Take a trip back in time this new year with events at the county’s archive centre.
From nostalgic screenings of films made about railways, magic lantern shows, to learning how to bind books and research your family tree, there is a fantastic programme of events to look forward to at The Keep, near Falmer, in 2019.
Britain on film: Railways
First up on 16 January is Britain on Film: Railways, a screening of one of the British Film Institute’s series of archive and heritage films that captures the romance and adventure of the railway age. It includes some wonderfully noteworthy footage, from the earliest film kiss in the BFI archive, which took place on a steam train in 1899, to a 1970 film reflecting on the transition from steam to diesel and electric trains.
Magic lantern show
Come and enjoy some authentic Victorian family entertainment. On 30 January, there will be an authentic magic lantern show, in which lanternist Trevor Beattie will speak about this early form of image projection while showing a range of colourful slides. These will include local views of Brighton and the South Coast, as well as animated comic slides, optical fireworks and more!
Book binding
If you’d like to learn a new skill, why not sign up for a conservation and bookbinding day? Conservator Melissa Williams will be opening up her studio for a series of Tuesday workshops, starting on 15 January. You can bring along your own books or documents and find out how to repair and care for them, or you can make a beautiful journal or album from scratch. Melissa will also be running a special one-day event to introduce Japanese stab binding on Saturday 19 January. This simple form of bookbinding is perfect for beginners – there’s no folding or gluing, but it still results in a lovely handmade book.
Family trees
If you have already done the hard work of researching your family tree then this course will help you put your family members in context and explore ways of telling their stories using material such as letters, photographs and objects from your own collections. The course, Beyond the family tree, is an 8-week creative writing course led by author and life historian Shivaun Woolfson and runs throughout February and March 2019.
If you would like to know where to start when it comes to researching your family tree, we have some great tips here: How to research your family tree.
Booking and more information
Booking details and more information about all Keep events can be found on the website. Alternatively, you can give the centre a call on 01273 482349 or pop in and book at reception. Booking for all of these events is recommended.
The Keep is a partnership between East Sussex Record Office, which holds the county archive, Brighton & Hove Museums, and the University of Sussex, and runs talks and workshops about the collections.
