Origins of Living Archive

Living Archive had its origins in the work of two individuals who were developing two quite separate fields of activity. Since 1974, Roy Nevitt, Director of Drama at Stantonbury Campus, with colleagues and members of the community drama group he created, worked to devise and direct large-scale local documentary plays and documentary-based school curriculum materials.

Simultaneously, as a community worker with Milton Keynes Development Corporation, Roger Kitchen was collecting the oral reminiscences of people whose lives were being changed by the influx of newcomers to the place where they lived. These reminiscences were transformed into radio documentaries and, by means of a community publishing venture, into books.

This work aroused considerable interest in Milton Keynes and elsewhere. Others believed that what was being achieved in Milton Keynes could be achieved in other communities. This led to the foundation, in January 1984, of “The Living Archive Project”, now known as Living Archive.