Morley is a West Yorkshire town, between Leeds and Bradford. Its prosperity was based in the textile industry, having been a pioneer in the centralisation of cloth manufacture in factories or mills at the start of the Industrial Revolution.
We are a small group of volunteers who have undertaken to preserve archive material relating to the town for future generations, and to make it available for public use, particularly for local people. We are non-profit-making.
What do we do?
A major part of our work is in dealing with a large amount of material bequeathed by David Atkinson, a prominent local historian, but our scope is much broader and we welcome other contributions to the archive.
We arrange collection sessions in the community to enable local residents to contribute their photographs and reminiscences. At these sessions we also display material from the Archive in various ways to generate interest in what we are doing.
Why are we doing it?
Many of us have boxes of old photographs, postcards, diaries and other items of local historical interest tucked away in cupboards, often inherited from parents and grandparents. Have you considered what will happen to them when you are no longer around?
Will anyone be able to identify the people in the pictures, or know the story behind them? Will they all end up in a black bin bag and be lost for ever? How will your great-grandchildren know what life in Morley was really like for their ancestors?
We are trying to preserve such items and reminiscences in a computer archive published on the internet and available for anyone researching the history of Morley and its inhabitants, or tracing their family tree.
How can you help?
Come to our sessions, details of which will be posted on the Events page, and see for yourself what we are doing. Bring with you any items of local interest showing life in all its facets – ordinary people and activities with a Morley area connection are as welcome as more significant events.
The more information we have about an item, the more valuable it is to the archive. Identify people where you know them, and when and where pictures were taken, and bring these details with you too. For group photographs, a numbered diagram identifying people is very useful, and saves time.
What about copyright?
It is important that any material you provide for the archive should belong to you and not be copied from other publications, or have been taken by a professional photographer.
In some circumstances, printed material, such as old postcards, can be accepted. If in doubt, bring it along and we will check it for you. If you would like to read our information leaflet and complete the copyright release form in advance to bring with you, it would save time.
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