Well today has proved just how important and exciting heritage can be; in a major way!
9.30 saw me at the door of the archives at Bath Records Offices with LM. I had an idea or two in my mind for assessment material but no concrete decisions - and panic was setting in!
Whilst LM was being helped I took a curious look at a book left out for LM's research and found a curious chapter all about an 1851 ticket for a play hosted by Charles Dickens at the Assembly Rooms.
My interest was hooked; this is my kind of heritage!
Four photocopies and a friendly chat with Colin the archivist later and I was at the Bath Central Library asking to see microfiche of 1851 Bath newspapers and the original ticket held in their vaults. And they very kindly agreed!
I was actually shown two of the original tickets and they were breathtaking. The engravings were beautiful and so detailed! The newspapers yielded so much information and so many interesting adverts for the play itself. And the staff of the library couldn't have been more helpful and patient with my requests and questions.
So a huge thank you to both institutes, you've no idea how much I have been helped today! I am so relieved to have found my material - and it is an incredible piece of Dickensian and Bath heritage.
These tickets may not seem important to everyone but to me they are treasured items. As a fan of Dickens and of the theatre, being able to touch, see and research these tickets and reviews, was a real treat and made me realise how important it is that organisations such as our local library keep such items.They are irreplacable.
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