The Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded Sutton Council £95,900 to conserve a collection of photographic glass plate negatives from the early 1900s which are part of the council’s archive collection.
The project will see 11,000 Edwardian images cleaned, digitised, researched, catalogued and made available to the public.
The glass plate negatives were taken between 1904 and 1917 by photographer David Knights-Whittome who lived locally and ran a shop on Sutton High Street. The majority of the pictures depict local people, while the rest are an eclectic mix of images of the interior and exterior of stately homes throughout the UK and Europe. There are also images of three generations of the Royal family; local and regional schools, colleges and theatre groups; and weddings.
Sutton Archives is recruiting a team of volunteers who will be trained to handle, clean and digitise the glass plates, and to catalogue and research the images. Volunteers will also contribute to a blog which will record the project.
As part of this two year project there will be sessions for the public and local historians to research their World War One ancestry and learn how to care for their own photo collections.
The project will also work with Sutton Mencap involving people with learning disabilities using the images as an inspiration for their own artwork.
Cllr Jill Whitehead, Chair of Sutton Council’s Environment and Neighbourhoods Committee, said:
“I am so pleased that we were successful in our bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund. This is an exciting project which will involve local people learning new skills and playing an important role in preserving Sutton’s rich heritage.
“I hope as many people as possible get involved and I look forward to seeing the vast collection being made available to the public.”
Anyone who would like to volunteer to take part in this project should contact Kath Shawcross, Borough Archivist .
The Heritage Lottery Fund is keen to fund other projects in Sutton that preserve the borough’s heritage. Local organisations are encouraged to contact Helen Greer at the Heritage Lottery Fund for more information: .