Great Ayton History Society (GAHS) is helping villagers past and present to discover the village as it was 108 years ago.
After more than a year of research, the society is launching its Our Village In 1911 project allowing visitors to learn about Great Ayton and its inhabitants as they were prior to the outbreak of the Great War.
Back in 1911, some 2,398 people lived in the wider Great Ayton area according to the census of that year and 300 were working in local mines and quarries.
Many of the miners and quarrymen and their families had moved to the village from as far as Cornwall to work in the local industries.
The project is an offshoot of the society’s work in charting the lives of the village men who died in WWI.
“We began to discover just how many families were new arrivals in the village and that sparked our interest. The 1911 is the last available census so it made sense to base our research around it,” said David Taylor, secretary of GAHS.
From May 21, and to coincide with National Local History Month, GAHS will have maps, photographs, census returns and stories of those who lived in the village in 1911 in a special display at Great Ayton’s Discovery Centre on the High Street.
“People can come and search out their homes and families, discover more about the village and leave comments or questions which will be followed up by the Society,” said David.
“Later we hope to conduct a talk session which will bring the 1911 Great Ayton to life for the audience.”
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