Our Migration Story

This website is an Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded collaboration between the Runnymede Trust and academics based at the universities of Cambridge and Manchester. It presents the often untold stories of the generations of migrants who came to and shaped the British Isles, drawing on the words and research of over 60 historians based in universities and historical institutions. While this website is primarily designed to support teachers and students studying migration to Britain, its aim is to be a useful resource for anyone interested in Britain’s migration history. The stories of individuals and groups are told through historical source material and are arranged into four time-period categories: AD43-1500; 1500-1750;1750-1900; 1900-2000s. Images, quotations, newspaper clippings, Parliamentary reports, videos, poems, extracts from novels, and many other materials present the successes, challenges, obstacles and surprises faced by Britain’s migrants over more than a thousand years. Most case studies end with potential questions and classroom activities, which are in line with the OCR and AQA GCSE modules on migration to Britain. There are further avenues for exploration in the form of links to additional reading, other websites and organisations. The site has a useful information for teachers page which explains how to use the site, and looks at the the challenges of teaching migration history. There is also a set of 'historical enquiry' lesson sequences. All together, this site is dedicated to presenting the fullness and the richness of contributions made, and lives lived, by Britain’s many migrant groups.