Press play on the Sounds of the South West!
Sounds of the South West, a project digitising, preserving and creating new access to at-risk audio recordings from across the region, has launched a new website. South West Heritage Trust is delighted to be amongst the regional archives participating in the project.
The website showcases The National Lottery Heritage Fund–supported initiative. Visitors can learn more about the project, listen to digitised recordings and find out how to get involved.
Sounds of the South West is led by Bristol Archives, part of Bristol City Council’s Culture service, in partnership with Archives South West, the regional network of local authority archives that includes Somerset and Devon Archives and Local Studies.
Philip Walker, Head of Culture and Creative Industries at Bristol City Council, said:
The launch of this website is another exciting milestone for Sounds of the South West. It will help raise awareness of the project while making it easier for people to discover and listen to audio recordings that might otherwise be lost. I would like to thank The National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Lottery players for their generous support. Thanks to them, we can continue preserving the stories, voices and memories captured in these recordings and ensure they remain accessible for future generations.
The project is digitising and preserving more than 8,000 unique, rare and at-risk recordings held by 28 heritage organisations across the South West, and creating new opportunities for communities to discover and engage with their local history. So far, more than 2750 recordings have been preserved for future generations.
The need to preserve our audio heritage is urgent. Experts estimate there are fewer than 10 years remaining to save many archival audio recordings before ageing formats, such as reel-to-reel tapes and cassettes, become unplayable and the equipment needed to play them becomes obsolete and irreparable.
Stuart McLeod, Director of England – London & South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said:
It is fantastic to see the Sounds of the South West website launching and reaching a pivotal moment in their project.
The South West is incredibly rich in heritage, and we’re delighted that money raised by National Lottery players can support this project to ensure that these rare audio recordings will be preserved for years to come, and local people will have the chance to explore and uncover the fascinating stories through this new platform.
Visit Sounds of the South West to find out more.
Acknowledgements
The Sounds of the South West project is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to preserve rare and at-risk audio recordings.
