Gosberton & District History Society

The Society was formed in 2014, and covers the Civil Parish of Gosberton, which comprises Gosberton Village, Gosberton Clough, Gosberton Risegate and surrounding hamlets. They hold well attended quarterly members meetings. They publish a quarterly newsletter, undertake family and local history research, are building up an extensive (mainly digital) archive, and their Secretary has published a number of books on Gosberton history.

Whilst all periods of history are covered in their remit, the focus is on social history in the 19th and 20th centuries. 

The Society is managed by a Committee of (currently) six people, who meet quarterly. AGMs are held each February. We have a Constitution. We are not a Registered Charity. We have low income and expenditure. Income comes from admission fees. The current set-up is working well, but looking to the future, the Committee would like to attract additional and younger members with the skill sets required to ensure workload can be spread going forward.

Preserving history:

Oral History: Often, oral history is relayed to us at members meetings. Contact details are sometimes taken to arrange a subsequent conversation, where notes will be taken or a recorded interview conducted. We don’t have a planned programme of collecting oral history. We have conducted a handful of ad-hoc recorded interviews using a mobile phone. These are not transcribed verbatim, but exist as digital files. Capturing oral history is consuming, especially itemising and cataloguing the content. Very limited resources. If feasible, we will ask the contributor to provide information to us in writing.

Archive of Photos, memorabilia, historical documents, etc: We encourage locals to share their old photos, documents, etc via a number of channels: our newsletter, quarterly members meetings, social media. We are building up an extensive archive (99% digital). We have an archivist in the Society, who catalogues material – which is 99% digital, archived under various categories. A catalogue records what we hold, so items can easily be retrieved. We do not currently make the archive accessible as such, though we do draw on it to share via Social Media, displays at meetings & events, and publications. The storage of physical items is problematic – spread around a number of committee members. There is no central archive location. Archiving and cataloguing requires patience, time, and a methodical approach. Currently rests on the shoulders of one person.

Research: We have two researchers in the History Society. All research is documented and added to our growing archive. 

Sharing history: 

Meetings and Events: We hold quarterly History Society Members Meetings, which are regularly attended by 60-70 people. We often have guest speakers, covering a range of topics. We also hold an annual Heritage Day, which attracts a wider audience than our History Society meetings.

Social Media: Our Secretary administers the ‘Bygone Gosberton’ Facebook Page, posting all content himself, drawn mainly from our Society Archive. There are currently 567 followers. Sometimes, he shares posts with other Facebook groups, to reach a wider audience. He also has a ‘Bygone Gosberton’ YouTube channel, which contains virtual tours of the Gosberton area. Number of followers has just about plateaued. We need to think about using other Facebook groups to post onto, to reach a wider audience. Would like to increase the production of videos, to better engage with the public – but very time consuming, requiring a reasonably high IT skillset. 

Website: There are no plans to run our own website. There is a Gosberton Community website, but we do not contribute to this. Something to consider for the future? 

Publications: We have been producing a quarterly Society newsletter since 2020, which goes out in digital form to over 200 members. Time consuming to produce, with two of our committee members as the contributors and publishers. Would be nice to have more contributors, but no concerted action is currently being made to seek more. 

Permanent displays: None yet, but we have just embarked on the ‘Gosberton Heritage Gateway Project 2025’ to install a Display area in our parish church. Subject to receiving funding.

Current Projects: 

The Gosberton Heritage Gateway Project 2025 will put our Parish Church (St. Peter and St. Paul) at the centre of public access to information about the history of the church and the local area, through: Display Area, Interactive Information Screen, Virtual Church Tour, cleaning and restoration of altarpieces. We are working with SHL, who will provide their support and advice over applying for funding.