u3a - Missing Pieces

Missing Pieces is a collaborative learning activity where u3a members help uncover the stories behind historic buildings in their communities.

Inspired by Historic England’s national Missing Pieces project, this activity invites members to look beyond official records and explore the lived experiences, memories, and personal connections that bring listed buildings to life. Whether it’s a place you’ve passed every day, a building with a family connection, or one that’s quietly overlooked, your contribution can help build a richer, more human picture of our shared heritage.

As part of this learning activity we are running a series of online events about buildings around the UK. Click here to see the upcoming events and book your tickets to:

Our national online talk The Missing Pieces project: connecting people and place explores the ideas behind the project and answers some frequently asked questions.

Kingsmeadow House: the inside story of a modest country house - Friday 1 May, 2pm

Save Buildings at risk: empowering communities - Thursday 7 May, 2pm

The legacy of Edinburgh's Victorian swimming baths - Friday 15 May, 2pm

People's Collection Wales: exploring the public archive of Welsh history - Thursday 28 May, 2pm

About Missing Pieces

This learning activity encourages u3a members to create a short written or visual record inspired by a listed building in their local area. Contributions might include memories, photographs, creative responses, or historical research using archives and online sources.

u3a groups are ideally placed to take part in this initiative, bringing together curiosity, life experience and a wealth of local knowledge. By exploring the buildings around you, sharing memories and uncovering new stories, your group can make a lasting contribution to the historic record - while enjoying the pleasure of discovering your local area in fresh and surprising ways. Individuals are also welcome to contribute their own findings and memories.

Members in England will contribute to Historic England’s Missing Pieces platform. Content from Wales will be shared via People’s Collection Wales, while submissions from Scotland will be collected for inclusion in Historic Environment Scotland’s Trove.scot when their activity launches later in the year. Members from Northern Ireland can contact Historic Environment Record of Northern Ireland (HERoNI) about submitting directly.

If you uncover some amazing stories or have some photographs and memories that you would like to share, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will select some to display on the page below.

Photo: Imperial Airways' Empire Terminal - now the National Audit office

Please download the learning pack below to share with your u3a group. In the pack you will find a range of resources and activities to help you uncover historic Missing pieces.

Missing Pieces Learning Pack (180.76 KB)

How to submit: England

u3a members are invited to contribute to the Missing Pieces project by sharing stories, memories, and discoveries connected to listed historic buildings in England.

Getting started

To submit, you will first need to create an account on Historic England’s website (see button below). Once registered, you can upload your contribution directly to the list entry.

Choosing a site

Your submission must relate to a listed historic building

You will need to find and select the building using the Historic England’s National Heritage List for England map.

What you can submit

Up to 3,000 characters of text

Your text might include:

Personal stories or memories
Creative writing, poetry, or song lyrics
Historical information or light-touch research
Reflections on a building’s past, present, or changing use

You may also submit photographs or Youtube videos to accompany your text.

Photographs and links

If you include photographs or videos:

They must be your own
They must be taken from public land
They must not include identifiable people
Car number plates must be blurred

You may include links to relevant historical or archive websites, provided they do not contain advertising

How to submit

All submissions must be your own original work

First, click the button below to create your account. You will need to verify the account via an email.

Once your email is verified, visit the Historic England Map Search. Use the map to locate your place of interest and click on it. Scroll down to the bottom of the pop-up box and choose 'View this list entry'.

At the top of the list entry, choose 'Comments and Photos'. You can then click the button in the yellow box to add your content.

Please include #u3a somewhere within the text of your submission so it can be easily identified as part of the u3a activity

All entries will be moderated before being published

What happens next

Approved submissions will be shared on Historic England’s Missing Pieces platform, helping to build a richer public picture of England’s historic places through personal insight, research, and creativity.

Click here to visit Missing Pieces to create your account and submit your entry

How to submit: Scotland

u3a members are invited to contribute written content to the National Record of the Historic Environment via Trove.scot, helping to enrich the public record of Scotland’s historic environment.

What you can submit

Text only (no photographs or links) of up to 500 words.

Your writing might include:

Historical information or local research
Geneological research associated with historic sites

Choosing a site

Your submission must relate to a historic site listed on Trove.scot

First locate the site using the Trove.scot map

It is essential to include the site’s NRHE Reference Number which can be found under “Further details” on the first tab of a Trove.scot place record, or in the URL of the place record

For example: https://www.trove.scot/place/13371 (NRHE - 13371)

Important notes

Submissions must be your own original work.

Please ensure your text clearly relates to the selected historic site.

All entries will be moderated by Historic Environment Scotland.

What happens next

Approved submissions will be added to National Record of the Historic Environment by Historic Environment Scotland.

Approved content will be uploaded when Trove.scot opens for submissions later in the year.

By taking part, you are helping to record personal, local, and creative perspectives that add depth and meaning to Scotland’s historic places.

Click here to submit to National Record of the Historic Environment via Trove.scot

How to submit: Wales

u3a members are invited to share their knowledge, creativity, and memories of buildings in Wales by contributing directly to People's Collection Wales.

Getting started

To submit, you will first need to register for a free account on People’s Collection Wales.

Once registered, you can upload your contribution directly to the platform.

What you can submit

Members in Wales may submit a wide range of material, including:

Text and historical notes
Personal memories or autobiographical writing
Creative writing, poetry, or song lyrics
Photographs
Video or Audio files
Artwork or other creative responses

Submissions do not have to relate to a specific historic building, though they can if you wish. Contributions should be of historical or cultural interest.

Metadata

Every item submitted will require a relevant title, description, tags and location information to make sure that it can be found in the archive.

Photographs and links

All submissions must be your own original work

You must be the owner of any images or obtain permission to upload other pictures and clearly identify them on the form.

Images must not include identifiable people

Car number plates should not be visible

You may include links to relevant historical or archive websites, provided they do not contain advertising

Important notes

All submissions must be your own original work

Please add the tag ‘u3a’ in the relevant field or #u3a at the end of your text if there is no tag field, so it can be easily identified as part of the u3a activity

All entries will be moderated before being published

What happens next

All submissions are moderated by the People’s Collection Wales team

Approved entries will be added to the archive, helping to preserve local stories and creative responses for the future

By taking part, you are contributing to a growing public collection that values everyday experiences, creativity, and community knowledge as part of Wales’s shared heritage.

Click here to create an account and submit to People's Collection Wales

How to submit: Northern Ireland

We have contacted Historic Environment Record of Northern Ireland (HERoNI) to ask if content from the general public can be upoaded but at the moment their archive is not set up to allow this.

HERoNI is an archive of national importance which preserves records of historic buildings, monuments, sites and artefacts which date from the Mesolithic period 9,000 years ago to the present day. HERoNI accepts deposits from the public, subject to assessment by archive staff to determine suitability for inclusion.

If you have archive material which you would like to add to the record for a listed building in Northern Ireland, please contact:

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

In your email, please include:

A brief description of your submission
Whether your material is text, research notes, creative writing, or other content
A proposed format (e.g., Word document, PDF)

HERoNI staff will review your enquiry and advise on the best way to proceed. They assess submissions for historical significance and suitability for long-term archive preservation.

What you can submit

Photographs and images: Historic or modern photos, slides, negatives, or digital images showing the building, its features, or changes over time.
Architectural drawings: Plans, elevations, sections, measured surveys, and restoration or alteration drawings.
Written documentation: Research notes, building histories, reports, letters, archival documents, or other records related to the building.
Maps and site information: Historic maps, estate maps, site plans, or other material showing the building’s location and context.

Important notes

Your material must be your own work

Please do not include identifiable people or sensitive personal information

HERoNI cannot accept duplicate material that is already held in its collections, and not all offers of material can be accepted for deposit.

What happens next

Once arrangements are made with HERoNI and your material is submitted, HERoNI will assess it and, if suitable, agree terms of deposit. Accepted material will then become part of the archive for research, education, and public interest.

Missing Pieces u3a discoveries

Burgh Island Hotel

Burgh Island Hotel is an iconic 1930s hotel on an island off the coast of Devon. A tidal island, it's reachable by walking at low tide but cut off by the sea at high tide - when visitors reach it by sea tractor. The art deco hotel was built in the 1920s by filmmaker Archibald Nettlefold and it became a popular destination in the 1930s. Famous guests reportedly included Edward and Wallace Simpson, the Beatles and Agatha Christie - who went on to write not one, but two novels inspired by the island.

The first, And Then There Were None, is considered by some to be Agatha Christie's masterpiece. Published in 1939, the novel tells the story of 12 people invited to an island (in the novel it is further from shore than Burgh Island and reachable by boat.) One by one, the guests start dying - and start to realise that the murderer is on the island with them. A large storm, and no boat on the island, leaves the guests without escape, isolated and paranoid.

In Evil Under the Sun, published in 1941, the hotel becomes 'The Jolly Roger', a fashionable hotel off the coast of Devon. Hercule Poirot is on holiday and meets famous actress Arlena Marshall who, before long, is found murdered. The island’s geography is a key part of the mystery and the novel opens with a map of the island which closely matches Burgh Island. While the famous film adaptation of 1982 changed the setting to the south of France, the adaptation in the Agatha Christie's Poirot television series kept to the original setting and filmed in Burgh Island and at the hotel. By Eleanor