If your ancestors lived in Essex, how did they speak? They probably did not sound like Londoners. The Essex Record Office has produced a CD including speech and song, with examples of accents from across the county, some dating back to 1906.
According to the BBC, Archivist Martin Astell said: "It is frequently said that the 'real' Essex accent is being lost, but this is nothing new, even in the 1880s concern was expressed that the unstoppable spread of the London accent was displacing that of Essex.
"Hopefully, this CD will show how Essex people spoke and sang in years past and how the local accent has developed and changed."
A free event to launch the CD takes place at the record office on 11 May.
There's nothing about this on the Essex Record Office website, so I telephoned to find out more. Apparently there's no need to book - arrive from 7pm for a 7.30pm start.
Unfortunately they weren't able to confirm that the CDs will be available for sale on Monday - it sounds as if that's still in the balance.
Posted by: Peter Calver | May 08, 2009 at 01:15 PM