bamford living memory project

Bamford Living Memory is a community arts project for Bamford, in the Hope Valley. Bamford is typical of Derbyshire villages which saw great changes during the twentieth century. Local valleys were flooded to make the Howden, Derwent and Ladybower reservoirs, and many people whose families had farmed the land for generations became dependent on water management for employment. The decline of manufacture in the UK saw Bamford Mill - once an important source of work in the village - eventually converted into luxury flats.

The ‘Bamford Living Memory’ project has been designed by local residents. It’s an enjoyable way for older villagers to pass their memories on to younger generations in their own words, through face-to-face meetings and creative writing, and for local children to respond. Training and equipment has been provided for a local photographic group to record activities, using digital photography and video, and selected material from the project will also be exhibited and performed at Bamford Festival, 2004. Further material will be will be contributed to national, regional and local archives at the end of the project in December 2004.

Work from the project will be published in the autumn of 2004. Please see the Books & CD page for further details.

The Bamford Living Memory Project is funded by the Local Heritage Initiative.