In this chapter, we challenge what might be called a ‘local history paradigm’, whereby immigration to Britain and the decline of industry are linked and local history is considered to ‘end’ in the 1980s. We explore representations of past and present in Rotherham, and draw on examples of heritage projects undertaken there by people from minority ethnic communities. We consider ways in which these projects add to the local history narrative of the town.

William Gould and Irna Qureshi have explored south Asian histories in Britain in the context of the postcolonial migrant experience, arguing that local histories need to take account of the imperial nature of British history (Gould and Qureshi, 2014). They argue that British south Asian histories are often confined to a local context and do not contribute to national or imperial historiographies. We argue that minority ethnic histories are not often enough integrated into ‘local history’ and so are marginalised at every level of historical research and scholarship, both ‘professional’ and ‘amateur’. We suggest that using methodologies of co-production might link histories of ethnic diversity to histories of locality and community, and that integrated local histories could contribute to a broader national and transnational history. By co-production in history, we mean the interpretation of the past by academically trained historians and public groups, who bring expertise born of experience and emotion, to undertake systematic historical research together using primary sources (Pente et al, 2015). This chapter, like the rest of the book, was the product of a series of writing workshops held in Rotherham involving community and academic partners. It emerged from the experience of many of the participants living in and researching the town during the child sexual exploitation scandal. Nonetheless, while about Rotherham, its interpretation might be applicable to a variety of post-industrial towns and cities in northern England and elsewhere.

Thinking about the past is important. It enables people to locate where they are in the present and to think about the future. People in towns and cities in northern England are constantly engaged in a variety of forms of historical recovery, as they seek to understand their present condition looking back to ‘better’ times.