Royston Local History Group

The group has enjoyed two major phases of funding in the last few years and has produced an extensive digital archive (now available on a CD) and three books. There has been a huge amount of community participation.

The first and third books focus mainly on the huge social and physical impact of coal mining, canals and railways on the village, and the impact also of their demise.

The second book details the history of the village before mining, railways and canals and offers a valuable record of the village’s almost unique form of local governance.

The most recent project work has involved the community researching the history and experiences of local women who were employed at the ‘Volusta’ factory, a local shirt manufacturer. The research focuses on the lives of the women employed between the 1940’s and 1970’s in a village that was otherwise dominated by the traditional industries mentioned above, which employed a mainly male workforce .

Participants scanned their old photographs/documents into the archive, which is now available on CD Rom. There are good links with BBC Radio Sheffield, which has helped to advertise the project.