New project: the Social Landscape of Industry

I am working with the Wycombe Museum on a new project to investigate the social lives of the people who shaped the industrial heritage of the town from the early 19th century to the present. We aim to investigate and capture the social history of industrial life in High Wycombe, with a particular focus on the social lives of those working in the furniture industry, an aspect that has not yet been investigated.

The town’s many furniture factories (at least 84 in 1978) have shaped its character and identity since the early 19th century. One key source tells us that industry had an important role in supporting the social life of the town (Rowntree, 1951). This included providing sports and other recreational facilities including social clubs, arranging events and outings, and giving financial and practical support to civic and leisure institutions such as parks and clubs.

We would like to know if the social life of industry was inclusive and assisted assimilation into the community of the diverse social and cultural groups that entered the industry from the 1950s. The research might also provide insights into the ways in which the social and leisure landscapes and institutions in the town today have been shaped by the past. The project will improve the visibility of High Wycombe’s unique industrial heritage and connect communities more closely to a heritage that is in danger of being lost.

An oral history project will capture the memories of past employees and their families to discover how and where they played sports and socialized, and the extent to which their sporting and leisure activities were supported by their places of work. We plan to create a comprehensive website telling stories of High Wycombe’s industrial past and the people who shaped it. This will link to the Museum collections and to the High Wycombe Furniture Archive to create a comprehensive, integrated furniture history archive which we hope will be useful to the local community, and to furniture and social historians worldwide.

We are looking forward to working with local people in restoring a sense of pride in High Wycombe’s industrial heritage, which suffered following the decline of the industry in the 1980s and 1990s.

I will write more about the project as it progresses.