The National Archives.
Press coverage
"A Year in Archives 2024" The National Archives website
Funded projects overview The National Archives website
"A Year in Archives 2024" The National Archives website
Funded projects overview The National Archives website
