Meeting Places
What does a good researcher need for their project?
22nd April 2010.
Meeting Places: What makes a good researcher?
Today our research group met for the first time in Battle, at the Almonry. We are quite a large group, made up of year 7s from Claverham Community College and year 6s from Sedlescombe and Netherfield CEP. Somehow we all managed to find a place to sit together in the meeting room at the Almonry in Battle.
The room in which we met certainly felt as though it is steeped in history. Wood panelled, with a large open fire place, it was quite dark inside. Above the fireplace were some weapons, including a sword, just for decoration.
We found out that the name Almonry comes from another - Almoner, which was the name given to the monk who was responsible for collecting and distributing alms.
There is a town trail in Battle which explains that the Almonry was in fact never used as its name would suggest. Some people in our group remember the Almonry as a tea room. There is evidence that it was used as an abattoir in the past.
Historical research is all about detective work. Like any good detective we will look for clues and examine them.
When we have gathered our clues together we will decide what they can tell us. There are different sorts of clues: maps, documents, news paper articles, photos and diaries. These are some examples of clues that have been kept, sometimes for a long time. We will need to be careful and thorough in the way that we keep a note of all our clues, otherwise we could get in a muddle later on.
We are also lucky enough to have people to talk to, who remember things from the past. Their memories are clues that will help us build up a picture of the past, and how things have changed.
The group that met today discussed what we will need to be a good research team. Aside from the equipment that we will need to record interviews, we will need certain skills to get along with people. We will need to be patient and flexible. Sometimes we may have to wait for a response to our letters and calls, and people may not be available to meet us at times that we would like them to.
Everyone has agreed to support each other in working on the Meeting Places project. The students from Claverham Community College were glad to explain that starting secondary school is never as scary as you think. Some year 6s admitted that they were nervous about making the change in September. Most of our meetings will be at Claverham, and we hope that visiting there will help with the transition.
At the end of our meeting, Fred, from Battle Museum of Local History gave everyone a tour. The museum is to be found in the Almonry gardens. It has the oldest Guy Fawkes in the world, as well as displays on the industries that people in Battle were occupied with in the past. Fred even showed us some chain mail which was tried on for size.