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