CELEBRATING OUR HERITAGE TOGETHER
Since 2014, we have been working not only at ECFC but across the UK in developing our vision and approach to the collection, preservation, and sharing of our club's sporting heritage.
Key to this work has been our collaboration with The Centre for Intermedia and Creative Technology and the Digital Humanities Lab at the University of Exeter, as well as a range of other organisations in the UK and further afield.
On this page we share with you our guide to best practice, whilst also highlighting some of the brilliant and inspirational work going on across the UK and Europe.
The ECFC Museum Team.
BEST PRACTICE PAPER
How to Document, Preserve Exhibit and Celebrate Sporting Heritage (Giannachi et.al. 2019)
Produced as part of the ECFC Museum's National Lottery Heritage Funded 'Celebrating our Heritage' programme, this paper starts by tracing the origin of sporting heritage, looking also at the evolution of this field in the UK, though the main focus remains on football heritage.
The paper then moves on to analyse the origin and development of the museum more widely, looking specifically at the capability of the sport museum and, more specifically, the football museum. At the heart of the paper is the proposition of a framework that has been developed by applying findings from studies produced by curators and researchers in sporting heritage, museum and archival studies, conservation, visual culture, and performance studies, in relation to the documentation and preservation of football heritage, utilising, as a case study, the history of the ECFC Museum.
While the paper focuses on football heritage, its authors hope that its findings could be utilised by other sporting heritage organisations, as the paper’s ultimate objective is both to support communities already engaged in the documentation, preservation and exhibition of sporting heritage, and to inspire others who may wish to start working in this field, but don’t yet know how to. Having said this, all sports present their unique characteristics and no framework will be comprehensive of all the nuances of a field that, in some ways, is probably almost as old as humankind.
CELEBRATING OUR SPORTING HERITAGE, UK
Sporting heritage has become one of the main fields in cultural heritage in the UK. This is thanks to the work of a number of individuals and organisations, who have been actively involved in the collection, preservation, and celebration of our rich sporting heritage.
Below is a selection of some of the clubs and organisations with which we have collaborated or by which we have been inspired in delivering the aims, activities and achievements of the ECFC Museum.
THE FOOTBALL AND WAR NETWORK
Made up of historians of war with an interest in football, and football club historians, the F&W network brings together historians from the academic and football worlds so that all the academic, practitioner and fan research centred around football, war and history can link up.
THE GREAT SAVE
The Great Save is a fan-based blog that seeks to highlight the problem of saving valuable football memorabilia and to guide supporters, collectors and organisations towards the emerging solutions.
WATFORD MUSEUM
Telling the story of Watford past and present, the museum has displays of local history, industry and archaeology. These include Watford at War, Print and Brewing and a display on Watford Football Club – which includes some fabulous Elton John memorabilia.
FOOTBALL MUSEUMS, EUROPE
As the most popular sport on the continent, football heritage is part of the fabric of our collective history all across Europe.
In creating the ECFC Museum we have been inspired by the stories and activities of a number of fabulous football museums. Below is a selection of those who have helped us to shape our vision and practice.
HELP AND SUPPORT
If you are working in this field, or are looking to get started, please feel welcome to contact us via email at museum@ecfc.co.uk
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