Oral history collection
Stories of Northampton people in their own words
Northampton Museums and Art Gallery holds a small collection of oral history interviews. Collected over the last 30 years to support key projects, the collection focuses on the following specific areas.
Northampton boot and shoe trade
A variety of in-depth oral history interviews providing differing perspectives on the shoe trade in Northampton and the county from 1900-2019.
The impact of the First World War on Northampton
Short story interviews of family memories of Northampton and serving Northampton soldiers collected as part of a National Heritage Lottery funded project, Conflict and Communities.
Listen to the histories at the Conflict and Communities archive site
Living in Abington
Collected to support the redisplay at Abington Park Museum in 2017, clips of these oral histories can be heard in the Abington galleries.
Social history stories of living and working in Northampton
Clips and quotes from these oral histories are used in the temporary exhibition We are Northampton, and in the permanent gallery History of Northampton Gallery 2. Visit Northampton Museums and Art Gallery to view these.
Get involved
Audio recordings are preserved for future research and used in exhibitions and events. If you have a story that you think should be recorded contact us.
Enquire about recording an oral history
A small group of trained volunteers help with oral history recording and transcribing interviews.