Abstract
The Alderley Sandhills Project (ASP) was designed to archaeologically explore the transformative roles of industrialization and de-industrialization on the working communities of rural England. Collection of oral histories was an intrinsic element of fieldwork, with project participants including elderly former residents and neighbors of the excavated cottages. Their narratives provided a crucial source for understanding social meanings of the archaeological objects and places within this study site, particularly over the inter-war decades of the early twentieth century. Drawing from elements of this multi-year project, this paper will explore the dynamic maintenance of community life through the composition of social memories, and the materiality of social belonging, to illuminate the inner world of the Hagg Cottages of Alderley Edge, Cheshire.
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Acknowledgments
The Alderley Sandhills Project was sponsored by English Heritage, with financial support provided through the Aggregate Levy Sustainability Fund. While a great number of participants contributed to various stages of research, special consideration is due to Sarah Croucher, Kath Buxton, and Tony Wilmott for supporting the overall completion of this project. In addition to my editors, Siân Jones and Lynette Russell, Alison Oram provided helpful suggestions on previous drafts of this paper. Finally, this paper is dedicated to Mrs. Edna Younger, Mrs. Molly Pitcher, and Mr. Roy Barber who generously shared their memories of life at The Hagg Cottages of Alderley Edge.
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Casella, E.C. “That’s Just a Family Thing, You Know”: Memory, Community Kinship, and Social Belonging in the Hagg Cottages of Cheshire, North-West England. Int J Histor Archaeol 16, 284–299 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10761-012-0179-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10761-012-0179-9