The Enid Porter’s Folk project, managed by Cambridgeshire County Council’s Supporting Businesses and Communities Service and funded by over £60,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, has been using Miss Porter’s notebooks, owned by the Museum of Cambridge, to learn about and re-enact the folklore, customs and traditions of a century ago.
This work has helped create www.enidporterproject.org.uk - a place to get involved with the project from engaging with various activities to adding content about Cambridgeshire’s customs.
Future project events are also listed in the ‘What’s On’ section of the website and include schools performances, local history talks and a final celebration in July at the culmination of the project.
Councillor David Harty, County Council Cabinet Member for Education and Learning said: “The new Enid Porter’s Folk project website really is the one-stop shop for all things Enid Porter. It provides plenty of interest for anyone keen to learn more about Cambridgeshire culture and it allows people to share stories they may have heard or even personal recollections they may have. It’s a fabulous new resource that I encourage everyone to take a look at.”
Jack Latimer of Community Sites Ltd, who built the website for the project, said: “The website is really easy to use and navigate and has an authentic heritage ‘look and feel’ to match the theme perfectly. A simple form is provided for adding content to the website, which can be in the form of text, photographs or videos. It is therefore envisaged that the website will grow and grow as contributions are made. The website will provide a lasting record of the project.”
Robyn Llewellyn, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund East of England, said: “This is an exciting project that is re-connecting the communities in five villages with the customs, traditions, dialects, and stories that inspired Enid Porter’s writings. It also makes available, through the project website, her fascinating accounts of local life in a bygone era.”
Working with five communities: Swaffham Prior, Haddenham, Littleport, Wisbech and Whittlesford, the Enid Porter’s Folk project is exploring some of the stories, songs, dances, games and rituals as practised there some one hundred years ago.
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