Red Boxes Gallery
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Unboxing England’s Histories…
About the project
2019 marked the 120th anniversary of the Victoria County History (VCH): an ongoing project to write the history of every county in England, from the earliest times to the present day.
To celebrate, counties across England have each filled a special VCH Red Box – referencing the iconic VCH series of Red Books – with objects which tell the history of their place in quirky, surprising, and often personal ways. From musket balls to sari fabrics to a pinch of mustard, please enjoy exploring these objects and their rich and colourful stories.
Selected objects are on display at the Institute of Historical Research, Senate House, London (November 2019 – February 2020). The full Red Boxes collection is below, in a permanent virtual exhibition, with all object captions. Scroll down the page to view the full captions as PDFs.
Thank you to all who participated in this national public history project.
Thank you also to the Victoria County History Trust for funding the Red Boxes project, and to our partners, the Being Human Festival.
Cumbria
Find out more about The Victoria County History of Cumberland
What's in our red box?
Durham
Find out more about The Victoria County History of Durham
What's in our red box?
Essex
Find out more about The Victoria County History of Essex
What's in our red box?
Gloucestershire
Find out more about The Victoria County History of Gloucestershire
What's in our red box?
Hampshire
Find out more about The Victoria County History of Hampshire
What's in our red box?
Herefordshire
Find out more about The Victoria County History of Herefordshire
What's in our red box?
Leicestershire
Find out more about The Victoria County History of leicestershire
What's in our red box?
Middlesex
Find out more about The Victoria County History of Middlesex
What's in our red box?
Norfolk
Find out more about The Victoria County History of Norfolk
What's in our red box?
Northamptonshire
Find out more about The Victoria County History of Northamptonshire
What's in our red box?
Nottinghamshire
Find out more about The Victoria County History of Nottinghamshire
What's in our red box?
Oxfordshire
Find out more about The Victoria County History of Oxfordshire
What's in our red box?
Shropshire
Find out more about The Victoria County History of Shropshire
What's in our red box?
Somerset
Find out more about The Victoria County History of Somerset
What's in our red box?
Wiltshire
Find out more about The Victoria County History of Wiltshire