Students exhibit at Gloucester History Festival

  10th September 2020

Rising to the challenges of lockdown, history students have produced exhibitions on various aspects of local history for this year’s Gloucester History Festival. Produced as part of the Engaging Humanities module, these projects are available virtually on the Cotswold Centre for History & Heritage website, which hosts staff and student exhibitions on aspects of local history from previous years. 
This year’s projects explore the following subjects: 
Edward Wilson: A Cheltenham LifeExploring the life and legacy of one of Cheltenham’s most famous historical figures.Remembering George WhitefieldConsiders the controversial legacy of the Gloucester-born Methodist preacher, who became a leading figure in the Great Awakening in British America, but also had a problematic link to American slavery. This project will also be on display at St. Mary De Crypt Church in Gloucester.100 Years of GCHQThis project looks at three main instances that Cheltenham-based GCHQ made the headlines.Cheltenham’s Ragged SchoolThis project continues CC4HH’s focus on the hidden history of Cheltenham and exploring experiences of poverty. It focuses on poor relief and education. The exhibits can be accessed here. Dr Christian O’Connell, ACL in History: “Despite several setbacks caused by the lockdown, our students persevered and managed to produce some interesting and revealing work for this year’s festival. While shining a light on some hidden and very current subjects, the students also developed a number of skills in project management, organisation, and communication while conducting research into complex subjects. Staff in History are very proud of their work students, and the way that our partnership with the Festival brings to life new stories about our communities every year.”