In early 2025, I found myself at a turning point while working on rebuilding my mental and physical health. As I regained confidence, I returned to Northern Roots, where I had previously worked on a National Lottery Heritage Fund project. Although my background is in administration, this role sparked a strong interest in heritage and local history.

After joining the team as a Heritage Champion, I began developing my skills in research and discovered a passion for uncovering and sharing stories from the past. My work exploring the history of Brook Mills and the people connected to it led me to investigate my own family history in Oldham. Through this, I’ve traced several generations in the Glodwick area of Oldham—finding meaningful connections between local history and my own story.

This experience has shaped my ambition to build a career in heritage. I’m particularly interested in researching local histories and making them accessible and engaging for communities.

When looking into my own family history this is when I started to research the history of the house I grew up in. Even though it was built in 1980’s it was built on the ground of an old mill, but we didn’t have that information, so through research I found old maps. After this my colleague suggested I start a business looking into peoples house history.

You can read my full story at my time at Northern Roots down below.