Winsford Archive information

Winsford Archive information

Winsford Archive

In 2015 Winsford Parish Council applied for a grant from the Exmoor National Park Partnership Fund to provide secure and appropriate storage for a wide range of current and historical archive material housed in old filing cabinets. The Village Hall Committee kindly allowed the new lockable cupboards to be built in the meeting room of the Village Hall. The archive tells some of the story of one of the key villages on Exmoor and enables current and future members of the Exmoor community to contribute by means of research and working together to build the story of their family, events and historical detail relating to the Parish of Winsford.

Many parishioners gave their time and information at meetings, interviews and ‘open days’ where photos and people were identified and stories told.

The archive conserves and enhances the cultural heritage of Winsford, making it a useful source of information to the inhabitants and visitors alike. It has benefitted the Exmoor National Park because there were several photos showing the design and structure of the local cast iron signposts when the renovation project was carried out.

Items from Winsford archive have also contributed to the Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record ( https://www.exmoorher.co.uk )

The project will enable everyone to understand how the way of life, effects of War, disease, poverty and remoteness of Exmoor has affected the development of this beautiful rural area.  A map and spreadsheet of the graves in Winsford churchyard and link with the Birth, Marriages, Deaths and Census records for Winsford. Ultimately, we hope to digitise all of the information we have in the physical archive as well as making available a Winsford family Tree with nearly 3,000 people of the parish on it.

For further info please email the Archivist at:  winsfordarchive@btinternet.com

There are a number of photo’s showing Winsford in the past, including:  Unveiling of the War Memorial 1921 (copyright Winsford Archive), Winsford 1906 (copyright Winsford Archive), December 1960 Winsford (copyright Winsford Archive).  These photos can be found in the Community Gallery (bottom of Home page) under ‘Winsford Archive’.