Our Oral History project, part of Sharing Stories and generously funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, is capturing memories and stories connected to Trent Park House, and is well underway.
Oral history is the practice of recording personal memories and first-hand accounts, preserving them for the future in people's own words.
Sixteen enthusiastic and committed volunteers have now attended a training day. Recording began on the museum's opening day, where we caught up with people who had worked on the design of the museum, or who had been at Trent Park when it was a university. We were also very excited to meet two families connected to the Secret Listeners, who will be recorded soon.
Watch this interview with Jack
Recently, Christina, our Sharing Stories Oral History Lead, travelled to Hull to film Jack Brown. Jack is 102 years old and moved with his family to Enfield in 1938, when he was 14. He talks about his mother, who came to Trent Park for a job as a maid, about seeing the windsock on the airstrip, and shares a theory as to why the lane leading to Trent Park House was called Snakes Lane.
Do you have a story to share?
We are always looking for new stories, so if you, or someone you know, have memories about Trent Park House, we would love to hear from you. It might be a family member who was part of secret surveillance during the Second World War, or one of the prisoners of war held here.
Maybe you worked or studied at Trent Park House, or are the grandchild of a gardener or staff member from the days of Sir Philip Sassoon or Hannah Gubbay. Whatever your connection, your story matters to us. Please email christina.wheeler@trentparkhouse.org.uk.
Would you like to join our team of volunteer historians?
If you're interested in getting involved as one of our volunteer historians, take a look at the roles we have available here.
Sharing Stories: Connecting Trent Park House with Enfield’s Communities is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to record more memories of Trent Park House.
