What’s in a road?

One of the many amazing things about History is that it can be found in everything; even the smallest or most mundane objects can provide an insight into how life has changed or provide a greater understanding of a different period in time.

Late October last year as the light was fading, I was pacing along my road, phone in hand, taking photos of objects on the street from unusual angles. The results were at times obscure and resulted in some curious glances from neighbours when they saw me crouching by the side of the road or taking a picture of a dog ‘poo’ bin!

However, the photos surprised me in the way that they showed so much about changes in the way we have lived over the past few decades. It seemed that this could be an excellent way to introduce local history to very young children and provide a reference for future work on themes within living memory. It also would encourage children to develop questioning through enquiry-based learning and observational skills...