West Africa in the Archives

A survey of where material on Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone between 1880 and 1980 is held in the archives of North West England. Over twelve field trips in May and June 2022, Paul Robinson visited 48 archives, libraries, museums, churches and sites between Lancaster and Chester, recorded what each holds, and graded each by the extent of its West African material.

The results are published as an online atlas, with a map, a grid of themes and material, a network of the companies, people and missions that recur across the collections, and a searchable gazetteer, together with a printable guide and the data. One finding stands out: architecture and urbanism was recorded in only two archives, though built-environment material is likely held within the trading-company, mission and medical collections.