Summary of the impact

The Centre for Worktown Studies was established by the University with Bolton Museum in 2009 to promote research inspired by the Museum's Humphrey Spender `Worktown' documentary photographs produced for Mass Observation between 1937 and 1939. It has presented five leisure history conferences with post-conference reviewed publications, obtained AHRC funding for a doctoral community arts project, delivered two oral history projects in Bolton, offered four `Humphrey Spender Scholarships, contributed to a Mass Observation 75^th anniversary exhibition and established a collaborative partnership with the Mass Observation Archive. It has had a significant impact on public cultural life in Bolton and beyond.

Underpinning research

The initial research upon which this case study is built was Snape's PhD and subsequent book, Leisure and the Rise of the Public Library, published in 1995. These and further research outputs on the social history of leisure in Britain developed a specific angle of approach to Mass Observation's Worktown project as an historical archive of everyday leisure, leading to the presentation of a leisure histories conference in Bolton Museum in 2008. This conference created high levels of academic and public interest and led to the establishment of the Centre for Worktown Studies in 2009. The Centre therefore evolved from research.

Further `Recording Leisure Lives' conferences on the social history and photographic documentation of leisure in 20^th century Britain were jointly presented by the University and Bolton Museum, attended by academic historians, documentary photographers and members of the public. Key research outputs emanating from the five conferences 2008-2012 were the published post-conference volumes with Snape [Reader in Leisure and Sport] as principal editor. The Centre has engaged Bolton's public in the historical research of leisure, enabling collaborative work with Bolton Museum, the Octagon Theatre and the Mass Observation Archive.

Swain's research in sports history has adopted Bolton / Worktown as a case study locus and has been published in national and international reviewed journals. It has also been featured in local newspapers. He has conducted two funded oral history projects in Bolton on rounders and the cinema. In addition to the post-conference volumes, Snape (2013) has published research on All-in wrestling in Worktown and presented this to a public audience at the Museum's Spender Anniversary conference in October 2012. He also presented on Worktown at the University of Sussex Mass Observation 75^th Anniversary conference, July 2012.

The Centre obtained funding for an AHRC PhD studentship in October 2011. The student is undertaking practice-based community arts research with the Spender Worktown Collection and co-curated the Museum's 75^th Mass Observation Anniversary Spender exhibition. The University's Institute for Educational Cybernetics has researched a geo-location mobile phone "app" for the Spender pictures. Beyond the University the Centre has been visited by Worktown scholars from Australia and Canada.

The Centre has established a working partnership with the Mass Observation Archive at the University of Sussex. Snape presented at the Mass Observation 75^th Anniversary conference at Sussex in July 2012.

Beesley [Course Leader MA Documentary Photography] obtained Marriott Trust funding for four Humphrey Spender postgraduate scholarships for practice-based research through community projects; these engaged the public of Bolton with the Spender Mass Observation collection through active involvement and exhibitions at Bolton Museum. Beesley has displayed 4 major exhibitions of social documentary photography and has presented at national and international documentary photography conferences.

Speake [Senior Lecturer in Documentary Photography] was commissioned to produce documentary images of disability by the Office for Disability Issues and has supported professional practice and policy development in working with disabled people in addition to producing a photographic exhibition curated by young disabled people.

References to the research

Grant Award

AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award — bid written and submitted by Snape and awarded to Caroline Edge October 2011 [value £54,250]

Details of the impact

The Centre has enhanced the cultural life of Bolton by increasing public knowledge of the identity of Bolton as Mass Observation's `Worktown'. Through its collaborative research partnership with Bolton Museum, the Centre has undertaken research activities which have engaged the public of Bolton in oral history other activities inspired by MO's Worktown project. The benefits of this research partnership to wider society were recognised in the designation of the Centre as a Good Practice Case Study of Museum — HEI collaboration by Renaissance North West in 2009. Social impact has been achieved by:

1. Five annual `Recording Leisure Lives' social history of leisure conferences presented in Bolton Museum 2008-20012. All were attended by residents of Bolton as well as academic historians and photographers. A reviewed post-conference volume of each conference was published by the Leisure Studies Association, widening the impact of the conference. Staff members of Bolton Museum have acted as co-editors of several volumes, thus enabling their participation in the publication of research. Members of the public published in these volumes, extending the impact of the conferences beyond academia and stimulating further interest in Worktown. Conferences were reported in the national press, extending awareness of the Spender collection to national and international audiences. A sixth conference, `Leisure in Worktowns' is planned for April 2014.

2. Swain's two oral history projects in Worktown involved the public of Bolton. Both were funded by the Marriott Trust, were extensively covered in the local press, and drew substantial engagement from Boltonians at home and living abroad.

3. A community arts project with young people in Bolton based on the Spender Collection was funded through an AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award (2011-2014), supporting a research student placement in Bolton Museum. This studentship involved the re-classification of the Spender photographs and engaged the public in the identification of unknown locations. The student was principal co-curator of the Museum's 75^th Worktown Anniversary Exhibition at the Museum from October-December 2012.

4. Four Humphrey Spender scholarships under the supervision of Ian Beesley through funding from the Marriott Trust. These combine documentary photographic practice and research and enable community projects to connect the Spender photographs to the people of Bolton. All four projects engaged and involved members of the public.

5. The establishment of a working relationship with the Mass Observation Archive at the University of Sussex with reciprocal visits by staff of each institution. This supported the collation of the Worktown written texts at Sussex and the corresponding photographs at Bolton, for example the loan of written documents from Sussex for display in the 75th Worktown Anniversary exhibition. The impacts on public understanding of the Mass Observation Worktown project will be realised further realised through a Lottery funded education programme on Mass Observation in 2013.

6. The Centre has inspired research in other fields; examples include the production of a mobile phone "app" to locate the Spender images by the University's Institute of Educational Cybernetics and a public exhibition on textiles at Bolton Museum in summer 2013 presented in collaboration with the University's Institute for Materials Science.

7. Beesley has presented national and international documentary photographic exhibitions at the National Media Museum, National Coal Mining Museum for England, Liverpool International Photo-festival, Orange Photo-festival Huang China, and the Peoples History Museum Manchester.

8. Snape has spoken on MO and Worktown to sixth form colleges, the North West Region of the Photographic Collector's Club of Great Britain (April 2012) and Greater Manchester Council of Voluntary Organisations Research Group (April 2013).

9. The Centre actively supported a 75^th Worktown Anniversary Exhibition at Bolton Museum and the production of a new `Worktown website, http://boltonworktown.co.uk/. Between 1/9/2012 to 22/2/2013 this attracted 5,918 visits and 94,654 page views with an average length of visit of five minutes.

10. Speake presented a photographic exhibition on disability at Bolton Lads and Girls Club.

11. The Centre has been approached by journalists and film-makers wishing to use Worktown as the basis of newspaper and magazine articles and the subject matter of a documentary film. A film is currently in production.

12. The Centre is also the locus of Rudd's work on the playwright Bill Naughton who was a member of the Worktown team of observers. While this work is submitted to a different Unit of Assessment, its impacts include a public conference to celebrate Naughton's centenary.

Sources to corroborate the impact

Bolton News (2009) `New Centre to focus on Mass Observation. Museum and University join forces' 22^nd September, p. 4

O'Hara, Mary Guardian [Society section] (23 July 2008) `Oh, they did like to be beside the seaside'.
http://search.proquest.com/newsstand/docview/244248974/13E9D7753F35751FE74/1?accountid=9653

Harding, C. (2011) `Behind the scenes at the National Media Museum: the era of the Kodak Girl' April Issue pp. 84-85.

Kelly. A. (2010) `Wish you were here' The Lancashire Magazine, March Issue, pp. 118-121.

McClarence, S. (2010) `Changing pleasures of leisure', Yorkshire Post Magazine, 27^th March pp.4-7.

Mulhearn, Deborah (2008) `Time Out' Museums Journal February Issue, pp. 32-35

Renaissance North West (2009) Shared Interest: collaboration between museums, visual arts organisations and universities in England's North West. `Case Study 7. Bolton Museum and Archive Service and the University of Bolton' p. 11.

New Worktown Website — http://boltonworktown.co.uk/

Visits September 1^st 2012 to February 24^th 2013:

• Visits - 5,918; % New visits - 65.5%;
• Page views - 94,654 [September 2013]