Shropshire Routes to Roots

About the Shropshire Routes to Roots project

The Shropshire Routes to Roots project began in July 2003, with the aim of digitising local history and archive material for use by teachers, school children and lifelong learners.The project had six team members based at Shropshire Archives and Oswestry Library and ran until July 2004.

During the course of the project, the team addressed the following issues:

• Creating greater access to heritage materials in rural areas
• Giving worldwide access to materials held in local, isolated communities
• Empowering individuals and groups to present their own material online
• Encouraging exploration of local history and landscape stimulated by virtual visits

Digitised local history sources from Shropshire Archives and Oswestry Library are combined with background research in specially compiled learning packages that are freely available on the Shropshire Routes to Roots website. Alongside other content, learning packages have been compiled as part of the project, focusing on the following areas:

1. World Wars One and Two
2. Victorian crime and detection
3. Industrial development
4. Transport and communication
5. Changes in people and landscape
6. The story of writing
7. Medicine and health

As part of the project, the team collaborated with The National Archives to produce a lesson-sized ‘snapshot’ activity on evacuation to Shropshire during the Second World War. Originally badged as part of the Learning Curve this can now be found within The National Archives Education Service website. In the National Archives Annual Report for 2004 to 2005 they said "this type of partnership with regional organisations brings us wonderful opportunities to develop the diversity and local relevance of the Learning Curve". Shropshire Routes to Routes went on to be one of four shortlisted websites for the 2005 Phillimore Prize. This is awarded for excellence in the field of historical archiving by Phillimore publishers, in conjunction with The National Archives.

The Shropshire Routes to Roots website is only the starting point of discovery and users of the site are encouraged to explore further, either virtually via internet links and resources, or in person through libraries, archives, other sources, or by visiting the county.

If you have got any comments or questions about what you have seen on the Routes to Roots website please follow the link to the Who to contact page.

Shropshire Routes to Roots was an initiative for the AWM Libraries Challenge which was jointly-funded by Advantage West Midlands and funded and managed by MLA West Midlands.

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