Sharing our Stories

Volunteer Voices

Meet the dedicated volunteers bringing the archive to life. Discover what they do, and hear, in their own words, what the experience has meant to them.

“

It has been a privilege to coordinate Sharing Our Stories, a project dedicated to uncovering and preserving the heritage of St Walburge’s Church.

Working alongside volunteers, parishioners and heritage specialists at Lancashire Archives, I have helped document historic objects, research the people connected with the church and ensure that important collections are preserved for the future.

For me, the project has been particularly special as it has uncovered the many stories of faith, community, resilience and service that have shaped its history. Of course, the building itself is spectacular, but the history of the people who have celebrated within it is just as spectacular, and so inspiring in a modern society that lacks the meaningful community connections that people are so often crying out for.

I am glad that the project has offered that to the volunteers, and to me for getting to share it with them.

Emily — Project Co-ordinator
A split image showing hands unboxing archival records above three women collaboratively reviewing a large historic record book and a laptop at a table.
The people behind the project

What our volunteers do

The work of Sharing our Stories goes beyond cataloguing. It is about preserving a community’s heritage, building skills, and making history accessible to everyone.

An archivist wearing purple protective gloves sits at a long table, carefully sorting through historical folders and documents at the Lancashire County Council offices.
Cataloguing

Volunteers carefully record historical documents and photographs, learning archival standards from Lancashire Archives professionals.

Conservation

Hands-on training in archival handling and conservation keeps the material safe to archival standards, while volunteers gain heritage skills that last well beyond the project.

A man and a woman collaborating at a desk, with the man pointing at an open archival book.
Over-the-shoulder view of two women standing by a desk to look through historic black-and-white group photographs at the Lancashire County Council offices.
Community engagement

Volunteers draw themes from the archive to create an exhibition celebrating the heritage of the church and its community.

A volunteer's perspective
Themes chosen by the volunteers themselves

Volunteer Charlotte shares some of the discoveries she made while researching her own chosen theme, “Walburgian Women” as part of Sharing our Stories.

From our volunteers

In their own words

“

The training session with Annie at Lancashire Archives was very well organised and professionally presented, as well as being comprehensively informative, inclusive and the most enjoyable.

Chris
“

Even though I only worked on the project for a short while it was an enlightening experience, seeing so much history come to life as we explored the fascinating documents in the archive.

Ian
“

My big regret is not being able to give the project more of my time, as I have enjoyed what bits I’ve taken part in.

Rachael
“

I have learned a lot from being part of the project but I feel my input has been minimal as all of this has been very new to me.

David
“

The project has been very interesting, particularly since much of the material that we have been working on could very easily have been lost forever.

The items (hand-written documents, plans, photos etc) are quite beautiful, reflecting a time when the pace of life was slower and more reverent to God.

Our team has come together whenever possible to formed a professional bond and, in some cases, friendship. The enthusiasm of its members has been motivating.

The training on how to handle, clean and catalogue historic items was as interesting as it was invaluable. I am sure that the results of all the hard work will make fascinating viewing for the public for years to come.

Charlotte
“

Reading through correspondence, diaries and newsletters gave me a great insight into the lives of the priest and parishioners that served and worshipped there.

It was also fascinating to study the unique architecture of this wonderful building. There are many architectural drawings and photographs you can spend hours looking at.

I also enjoyed working with such a great team of volunteers. We were all committed to the project, had a keen interest in history and learned a lot from each other.

I would recommend anyone that is interested in church history, Preston, or St Walburges take a look at these archives. Hopefully they will appreciate the hard work of the team cataloguing and storing them for future generations to enjoy.

Philip
Behind the scenes

From the archive room

A glimpse of the volunteers at work, handling, cataloguing, and discovering what the archive holds.

Overhead view of an open cardboard archive box at St Walburge's, filled with loose papers, envelopes and letters. A printed letterhead from Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd, publishers to the Holy See, is visible near the top, with a red book cover at the left edge.
Overhead view of an open cardboard archive box at St Walburge's. A worn brown book with a faded, ornate paper label lies on top of loose documents, including a printed form with handwritten entries.
Two volunteers sit smiling at a wooden table in front of a bookshelf, with an open archive box and the worn brown book with the ornate label in the foreground. One holds a small aged paper, and an open book lies on the table beside them.
Two old books, one red and one brown, with labels and handwritten notes tied on with tape.
Overhead view of two open grey archive folders on a wooden table. One holds a small stack of pink and cream papers, the other a handwritten letter with a black border.
Printed form headed "Education Act, 1902" on a cardboard box lid, appointing four Foundation Managers for Talbot R.C. School, Preston, with handwritten names and their signed acceptance on a folded flap below.
Gloved hands hold a clear plastic sleeve containing a stack of old black-and-white photographs, with a group portrait of people in a row on the top print.
Hand holding the printed programme for the St Walburge's Consecration Ceremony, 23 September 1936.
A smiling volunteer sits at a table examining old printed publications, including "The Walburgian Calendar 1925."
Volunteers working at tables in the archive room, surrounded by bookshelves, archive boxes and papers.
A volunteer examines a small aged item at a table, with an open archive folder of papers in front of him.
Aged booklet titled "A Novena in Honour of St. Walburga", with an engraved illustration of the saint on the facing page.
Close-up of a folded, aged printed document headed "Exceptions", listing circumstances in which a company is not liable, followed by a "Definitions" section.
A folded, aged printed document headed "Exceptions", listing circumstances in which a company is not liable, with a further section of numbered clauses visible to the right.
Open booklet on the Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith, with a portrait of Pope Pius XI on the facing page.
Volunteers listening to a woman explain archive practice in a library room lined with bookshelves and blue archive binders.
Volunteers seated around wooden tables in a bright meeting room at an archiving workshop.
Overhead view of two hand-coloured architectural drawings of St Walburge's unrolled on a wooden table.
Close-up of a hand-drawn architectural floor plan on aged paper, with a yellow-tinted rectangular area marked with a small square feature, a brown altar-like block and rows of circles labelled as candlesticks. Curved staircases appear at the top left and bottom left.
Open ledger-style register resting on a grey book cushion, with columns of neat handwritten names and addresses on the ruled pages. A hand with a ring holds one page back.
Volunteers seated at long tables at an archiving workshop, with photographs, papers and a dark old book laid out.
A volunteer wearing gloves handles small old photographs on a cutting mat, with archive tools and a red book nearby.
An open Banns of Marriage register on a grey cushion, with a photograph of a church interior beside it.
Overhead view of a volunteer writing with a pencil on a ruled recording sheet at an archiving workshop, with a metal ruler beside it. Three small old photographs in clear sleeves, including one of a church interior, lie on the table nearby.
A man looks out of a window at Lancashire Archives towards a pink and orange sunset.
Close-up view of a person using a smartphone camera to digitise a historic handwritten letter resting on an archival box.
Three women sitting around a table in an archive room, collaborating whilst one writes in a notebook next to a laptop and smartphone.
Two people holding up large, unfolded historic architectural plans and documents in front of a Lancashire County Council banner.
A researcher holding an archival handwritten document from 1853 written in elegant cursive script.
A person's hand pointing a pen at hand-drawn storyboards and mock-ups layout sheets for an exhibition on St Walburge's history.
Two researchers leaning over a table to study old documents and files in an archive room.
Discoveries

See what our volunteers uncovered

Photographs, letters and records, brought back into the light. Explore the highlights from the St Walburge’s archive.

Explore the Archive