Alice Calcraft
Tales From The Caves: Exploring Nottingham’s Underground Stories explores a varied history of the caves in Nottingham. Located at Lakeside Arts, this extensive exhibition that was meticulously developed over two to three years delves into the past to form a compelling narrative of the Nottingham caves: a story that has been covered on the surface but never collected together in such a substantial manner. Impact’s Alice Calcraft spoke with Kathyrn Steenson, a Senior Archivist from the University of Nottingham, about the exhibition, and she offered a fascinating insight into the exhibition and the role that archives can play in discovering hidden histories.
The archival process that was undertaken to complete the project
Kathryn spoke to Impact about the archival process that was undertaken to complete the project, and how The Tales From the Caves exhibition is a collaborative work with academics Dr Chris King and Dr Charlotte May and the Manuscripts and Special Collections team. Completing research on the history of caves in Nottingham, they worked alongside the archivists to put together the exhibition. Using official documents, diaries, and talking to locals, the exhibition desires to reflect local people’s experiences with the cave. Kathryn stated how the project focuses on 20th-century caves, which is particularly important to consider based on the construction of roads and infrastructure at this time that damaged the archaeology of the cave.
The decision-making of what to include in the cave exhibition
There has been a long history of caves in Nottingham, extending across hundreds of years. When asked about the decision-making of what to include in the cave exhibition, the senior archivist explained to us that exploring the resources collected by the academics and from the Nottingham City Council, the size of the sources, visual appeal, and robustness of the sources had to be considered. In every exhibition, the archives have to exist in an exhibition case, albeit with dim lighting and protective glass, rather than in a climate-controlled specialist archive room, so this was particularly a point of consideration. Based on the enthusiasm of certain locals to tell their stories, had to be considered when selecting which sources to include, so the project became “a balance between passion and practicality”
The inside of the caves remaining the same represents a time capsule of continuity.
Impact Magazine was also interested in understanding what sources were used to create this exhibition and the amount of information that was available for the archivists and academics to work with. According to Kathryn Steenson, In the late 20th century, excavations became very well covered, with photographic material available as well as detailed notes provided by local historians. Dr Charlotte May’s research involved speaking directly to people to tell their stories, which was a core element of a lot of the displays in the exhibition. There were challenges in choosing drawings and photographs that were not the same image as each other, as caves look the same. However, as the outside world experiences years of wars and changes to social history, the inside of the caves remaining the same represents a time capsule of continuity.
Kathryn states that examining diary entries was her most interesting source involved in the project. Diaries were ‘not written to be read by a wider audience’, which means that diaries provided genuine and honest thoughts, and ‘informed, thoughtful, personal reflections’. Whereas official reports often have a more detached stance, diaries are explored as portraying the lives of real people, and this, in Kathryn’s view, can capture the intention of balancing the passions and the practicality existing in the project.
Thank you so much to Kathryn! The Tales From The Caves Exhibition is free to visit in the Weston Gallery at Lakeside Arts from 3 October 2024 until 9 March 2025.
Alice Calcraft
