Residents invited to share their experiences as Wrexham Museum looks to record “Local Life Under Lockdown” for future generations

A new project aiming to create a record of what life was like locally during lockdown is being launched by the Wrexham Museum and Archive Service.

The lockdown measures that have been in place since the end of March have drastically transformed our everyday lives – from the frontline workers in hospitals and care homes, the people serving in shops, pharmacies and other key workers, to the ways we shop and communicate with our loved ones.

Now residents, community groups, workers, organisations and businesses are being invited by the Wrexham Museum to get involved and share their experiences of life in lockdown as part of a new project.

Working with local film-makers and photographers, the museum is aiming to compile a 21st century scrapbook of images, film, testimony, archives and objects about life in Wrexham since March 2020.

Over the coming weeks, the plan is to:

• Gather digital images and film of life under lockdown. The museum will be announcing details of how you can be involved and contribute and we hope to bring you more detail.
• Collect objects and artworks connected to the coronavirus pandemic. The museum will announce details of this as soon as it is safe to do so.
• Archive material detailing the official response in Wrexham County Borough to the crisis

Pandemics and epidemics are not new to Wrexham, although they are often overlooked. According to tradition, Bryn y Cabanau Road, in Hightown, is named after the wooden huts built to house and isolate residents of Wrexham during an outbreak of the plague.

The threat of cholera during the 1840s spurred on the creation of a borough council to sort out the town’s public health crisis.

Local elementary schools closed and returning soldiers and their families succumbed to the Spanish flu of 1919-20. A Fever hospital was opened on the edge of Wrexham on Croesnewydd Road.

The polio epidemic during the 1950s and the Asian flu pandemic of 1957-58 are undoubtedly remembered by families and individuals still alive today.

Steve Bayley, Chief Officer for Housing and Economy said: “The council has been at the forefront of the response to the challenges thrown up by coronavirus.

“From ensuring those who are shielding receive the provisions they need to providing business support and distributing millions of pounds of business rates relief to businesses across Wrexham.

“We are now keen to see this recorded and archived for future use so please get in touch with the Museum and Archives staff to see how you can help with this project.”

Cllr Hugh Jones, Lead Member for Communities, Partnerships, Public Protection and Community Safety, added: “Staff at Wrexham Museum & Archives had already been planning a project about life in Wrexham 2020. Little did they know what a momentous year it would turn out to be.

“The “Local Life Under Lockdown” project offers a great chance for everyone to contribute to build up a picture of life in Wrexham when we had to “Stay at Home, Protect the NHS and Save Lives”, which could benefit future generations facing similar challenges.”