From campus dig to community impact: reflections from an armchair novice

ABSTRACT

The University of Bradford was constructed in the 1960s, following the demolition of Victorian streets, houses, and local community buildings. An on-campus archaeological excavation took place in 2021 as a result of Covid-19 restrictions. Using a variety of archive sources, the results of the Dig led to an armchair exploration of both former Victorian residents and also the social history of the former community. This reflective piece documents the archive journey taken by someone who is not an archaeologist and touches upon the experiences of heritage attachment.

KEYWORDS:

• Demolition
• mills
• streets
• Victorian

Acknowledgements

The project could not have been so productive without the involvement and help of the Bradford Mechanics Institute and current and former employees/colleagues of the University of Bradford.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The project was funded by the University of Bradford School of Social Sciences Research Fund.