In the 1930s, trained fieldworkers were dispatched from Blackheath to gather information on a diverse range of subjects, from pub culture to shopping habits. As depicted by Victoria Wood in ‘Housewife 49’. Their aim was to counter inaccurate representation of the nation in the press and by politicians of that time. Hear how it evolved and continues today.

Kirsty Pattrick of The Sussex University Mass Observation Archives Department, will speak about the origins of the project, show how the information is used and relate it to the writers of today. You will have the opportunity (non-obligatory) to join in the process.

Tickets £10 available from www.Eventbrite.com  search: How Mass Observation began in Blackheath or email the office you plan to attend and pay at the door:  office@blackheath.org

The evening will be held at St Mary's Halls, Cresswell Park, SE3  9RD. We plan to start with a welcoming glass of wine at 7pm and the talk to begin at 7.30pm.

Grotes Buildings, the start of Mass Observation in Blackheath.

Over a hundred people attended a most interesting evening in which Kirsty Pattrick gave us a history of the Mass Observation Project, its origins in Blackheath in the 1930s and how it continues today. The work they do is to record history as it happens, a slice of real life. The world as it is not the bias of Historians or manipulation of media and novelists. The Observations are a priceless resource which are being very well maintained at Sussex University, open to the public, and also being used for medical and social research. The records were originally held in Grotes Buildings here in Blackheath and when they reached over a million. Neil Rhind gave the Vote of Thanks for the evening and noted that the Archives are a shining example for others to follow.

We wait with excited anticipation for the talk to start.