Category: Approach
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Picking Up Threads or Spinning New Yarns? Presentation
I presented a paper (‘Picking Up Threads or Spinning New Yarns? Investigating the Uncanny in Industrial Communities’) at this year’s (2025) DVMWHS Research Workshop, in the Strutt Centre, Belper, today, summarising the IF project. For any who were unable to make it; and audience members who might find further perusal useful; I’ve provided the content…
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Exploring Otherworld Derby: Fact and Fiction
Industrial Folkways’ investigations begin in and around Derby, due to the availability and accessibility of both existing evidence, and previous research; and (informed by the primary and secondary sources), the potential for finding further data of relevance to the project. In an old town like this, we can reach out and touch the past: it’s…
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DVMWHS Research Workshop (March 2025): IF Presentation
I’ll be delivering a presentation, entitled ‘Picking Up Threads or Spinning New Yarns? Investigating the Uncanny in Industrial Age Communities’, at the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Research Workshop, 12.25pm, 25 March, at the Strutts Community Centre, Belper, Derbyshire, DE56 1UU. The working abstract for the presentation is as follows: The Industrial Folkways project explores…
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Website Development
While this website is under construction, the IF Blog will continue in parallel, here. Thanks for your patience.
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How to participate
*Webpage under development [last updated 16-04-24]* If living or working in old buildings; or visiting historic buildings, sites and monuments; in these areas, and interested in looking for traces of folk magic in the past, let IF know! Join the mailing list to receive information sent directly to your mailbox, and / or follow this…
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How Might We Investigate Industrial-era Ritual and Belief?
Future posts will go into more detail regarding how the project goes about looking for and analysing evidence for folk rites and beliefs. But for now, I’ve outlined a few of the tasks involved in project work. The About page mentions some of the sources examined alongside historic environments and material culture; so here, I’m…
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Local – Regional – National: Caution, Caveats and Positivity in IF Approaches
The following originally formed part of a discussion on a particular seasonal tradition; but as that post was longer than usual; and the topic will surely arise again; I’ve extracted this to post separately here. Given the frequently-localised forms of many traditions, it can’t be assumed that the customs mentioned in works from regions outside…
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Project Study Areas
Developing previous and ongoing research, IF investigates relevant locations in and around the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. This will involve investigating samples of domestic, industrial and commercial buildings, sites, monuments, landscapes, and other features and spaces, dating to the late 1700s – to mid-1800s; or earlier contexts with activity potentially dating to this…
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Industrial Folkways: Background
Industrial Folkways (IF) is informed by, and to some degree continues, work carried out through the pilot community archaeology project, ‘Living in the Past’ (‘LIPCAP’ / ‘LIP’), which surveyed mainly occupied industrial housing in the Midlands, to explore historic environments of domestic life, and material traces of everyday experience. I started LIP over a decade…