The origins of the Suffolk Local History
Council lie in the early 1950s. At the
time of the 1951 Exhibition interest in
local history was increasing and the
Suffolk Rural Community Council encouraged
villages to mark this great event with an
historical display. This led to the
official formation of the Suffolk Local
History Council in 1953, one of the many
such institutions to be set up during this
period.
With the general aim of fostering and
encouraging an interest in local history,
the Suffolk Local History Council, from
the beginning, developed a wide range of
activities, many of which continue to the
present day. Encouragement of research in
local history and publication in its
journal, The Suffolk
Review, was a central aim.
Publicising news and information about the
activities of member societies was always
important. Originally included in the
Review, this material is now contained in
three separate publications
- a Newsletter, Calendar of Events and
Speakers List. The Recorder
Scheme was another
important early initiative that continues
to flourish, but the very popular
residential local history weekend at
Belstead House has ended now that the
house has closed. We hope the Conference
in Honour of Peter Northeast, now an
annual event, will become a worthy
successor. Many other successful projects
have included the programme of Day
Meetings, Societies Day, the Photographic
Survey and encouragement for the creation
of the Museum of East Anglian Life.
How to
contact SLHC
To find out
more about the work of the SLHC
or
to send us information, please contact
us...
The SLHC
committee
The SLHC is
governed by an elected voluantary
Executive
Committee...
The Suffolk Local History Council
remained under the protective umbrella of
the Suffolk Community Council and received
its generous support until 1986. It then
became an independent entity, although the
Community Council’s successor, Suffolk
ACRE (now merged with other groups into
Community Action Suffolk), continued to
provide much appreciated help and office
space until 2009. Modern communications
technology has since allowed us to operate
successfully without premises, and the
Suffolk Local History Council continues to
grow and expand its activities