A series of ten fortnightly local history workshops are to be held in the Dunrossil Centre, Gloucestershire Heritage Hub, starting tomorrow (Tuesday 18 October) from 9.30am to 1pm.

The workshops are being organised with Gloucestershire Archives by Gloucestershire County History Trust (VCH Glos) in association with the Regional History Centre, UWE.

Each workshop will be divided into two sessions with a refreshment break. Tutoring and discussion will be led by historians from VCH and UWE in a friendly and informal atmosphere.

Open to all, whether you are a beginner or have research experience, £10 per workshop.

Concessions: free to VCH volunteers and RHC members, two free sessions of choice for archive volunteers and FOGA members.

Advance booking is recommended.

The provisional syllabus, which may be amended as the course progresses, is as follows:

18 October: The Historian's Craft: Trends and movements in history - antiquarian tradition, local history and national history - primary and secondary sources - disciplines and conventions - practical aspects of using archives and libraries.

1 November: The Local Historian's Toolbox: key resources. Online - Ancestry, British Newspaper Archive, Historical Directories, BHO/VCH. Printed sources - record series, journals. Archival sources - by creator (local govt, diocese, parish, estate, etc).

15 November: The History of the Landscape: landscape archaeology - maps - place-names - archaeological resources (HERs) - aerial photography and Lidar.

29 November: The History of Buildings: examining and describing buildings - vernacular and polite architecture - modern and recent buildings and housing - special types of building (religious, industrial, civic, etc) - documentary sources and techniques

13 December: Working with Documents: palaeogaphy and techniques of reading documents - Latin - identifying and understanding different types of deeds, manorial records, parish records etc.

17 January: Ownership and Government: landownership - feudal tenures and manorial descent - manorial courts and control - development of the vestry and parish responsibilities - proliferation of local authorities and their functions.

31 January: Movement and Migration: roads, canals and railways - the study of population, including settlement shift and desertion - migration, immigration - women's lives under-represented - drift from countryside to town.

14 February: Community, Society and Welfare: caring for the poor, sick and elderly - local and national justice - bringing up and educating children - social activities, legal and illegal, moral and immoral.

28 February: Working LIves: farming the land - rural and urban trades and industries - labour relations and conflicts - restoring the balance between male and female work.

14 March: The Influence of Religion: ubiquity of the medieval church - monasteries and chantries - effect of the reformation - puritans and nonconformists - Victorian religiosity and its aftermath.

To find out more and to book, visit https://www.heritagehub.org.uk/local-history-workshops/