The vote is now closed. The winners will be announced on 10 September 2026.
Shining a light on everyday experiences. Revealing extraordinary stories from places once considered ordinary. The winning team will be named England’s Everyday History Heroes and will receive £1,000 to continue their work.
Lancaster City Museum
Lancaster's Cottage Museum offers a rare opportunity to step inside the home of an ordinary Victorian family. Rather than focusing on the wealthy and powerful, it reveals what everyday life was really like for the people who lived and worked in the city. Using Findmypast's records and newspapers, their 2026 Heritage Open Days event, Behind the Green Door, uncovers the stories of former residents and the lives they built within this remarkably preserved home.
Pankhurst Museum
While best known for its links to the suffragette movement, the Pankhurst Museum also shines a light on the lesser-known stories that sit alongside famous history. Their 2026 Heritage Open Days event explores the life of Manchester resident Mary M'Ginty, revealing how ordinary people experienced poverty, resilience and social change in the city using Findmypast's census records, newspapers, workhouse records and prison admissions. It's a powerful reminder that history is made by far more than household names.
St Peter's Church
St Peter's Church in Stockport is using local history research to ensure the people commemorated on its memorials are remembered as individuals, not just names. Their 2026 Heritage Open Days event focuses on three men named on the church's Second World War memorial, uncovering the families, experiences and sacrifices behind the inscriptions using Findmypast's military records, census records and newspapers.
In partnership with
