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The final session in Bagshaw Museum's 'From Cradle To Grave' series will be concentrating on 'Protecting the Family Treasure'.

Cradle to Grave session on looking after heirlooms

On Saturday, August 14, from 2pm to 4pm, Kirklees Museums and Galleries experts Isobel Holland and Chris Yeates will be at Bagshaw Museum in Wilton Park, Batley, to give advice and tips on how to preserve and store family treasures.

"I will be encouraging people to talk to granny and tape family memories and will be giving tips about interviewing and recording devices," commented Isobel Holland whose area of expertise is oral history. She will also be explaining the various ways of saving old recordings using modern technology.

"We want to show people that they can protect and preserve their own family archives. Anything significant in their recordings can be shared with the Kirklees Sound Archive," added Isobel.

Chris Yeates, a collections expert, will be advising people about preserving their precious objects, particularly vulnerable items such as photographs and textiles. He will be showing examples of special materials such as acid-free tissue for wrapping up items, clear envelopes for storing photographs and documents and storage boxes for things like wedding dresses and quilts.

"The key thing is that they are chemically inert so there will be no damage to the contents through chemical seepage. The plastic boxes we use for small objects are actually made for medical use," said Chris.

Bagshaw Museum's 'From Cradle to Grave in Batley' series has been looking at family life in the town through free walks, talks, workshops, object identification sessions and drop-in sessions for people interested in family history. The sessions have been funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund as part of the recent lottery-funded refurbishment of the museum in Wilton Park.