Digital historic mapping software as a tool for community engagement
12 Nov 2024
Archaeology Technician Dr John Piprani leads a fascinating workshop in his local community
As the Archaeology Technician at the University of Manchester, I am guilty of taking my work home with me! In my archaeological role I have access to a digital mapping software, Digimap, which is useful for archaeologists as it facilitates a process called map regression. Map regression involves accessing and interrogating older maps to identify and understand the history of a site. This can inform where to excavate if necessary.
As well as Archaeology Technician I am also an Old Trafford resident of over thirty years, and during lockdown my wife and I used Digimap to structure our daily dog walks, locating and exploring the sites of now disappeared local farms, bath houses and pubs in the area. Since lockdown we have carried on with this intermittently and friends and neighbours suggested we should share the process – this is exactly what happened in June this year. Along with Lynda Sterling at Old Trafford Creative Space, and Jeanette McLaughlan and David Esdaile of the Old Trafford History and Heritage Group we organised an Old Trafford Time Travel afternoon for interested local residents.
The afternoon started with Lynda welcoming everyone to the space and then local resident, Karen Buckley, using Digimap to give a potted history of the local area.
We then set off to find some of the sites identified on the old maps. First up was the now disappeared Duerr’s Jam factory, with local historian Bill Sumner providing context.
This was followed by a short walk around the corner and onto Ayres Road to find the old Vimto factory. Again, Bill provided some of the background to the site.
Next, my friend and fellow local resident Chris Garry took us to Saint Alphonsus School, where many of the locals in the group had attended as children.
After Saint Alphonsus we used Digimap and a 1950s milk bottle to locate Jones’ Dairy, just a couple of streets away. This led to an interesting discussion on the evolution of the role of corner shops in the area, the majority now domestic dwellings.
The final site on the list was the now falling down Polish Club. Many of the people present had attended functions there as children and Danuta Gillespie provided some of the history for that building.
The weather was fantastic, and we had around forty visitors over the three-hours of the session. The best part though was the social aspect, with people from a wide range of ages and backgrounds connecting with each other and sharing their stories of the sites and their experiences of living in the area. As David eloquently summarised it: “ordinary people can have extraordinary stories”.