Exploring daily working life through the ages.
Every September thousands of volunteers across England organise events to celebrate our fantastic history and culture. This year The Story is celebrating by hosting exciting tours and activities.
Some events are bookable – follow the links on bookable events to reserve your space.
Exploring daily working life through the ages
Sunday 13 September | 10:00-16:00 | The Story Collections Room
The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker… every job has a story. In 2026, we’ll uncover the working lives of people from our past, exploring how they learned their trades, spent their days and built the routines and traditions that became part of their lives. Journey through factories, kitchens, dockyards, gardens and more to discover the people behind the work.
Don’t miss our Collections Room, open on Sunday, where you can delve into the history of local businesses. From Shotley Bridge’s famous sword makers to Fisher-Price, the archives are full of familiar names and faces. Will you recognise someone, or uncover a family connection to the area’s working past?
Highlights include County Durham’s industrial heritage, from traditional crafts and mining to modern manufacturing. The Mullard/LG Philips photographs from the early 1970s show the sophisticated production of colour television tubes at Durham.
Other images focus on the people behind industry, such as the Castle Eden bottle-washing girls, receptionists, offering valuable social-history perspectives.
The Mackays and Newton Aycliffe factory photographs document post-war manufacturing industries, including Flymo and Run Point, while the Peterlee image of a worker assembling a toy fire engine at Fisher-Price, represents consumer-goods production.
Mining heritage is reflected in the National Coal Board photographs, particularly the evocative image of pit ponies and their handlers.
Shotley Bridge sword making photograph would provide a longer historical context, demonstrating County Durham’s centuries-old tradition of skilled craftsmanship and industrial production.
Behind the scenes tours
Sunday 13 September | 11:00-11:45 and 13:00-13:45
We are also offering special behind-the-scenes archive tours. Spaces are limited and book up quickly, so be sure to reserve your place now. Joining one of our archivists for a ‘Behind the scenes’ tour of the Durham County Archives, picking out store highlights, key objects, and stories connected to working lives.
