FOR the past five years teams of volunteers around the Ingleborough area have been working hard to create an online resource of local history archives before they are lost forever.

Throughout the Dales there are huge amounts of documents and photographs hidden away in attics, cellars and at the back of cupboards that tell the history of this landscape just waiting to be rediscovered.

So far, some of the gems they have uncovered have been a photograph of the 1927 full eclipse of the sun, taken in Giggleswick; and a delightful picture of land girls taken in Horton-in-Ribblesdale with two Fordson Tractors, as well as so much more.

The Gargrave based charity Friends of the Dales set up the 'Capturing the Past' project in order to preserve such heritage - and now it is appealing to people to turn out their drawers and cupboards, and search their attics for any old photographs or documents that can be digitalised, and saved forever.

Wilf Fenten, vice chair of Friends of the Dales, said: “Without initiatives like this we risk seeing our local history lost forever.

"'Capturing the Past’ looks to work with local groups to help them catalogue their collections and to train them to use our equipment to create digital records of their material.

“This past year things have been on pause, however with restrictions now lifting we are hoping to re-establish our support to the existing projects we know about as well as discovering new groups and archives who might benefit from our help.”

The idea behind the project is that the Capturing the Past team offers its expertise and equipment to help groups in the area carry out the work of digitising their archives themselves.

With some of the best user-friendly scanning equipment on the market coupled with the knowledge of how to catalogue records quickly and efficiently, the group is well placed to advise and help make easier work of what might appear an onerous task.

Once documents such as deeds, wills, maps and photographs are digitally captured and uploaded onto the Capturing the Past website, they immediately become available for everyone to freely access.

Nancy Stedman, one of the trustees of Friends of the Dales, added: “The archive is a fantastic resource for anyone who is interested in the Dales and its history.

“The project has so far unearthed some fascinating information, giving a great insight into everyday life in Craven.

Particular highlights include a complete set of the now closed Horton School logbooks from 1878 to 2010 where we see surnames still familiar today throughout that time span, and the Thomas Brayshaw scrapbooks of Settle ephemera from the Great War era.”

Ian Fleming, another of the project’s founders, added: “So far the project has exceeded our expectations, and now that we have the opportunity to start it up again we are very much looking forward to seeing what else can be found.

“We take the view that yesterday is history, so it is not just 18th or 19th century documents that we are looking for, but anything that shows any aspect of Dales life that future generations might wish to have available as a resource.”

The project is now looking to expand further, beyond the borders of the Ingleborough area into the rest of Craven.

And, it is appealing to individuals or groups who might have any material that they think would be appropriate, and would be interested in cataloguing online to get in touch with Matt Brown by email at: dalescommunityarchives@gmail.com.

Capturing the Past is part of Stories in Stone, a five year scheme of conservation and community projects concentrated on the Ingleborough area.

The scheme was developed by the Ingleborough Dales Landscape Partnership, led by Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT) and supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

For more information visit www.storiesinstone.org.uk. Friends of the Dales has managed and supported the Capturing the Past project for five years, under the Stories in Stone project, and continues to do so to help conserve and make available important local community archives via a bespoke website at www.dalescommunityarchives.org.uk