The Mapping Museum research project was created to look at the increase in the number of museums in the UK. As part of this project, Joan D’Arcy, Geoffrey Sadler, and Leonard Ashton were interviewed about the Little Chester Heritage Centre

Explore more about the Mapping Museum project here and read D'Arcy, Sadler, and Ashton's interview below:

Interview summary

Name of persons being interviewed: Joan D’Arcy, Geoffrey Sadler, Leonard Ashton

Location of interview: Little Chester Heritage Centre

Date of Recording: 19 June 2019

Recording Length: 01:21:42

Name of interviewer: Dr Toby Butler

Description: Little Chester Heritage Centre is housed in the aisle of a Victorian church and covers the history and heritage of the Chester Green area, the oldest suburb of the city of Derby.

Summary of main points in interview: The Heritage Centre grew out of a local history group, which itself grew (in the 1980s) out of a residents’ association. The group has a committee and stated aims and objectives.

In 1986 the group mounted an open-air exhibition, "Life in Roman Britain". The group began collecting items, including a model Roman village created for the 1986 exhibition. By the mid-1990s it was apparent that a place where the items could be displayed was needed.

In 2000 a new vicar arrived at the local church; he offered an empty side-aisle of the church for use as a heritage centre. The displays are broadly thematic rather than chronological, consisting of a mixture of display pinboards with cuttings, images, diagrams, maps, and typescript information sheets interspersed with display cabinets with items including letters, documents, china, coins, and archaeological finds.

At one end there is a professionally designed pop-up banner display on the history of the Derby Co-operative Provident Society, with a display case of items sold by their stores. Mannequins display Victorian and Roman costume; scale models illustrate Roman and Anglo-Saxon burial sites and models of a Roman fort and villa. Storage areas contain archive materials and items in store. A small bookcase contains a collection of local history reference works and folders on a wide array of local history topics.

Unusually the display space, being an aisle of a church, has almost no wall space; display boards are therefore used around columns on one side, while window sills are used to display leaflets, publications, and walking guides. Sadler explains that the volunteers that run the Centre are getting older and it is a struggle to get younger people involved. D’Arcy discusses visitor numbers which are boosted by youth groups and history walks and talks.

Flood-defence work has led to more finds, and the Centre has featured temporary exhibitions on historic flooding. D’Arcy feels that an understanding local history can bring people together and deepen understanding of the local area.