Meet Gemma

‘’When I started this job I was not expecting to find my next career.’’ Gemma, Heritage Champion

At the beginning of 2025 I was struggling with my mental and physical health and felt very lost. I had worked at Northern Roots on ‘Beautiful Oldham – Why Not?’, their first National Lottery Heritage Fund project. I really enjoyed working at Northern Roots because everyone was so lovely, so when there was a job as a paid Heritage Champion as part of Northern Roots second National Lottery Heritage Fund project, I decided to apply.

I am thrilled to be back working at Northern Roots. I work with 3 other Heritage Champions, and our work is to explore aspects of the industrial, social and natural heritage of the Northern Roots site and the surrounding communities. We also help to design and deliver events and activities, raise awareness of Northern Roots within the community and share stories we have uncovered.

At the beginning I wasn’t feeling confident in my abilities, I felt everyone had more experience and skills and I didn’t know why I had been given the job. But the Northern Roots team and Heritage Champions gave me encouragement and after a few weeks I began to feel more confident.

‘’This work is important because local stories are often not told, and the voices and experiences of older generations deserve to be heard.’’

I began to research the Northern Roots site, learning about Strawberry Gardens and its connection to pioneering women like Dame Sarah Lees. I was particularly drawn to the mill that used to be on the site, Brook Mill. My grandparents worked in mills around Oldham, but they passed away when I was young, so sadly I never got the chance to ask them questions. So it was personally interesting to uncover the names and stories of people who worked in Brook Mill, who would have lived very similar lives to my grandparents.

‘’I’ve found 5 generations of my family from Oldham and 3 of them were born in Glodwick, right next to Northern Roots. This makes me feel more connected to my family and the area. I want to continue to learn more about Oldham.’’

One of the things I have enjoyed doing as part of this programme is going to the talks at Gallery Oldham. There I learnt about John Lees from Glodwick, who travelled to Melbourne, Australia in 1852 to find gold. He brought back a 134lbs golden nugget which he presented to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and then sold to the Bank of England. He returned to Oldham and used his wealth to build Nugget Street, close to where Glodwick Medical Centre now is.

My research into fascinating Oldhamers made me want to look at my own family history. I discovered my Great Great Grandfather on my mum’s side – Samuel Kenworthy – who was born on Nugget Street. This is an amazing connection, and I wouldn’t have uncovered this had it not been for my Heritage Champion role and the Gallery Oldham talk.

I used census data from Find My Past to research Samuel Kenworthy, and I found another interesting connection.

In the 1880s, Samuel worked as a photography assistant, living with his relative James Gartside at Park Road photography studio, just west of Northern Roots. In 1891 Samuel moved to Honeywell Lane, which is just east of Northern Roots! Today I’m walking the same paths as my Great Great Grandad Samuel, which is amazing.

My mum and I have an affinity for photography. I found James Gartside’s photographs in the Oldham Gallery collection and online, and I now own one of his pictures.

‘’I love being a Heritage Champion so much. I’ve gained research skills and developed my love for history, and I now want to share forgotten history with others.’’

As part of the National Lottery Heritage Fund project, Northern Roots has given me structured time and space to explore Oldham’s heritage through a really varied programme. I’ve visited the Natural History Collection, Oldham Gallery exhibitions, and the new Archive, as well as live heritage productions like Bloom, which explores Oldham’s industrial links with Japan.

I’ve audio recorded my research with local podcast company KUPOD, visited 1853 Studios in a local mill, attended several heritage walks and talks, and captured the stories of residents and artists connected to Northern Roots.

One of the most rewarding things I’ve done was co-leading a guided heritage walking tour, something I had no prior experience in. Although I’m comfortable with presenting, this was a very different challenge. I enjoyed leading participants through the Northern Roots site to understand how the landscape has changed over the past 50 years and why those changes matter. And hearing their personal stories was also fascinating and valuable.

Being a Heritage Champion has given me the confidence to step into heritage spaces I would not have entered otherwise, try new tools and learn independently as well as in a supportive group. I feel really connected to and embedded in Oldham’s wider heritage offer, and now I have the confidence and paid time to actively contribute to it. Being in a paid role has made a huge difference.

When I started this job I was not expecting to find my next career – I thought it was just a nice job to get me back into work. It’s helped me realise I’d love to have a career researching local history and sharing forgotten stories with local people. I’m going to pursue this by starting a blog sharing stories of Oldham’s heritage. Also, as a Heritage Champion I will be co-designing an exhibition at Oldham Archive from April to June 2026 and supporting a guided heritage walk on the 160-acre Northern Roots site.  I am excited to see where this new career will take me.

Gemma’s Resources

Here are some of the resources I have used to do research:

Oldham Gallery – A great tool for everyone – I particularly enjoyed the Wednesday talks. Learn more about talks and exhibitions here.

Oldham Archive – Another useful tool and the staff have great knowledge. Open to all.

Find My Past – A genealogy site to help with family research. Free access in the library, but will need a subscription if using outside the library.

British Newspaper Archive – Useful for looking at old newspaper articles. Can access through Find My Past.

Local people – Have a chat with your neighbours and family and see what you learn.

Gemma’s Heritage Champion role has been made possible thanks to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.