Year 8 students assist on diocese History project
A group of Year 8 students were invited by St Andrew's Church in Backwell last month to undertake a research project into memorials in the church building.
A small group of keen Year 8 historian are involved in a research project to investigate if there are any local links between those with memorials at St Andrew's Church and the transatlantic slave trade in the 18th and 19th centuries.
This is part of a wider project being undertaken by the Diocese into memorials in local churches and who is commemorated in the church building/graveyards.
The pupils spent an afternoon in the Church and worked hard to photograph and catalogue the memorials which fit into the correct time period. They then returned to school to research the individuals trying to identify any links they may have to Bristol, its trade markets, former British colonies and the transatlantic slave trade. This in-depth searching is using the University College London slavery database which is part of the Centre for the study of the legacies of British slavery.
The project will take at least another few weeks, for students to check and corroborate their research, and they will then feedback to the Church and the local vicar on what they have found out.
