Reflections on my Middle Street heritage project placement

Megan Williams at the launch of the first exhibition at Beeston Library, April 2023

During my MA Museums and Heritage Development course at Nottingham Trent University, I was given the opportunity to apply for the role of Heritage Intern on this project. This project first piqued my interest after reading about how important the Middle Street Resource Centre is to all those involved within it and how it should be celebrated for all it has achieved – especially regarding its effort to support the community’s mental health and wellbeing. After also having previous experience with oral history during a project in collaboration with Nottingham Castle and remembering how engaging and valuable oral history was to the project, I decided to apply.

Whilst completing the placement, I learned such a variety of important skills and further developed my knowledge of what oral history is. My first day of the internship involved learning the importance of oral history and how it can be used to archive personal histories through the method of storytelling by the individual and listening by the interviewer. I even had the opportunity to be involved in two oral history interviews, after being taught by Verusca and Dale about the importance of good interview practice. Another training session I have been involved in was an online session regarding writing interpretation text for heritage projects, providing me the opportunity to write some text panels for the exhibition that took place at Beeston Library, which I also helped to support on its launch day. Additionally, I took part in online research into social media outlets to use for advertising the exhibition, along with analysing online newspaper archives for interesting articles regarding the events that took place in Middle Street Resource Centre’s history.

Memory box made by one of the participants in the Middle Street heritage project

Overall, this project has been especially valuable for me as it helped me to further understand the significance of recording and sharing individual’s testimonies and how they can provide alternative interpretations of the past. Especially regarding how poorly documented the subject of mental health has been in the past, with sources only discussing the symptoms rather than the individuals themselves and their lived experiences with these conditions. This is a value I hope to carry along with me throughout the rest of my career, highlighting the people behind events and sharing their personal experiences within both accessible archives and exhibitions.

I would like to thank Verusca and Dale for giving me the opportunity to work on this unique and personal project. Their support, determination, and leadership along with their passion for oral history has inspired me to become more aware of how successful and valuable personal testimonies can truly be.

Thank you so much.

Megan Williams