Brighton YAC will ‘let the cat out of the bag’ on Preston Manor’s Late Victorian and Edwardian Pet Cemetery. Believed to be the only example in Sussex, this is the final resting place of 16 known dogs and 3 cats. Brighton members are conducting their own graveyard study and consulting local archives to reveal the hidden story behind these beloved but often over-looked Brighton residents. What tales will they tell that we can share with our community?

Colchester YAC set out to create a Martyrs’ Trail, which commemorates the Protestants from Colchester who died for their faith in the sixteenth century and show that prejudices and divisions in our town are in the past. More than four hundred years ago there was such religious conflict in England that cloth workers and farm labourers were martyred, for their protestant faith, in the castle bailey and at the town walls. Today a Mosque, Synagogue, Anglican, Methodist, Baptist, Buddhist, Greek Orthodox and Catholic places of worship are all within a short walk of the sites of martyrdom.

The Mersey and Dee YAC branch decided to explore the archaeology of slavery and its links to Liverpool. They divided their project across three sessions: to learn about the legacy of the international trade in enslaved African people in their landscape, how to do research to find out more and what the finds could tell us, and setting out their display.

Rusty Club YAC explored the theme of ‘Hidden Histories’ by thinking about different historical sites across the country that either aren’t easily accessible or are not immediately visible, such as cave systems, underground passages, hidden rooms and cathedral ceilings. They also explored some mystery objects and investigated the changing past uses of the museum building itself. The club members also explored how exhibitions are made with the aim of co-creating their own exhibition at Weston Museum.