Making local history fun
Exploring People and Places To unlock the past
who we are
History on the Move’s qualified and experienced educational consultants have been devising and delivering history workshops, talks and resources supporting life-long learners for over two decades.
Employed by historic sites, museums and community groups, History on the Move aims to make local and social histories accessible, memorable, and inclusive. By accessing original sources, including historic documents and maps, we are able to tailor our work to reflect each site’s unique history.
Using artefact handling, costume, role-play and creative activities referencing a locality’s history we work with all ages, from Early Years onwards, including those with Special Educational Needs and Dementia Café clients.
History on The Move in action
What we offer
Sessions for Children and Young People
We are employed as freelance educators by museums and historic sites. We create, and deliver history-based sessions supporting the curriculum for visiting school groups. Our hands-on approach can be adapted to support all pupils, including children with special educational needs and those operating at a lower-than-average ability level. We regularly work with pupils at KS1 and KS2 but are happy to engage with both younger and older age-groups.
Recent clients have included nursery classes exploring the past through nursery rhymes, reception Infants exploring the past through traditional story-telling, and Year 11’s studying GCSE history from an additional Resource Provision Unit for deaf learners.
Recent projects include designing and delivering sessions at KS1 & 2 on Tudor medicine to support healthy living.
Creating Publications and Support Material
We explore archives and original sources to inform our publications, support material and workshop sessions. Commissioning bodies include museums and historic sites.
We have recently researched and written a history of Eastbury Manor House, Barking, Essex which has now been published
Another recent project has been to research, write and run sessions on Tudor household medicines and the plague. These are currently being offered by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham’s museum education service.
History for All
Our activities are designed to be inclusive, regardless of age, heritage or ability.
We are employed in historic settings to create and host family activities based on a site’s unique history, and our talks and handling sessions are designed to encourage reminiscence, including in those visiting memory cafes.
Recent projects include family activities on Victorian toys and games, for Heritage Open Day (Westcliff Parish Church, Southend), Munch & Listen lunchtime talk ‘All I want for Christmas’ (Bruce Castle Museum, Tottenham)
Historical Talks
We use a mixture of artefacts, power-point and food samples to illustrate our historical talks.
Subjects covered include: –
Make Do and Mend – A housewife’s day on the Home Front in WWII
Memories are Made of This – Life in the 1950s from the coronation of a new queen
Wife, Mother, Teacher – The role of a Tudor housewife
All I want for Christmas – Christmas shopping in the past
These are illustrated with artefacts and some contemporary food samples
One Man Went to Mow –The changing world of a 19th century shipping butcher and farmer before refrigeration
Flash, Bang, Wallop – Family photographs and the development of 19th century photography
Eastbury Manor House, A Remarkable Tudor Survivor –The history of Eastbury Manor House, Barking.
Encounters in the New World – Visiting Jamestown, Virginia, in the early 17th century
These are illustrated using power-point
We are happy to adapt talks, or research and write new talks for your group.
ABOUT US
History on the Move (HOTM) specialises in encouraging audiences of all ages to use an evidence-based approach to exploring local history.
HOTM was begun by sisters Pat and Barbara Elliott, who sought a change of direction in their professional lives after many years as classroom teachers. Having first been awarded a BEd (Cantab) and later working as a teacher of English as an Additional Language (EAL), Barbara recognised the importance of practical, hands-on experience to encourage language development, inclusion and well-being. She subsequently gained experience and an MA in Museums and Galleries in Education from London University.
Pat followed a Cert.Ed, and a BA focussing on the History of Art from the Open University, with a post-graduate diploma in the Fine and Decorative Arts from Christie’s Education, London. She was subsequently approached by the National Trust to help devise and run education days for local schools visiting Eastbury Manor House, an historic property leased by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Employment by other historic sites, museums and schools, especially in London and the South-East, soon followed. More recently, Pat has enhanced her research skills with an Advanced Diploma in Research Theory and Practice in the Arts/Sciences from the Institute of Continuing Education at the University of Cambridge.
Since it was established in 1997, HOTM has gained a reputation for enhancing visitor experience and engagement in the unique history of an area, employing high-quality archival research, site-related school and family workshops, and local history talks.
Sometimes challenging, our work is never dull!
pAT ELLIOTT
