ANNUALLY since 2002 member groups of the St Helens Heritage Network join forces to host a local history exhibition.

This year the event is being switched from the Friends Meeting House to the Central Library in the Gamble Building which can accommodate the growing number of visitors.

When organiser Margaret Gibbons of St Helens Historical Society stood down, Network chairman Paul Jones stepped in but ill health forced him to drop out with yours truly now taking the reins. We are working with the Council’s events team and the Library on this, but with no funding available, we will do the best we can.

St Helens Historical Society and the Thursday Group are creating an illustrated display to accompany its series of talks with items such as the Godfrey maps, the history of Sutton Harriers, plus a wide range of second hand books. Interesting documents will illustrate wills members have transcribed and their exploration into Parr Townships Poor Law papers.

The Citadel Youth Theatre plans to complement the exhibition with snippets from their music hall project – songs or comedy sketches. Incidentally the Citadel is one of the oldest surviving music hall venues in the country.