Rushden Research aims to collect and index all sorts of records, to make research sources locally accessible. That was our original aim.
In February 2002 a small group was formed to create a research base to help anyone researching Rushden people or places. We began with the 1901 census which had just been released for public scrutiny, and our aim was to have it on display at the first “Discovery Day” at the end of March! We managed to complete input but it was not fully checked, so we later did a full re-check and then went on to transcribe the other parishes which make up the Higham Ferrers Hundred with Rushden, (13 parishes in all) and we then produced a CD in time for our next “Discovery Day” in the autumn of 2003.
Next we completed the Parish Church register series up to around 1900, having been given copies of some transcripts that were already done by various people. We followed this with a new project to transcribe the old Wills and Inventories of Rushden inhabitants. Wills show the changing values people had for goods and possessions over the centuries, and inventories may list items of furniture in a house room by room to give a real idea of how our ancestors lived.
Then we transcribed and indexed baptism & marriages registers of the Park Road and the Higham Ferrers Methodist Churches. The Methodist Circuit before 1900 included many villages in the area. One member had done the Baptist Marriages, and the Methodist Circuit baptisms for 1813-1837.
In 2005 we were encouraged to apply for a Heritage Lottery Fund grant to enable us to create a website and in February 2007 we were awarded £49,500. This paid for five computers, training, room hire, projector and an IT Kiosk. We then worked hard for two years, and completed the target (and more) by May 2009 when the IT Kiosk was installed in Rushden Museum, and our DVD was issued, to mark the end of the Lottery Fund project.
BUT - This is an on-going project, and as I write this in March 2012, we are still meeting every Monday to work on the webpages. Between meetings the team are looking out for other things to add, or gathering newsclips, or talking to people with memories to share.
The team is still fully committed to Rushden Research and its aims, and to celebrate 10 years of Rushden Research, and 5 years of "Hearts & Soles" website, we are holding an exhibition on March 31st 2012 entitled "Heritage Discovery Day" and the History Society has funded some smart new banners for us to use to promote both the society and research group. The DVD proceeds have funded the continuation of our work so far............
I have been taken to task today (5th March 2012) as to why our photograph is not on the website, so here it is - but now almost three years after the event!
Kay - Research Co-ordinator
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