SUPPORTED by this year’s National Sporting Heritage Day (Saturday 30th September) initiative led by Sporting Heritage, Heritage Unlocked are collaborating with Middlesbrough Libraries to help add to Middlesbrough sporting heritage collections and enhance access to a rich array of community collections that reveal the cultural, social and sporting life of the town going back to the Victorian era.

The project, supported by a grant from Sporting Heritage in partnership with Microform, will also see a Sporting Heritage event held at Middlesbrough Libraries on the afternoon of Tuesday 10th October where members of local communities are invited to share their collections with the project who will digitise a selection of material that will be made accessible digitally through Middlesbrough Libraries and Heritage Unlocked.

The project has already supported the digitisation of material from the collection of interwar Middlesbrough FC captain Bobby Baxter, including photographs, telegrams, newspaper reports and correspondence from his time representing Boro and Scotland.

Heritage Unlocked’s Dr Tosh Warwick, Research Associate in Urban Studies at the University of Sheffield, said: “We are delighted to receive support from Sporting Heritage and Microform as part of the National Sporting Heritage Day initiative to help share Middlesbrough’s sporting past with new audiences. The history and heritage of sport in Middlesbrough combines stories of sporting prowess, community leisure activities, innovation, friendship and rivalry.”

“Sporting heritage also reveals much about the built environment and emotions and meanings associated with sport. Whether it be going to Ayresome Park to watch Boro play, racing in school competitions at Clairville Stadium, playing football on a street corner or having a game cricket in Albert Park, the spaces and places – both those that are lost and those that remain – have strong emotional attachment for many Teessiders and the project will help share the story of many of these spaces and places.”

Sporting Heritage’s Justine Reilly said: “Sporting Heritage aims to make a difference to communities and transform access to heritage on the ground. We are so excited to be supporting this project which will make a huge impact to how audiences are able to view and learn about important local stories and collections into the future”.

Young people at Newport Settlement (Middlesbrough Libraries)

Those interested in sharing their collections are invited to attend the Middlesbrough Sporting Heritage event at Middlesbrough Reference Library on the afternoon of Tuesday 10th October. There will also be an opportunity to browse through some of the unique sporting history collections from the collections of Middlesbrough Libraries including records of Gilkes Street Baths, Middlesbrough FC publications, newspapers and programmes.

If you are unable to attend but would be interested in sharing your collections for digitisation please contact info@heritageunlocked.com by 7th October 2023.

Find out more about National Sporting Heritage Day 2023 events and activities at https://www.sportingheritage.org.uk/content/category/events/national-sporting-heritage-day/events-and-activities-2023 or by searching for the hashtag #NSHD on social media.

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Sporting Heritage Community Grant helps Middlesbrough Libraries share and enhance town’s sports history collections