CALL FOR ‘CITIZEN SCIENTISTS’ TO HELP UNLOCK THE SECRETS OF ST JAMES’S BURIAL GROUND
A group of archaeologists working on the High Speed 2 project are inviting people to take part in a huge citizen science project: digitising 57,639 burial records that hold key details about the lives of Londoners in the 18th and 19th centuries
The records relate to St James’s Burial Ground, Euston in London, where over 31,000 burials were carefully excavated on behalf of Csjv, as part of HS2’S archaeology work between 2018 and 2019.
With excavations complete, archaeologists now want to combine their findings with details contained in the burial ground records, to delve even deeper into the site’s history. The project will create a searchable, digital archive to develop a better understanding of the people buried at St James’s, revealing crucial details about their lives and opening the doors to further research.
Participants will use the project website to decipher handwritten burial records, logging key details such as name, address and cause of death. They will join a global team of researchers working together to unlock the stories of the burial ground, collaborating with world-class archaeologists and bringing their own unique and valuable perspectives to the project.
No previous experience is required – just a willingness to learn new computer skills and do some problem solving – and there is no minimum time commitment.
Robert Hartle, a senior archaeologist at MOLA Headland Infrastructure who worked on the excavation, said: ‘The people buried in St James’s burial ground include individuals from all walks of life; men, women and children, paupers and nobility, artists and soldiers, inventors and industrialists. But the archaeology is only the beginning. The large number of individuals at St James’s who are identifiable via surviving name plates gives us an unprecedented chance to unlock avenues for further research, to match the physical remains of people and their burials with the historical records of the lives they led.
‘The Stories of St James’s Burial Ground digitisation project is a unique opportunity to make a genuine contribution to our ongoing archaeological research and make connections that will shed new light on ordinary people, all too often forgotten to history.’
Would-be researchers can take part via the Stories of St James’s Burial Ground website: https://familytr.ee/stjames
The image will be on display as part of a collection set to a soundtrack performed by May himself, viewed through a digital stereoscope, loaned to the charity by the Brian May Archive of Stereoscopy.
The 3D image, or stereoview, was taken by photographer Henry Brooks and depicts his family enjoying a day out at Stonehenge in the 1860s. The image was discovered by Denis Pellerin and Rebecca Sharpe, curators of the Brian May Archive of Stereoscopy, following a public appeal by English Heritage to find the earliest family photo taken at the stones. English Heritage is now putting out a further call to find descendants of Henry Brooks to invite them back to Stonehenge to re-create the photo as a new stereo card.
The 1860s stereoview shows two nearly identical photographs mounted on a card, which together produce the illusion of a single three-dimensional image when seen through a stereoscope. The photo can be viewed through a digital stereoscope at the Stonehenge visitor centre, and visitors will be able to enjoy a short film of historic and contemporary Stonehenge stereoviews, accompanied by a piano soundtrack of Brian May playing ‘Who Wants To Live Forever’.
Dr May said: I’ve been fascinated by stereo cards since I was a boy and got one in a cereal packet! This is a fantastic early example and exciting because it’s one of the oldest family snaps taken at Stonehenge. It feels even more evocative when set to music – a bit like a silent movie and we thought it would be great fun to recreate the image as a stereo view at Stonehenge and breathe new life into an old photo.’
Susan Greaney, English Heritage historian, said: ‘These sorts of Victorian 3D images have a real vividness and depth in themselves, and this one provides a further dimension still because we know who took it.
‘We know that Henry Brooks had a talent for the visual arts, as census records show that he started his career as a photographer before becoming a painter in later life. Some of his paintings are in the collections of Salisbury Museum, along with one by his son Frank, who in the photo sits with his back to the camera. We’d love to track down Henry and Frank’s descendants and bring that photo to life again.’
Are you a descendant of the Salisbury photographer and painter Henry Brooks? If so, please contact English Heritage at email: Yourstonehenge@english-heritage.org.uk
Your Stonehenge – 150 years of personal photos runs until 31 August 2022.