Clitheroe Sound Archive
The demise of the North West Sound Archive, in 2015, concerned many members of this Society - and the wider public. At the Committee meeting in December 2018, it was decided to try and do something about this, and we have!
The recent increase in funds from our increased membership - including corporate memberships - and visitor attendance fees has enabled us to purchase all the necessary recording, file storage and playback equipment to set up our own Sound Archive. With this new initiative, we have been ably advised by Andrew Schofield who now acts as our Sound Archive Team Leader. Many will recall that Andrew was the last Curator of The NW Sound Archive when based at Clitheroe Castle.
It is unlikely that we will be able to rival the amount of material that was amassed by NWSA. However, we will be able to continue that work - albeit based in and around Clitheroe. The stories which abound in the memories of local people, of personal experiences - past and present – can be captured for the information, and often entertainment, of those who follow us.
Following the support from members at our May 2019 meeting for the principle of establishing a Clitheroe Sound Archive we now have assembled a team of four Interviewers. Andrew Scofield has run induction sessions and will do so for any other members interested in conducting interviews. This notice was the basis of a press Release in December 2019 to encourage members of the public to have their stories recorded for posterity. These can be personal reminiscences, reflections on their life in Clitheroe, or simply their observations of a local event or event.
We are pleased that Lancashire Champion, Sid Calderbank, our first Public Speaker of the 2019 - 20 cycle of talks agreed that we could record the whole of his presentation to us on ‘The Intangible Heritage of our Lancashire Dialect’ on 2nd September. This was recorded by Andrew and represents a flying start to what we hope will become a tangible record of the life and times of our town.
Details of how to sign up for one or other of these roles can be obtained from Andrew Scholfield @ asr469@btinternet.com
September 2020 Footnote
Our intention to commence live recordings was set back by the Covid ‘Lockdown’ in March 2020 so, for the time being, these have been put on hold. In response to this we have established a new Reflections of Clitheroe & Ribble Valley page to enable anyone who wishes to put pen to paper about their local reminiscences, as opposed to having these recorded, may do so. Anyone having their stories published here, or considering doing so, should contact Andrew Schofield @ asr469@btinternet.com
As soon we are able to commence making live recordings, details of how to access these will be put onto this page of our Website. Alongside the Reflections of Clitheroe & Ribble Valley and Shirley’s Snippets, which are a miscellany of past images and extract from the Press, we hope this collection will become, in time, a comprehensive source of local historic record, interest - and amusement too!