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Find out how you can help register the region's folk traditions and customs in a new Government scheme that safeguards 'living heritage'.
Following the UK's ratification of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2024, communities across the UK have been invited to submit their living heritage to the new inventory. Examples already listed from elsewhere in the UK include everything from bell ringing to boat-building, ceilidh to carnival, pantomime to pancake day, Highland games and dry-stone walling.
Members of Sheffield’s Heritage Partnership Board (SHPB) are urging individuals and groups in the city and neighbouring regions to ensure the city’s unique folklore features prominently at a national level.
Sword-dancing, carol-singing, pantomime, legends about Robin Hood and Little John, festivals and customs, crafts (including green woodworkers and traditional craftspeople/little mesters), sports and games and local foods are all eligible for recognition under the scheme.
Nominations are invited under seven categories: oral expressions including poetry and storytelling; performing arts; social practices (including festivals and customs); nature, land and spirituality (including folklore, nature and environment); crafts; sports and games and culinary practices, such as regional food and drink.
To be eligible the intangible cultural heritage must be currently practised and nominations must be proposed by the communities themselves. The deadline for submissions is Friday 27 March 2026.
‘This is a unique opportunity for the people of Sheffield to be heard. The city and its region has many customs and traditions that are part of its unique local and regional identity. Whether you are a sword dancer, a choralist, a lover of our hills and rivers or someone who enjoys a splash of Hendo’s relish on your pie and peas, we need your help. Please submit your entries to the Inventories of Living Heritage in the UK. We want to ensure the voices of the Sheffield region are heard nationally’.Professor Vanessa Toulmin, Chair of the Sheffield Heritage Partnership Board (SHPB)
The SHPB can also provide support and advice for individuals and communities who wish to make a submission to the inventory, which is being led by the Department for Media, Culture and Sport. Please contact Jean Simpson at the University of Sheffield, shpb@sheffield.ac.uk
You can find out more information and see the initial Expressions of Interest on the website: https://livingheritage.unesco.org.uk
