The study of the past has become ever more popular across the United Kingdom since the 1950s. This reflects an increasingly educated public with more time to spend on educational pastimes within an increasingly affluent society, with the time and money to develop such interests. More recently the rising availability of computer based links, particularly the World Wide Web and the growing use of word processing and electronic storage systems accessible to members of the general public, means that studies that once would have been too expensive and time consuming are now far more readily available. Capitalising upon such growing interests many commercial and thematic groups have appeared, particularly in the related fields of family history and genealogy. Many of these new practitioners are amateur, and often only interested in their own family, family name, or clan. This has produced a reaction in some quarters, most notably in the founding of the British Association for Local History (BALH) to provide those who consider themselves more committed to the study of the past a more professional standing. Created in 1982 as the successor to earlier organisations which had previoulsy supported the study of local history its purpose is to encourage and assist the study of local history throughout Great Britain as an academic discipline and as a rewarding leisure activity for both individuals and groups.
To this end the association serves as a national body representing local and regional historians; hosts a Local History Day, an annual event open to all, with discussions, presentation of awards, AGM, and a specially commissioned lecture based on current research; publishes the quarterly journal The Local Historian, published since 1952, which includes regular features on themes, sources, websites, with a copious reviews section; produces a quarterly members' magazine Local History News reporting on up to date developments and examples of best practice from around the country; and makes annual awards to individuals who have made a significant contribution to local history and its promotion. The association also guided visits to places not easily accessible otherwise and collaborates with other organisations to arrange conferences and similar events around the country. It also publishes specialist handbooks, and provides a website (http://www.balh.co.uk) providing details of the association. The Association's headquarters are located in Ashbourne, Derbyshire. The postal address is PO Box 6549, Somersal Herbert, Ashbourne DE6 5WH.
From small beginnings, often associated with W G Hoskins at the University of Leicester in the 1950s, the modern (non-antiquarian) study of local history remains an increasingly vibrant field of study, one where professional historians, local enthusiasts and the general public are often engaged together in a manner that few other fields can rival. The British Association for Local History, like the History Association and the Geographical Association each in their own way, seeks to further the engagement of enthusiasts with each other and with the wider world of the professional study of the world around us.