To explore the developing archive of this colourful tradition, please visit our new and developing website at https://winsterwakesarchive.org.uk/
The Wakes Week and Carnival has been held annually in Winster, in the Peak District, for over a hundred and fifty years. The events have been associated with varied activities and spawned rich and fascinating recollections ranging from the carnival’s earliest records of bear-baiting, to “frog-dancing”, to Winster’s famous Morris Dancers – possibly the oldest continuous team of Morris dancers in England.The result is a fascinating and diverse archival collection of memories.
Widening access, sharing culture
The Winster Community Wakes Week and Carnival Archives Project is dedicated to expanding, cataloguing and sharing this archival collection, and has been awarded a grant of £64,233 from the Heritage Fund.
The funding will help build the skills needed to protect this archive for future generations and make it fully accessible to the public.
Facilities are being provided to encourage the community to share their own memorabilia. Hands-on training is also being given in digital heritage and curation skills. A website has been funded for showcasing these memories to which contributions are warmly invited.
Celia Pendlebury, the project’s leader, said “local festivals have, in general, been disproportionally represented in heritage collections because memorabilia (photographs, documents, costumes, cine film) is often hidden in small, private, attic-based collections. Using existing archives as a starting point, this project embraces community involvement and helps foster a strong sense of belonging.
Furthermore, the skills and facilities developed during this project will persevere long afterwards and can be used to record all types of other memories. The capacity to share and preserve them will be made possible by the funds awarded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.”
The Project is being delivered in partnership with Winster’s History Group, the Derbyshire Record Office and Derby University. It is hoped it will inspire similar heritage projects in other communities.
For further information please contact Celia at Celiap.wcwca@gmail.com or check out the project website at https://winsterwakesarchive.org.uk/.