Island History Trust

Isle of Dogs, East London

Archive in use at twice-yearly Open day

Photo supplied by the Island History Trust

The Island History Trust is a community history project dedicated to recording and preserving the history of the Isle of Dogs and the people who live there.

People on the Isle of Dogs started collecting photographs and reminiscence in 1981. This was at the time when the docks and most of the local factories had just closed. There was unemployment and an atmosphere of uncertainty. Feelings of loss of local identity and of traditional ways of working and living, were countered by the activity of recording and preserving local history.

The archive consists of photographs and ephemera relating to people and places on the Isle of Dogs in East London. Most of the material comes from the 20th century; a small percentage comes from the late 19th century.

We currently hold over 5,000 images and 1,500 items of ephemera. The photographs (which are copied from originals) are available in hard copy and on screen, together with captions, which are also indexed by name and place. A search engine allows individuals to be traced in images. The ephemera is available in hard copy, via both hard copy and digitised catalogues.

The archive is funded via a mixture of sources, including sales, donations, subscriptions, local sponsors, local government and charitable trusts.  As a registered museum and charitable trust with one part-time worker and numerous local volunteers, the Island History Trust archive is run on the principle that everything in it belongs to the community which created it.