Smithy's time team tapping in to Eccleston memories (From St Helens Star)
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Smithy's time team tapping in to Eccleston memories
4:00pm Wednesday 13th February 2013 in News
THE back in time team: (pictured left to right) Joanne Chamberlain, Kenneth Chamberlain, Joyce Chamberlain, Vicky Griffiths and Carol Pearl (chair of Eccleston Parish Council) are searching for villagers’ memories.
RICH stories and photographs of bygone days are wanted for a lottery funded project to celebrate a village’s history.
‘Memories of Eccleston’ will record people’s recollections of the original townships that formed St Helens.
It has been set up after The Smithy Heritage Centre on Kiln Lane, Eccleston, became one of the first groups in the UK to receive an All Our Stories Heritage Lottery Fund grant.
According to researchers, too little of the village’s history has been recorded down the years, but they hope the £5,200 of funding project will change that.
All Our Stories was launched in support of BBC Two’s The Great British Story, presented by historian Michael Wood. It aims to inspire communities to look at history in a different way through the eyes of ordinary people.
The Smithy Heritage Centre, a small social history museum set in what once was the village blacksmith’s shop, is the centrepiece for the project.
Historians wish to capture the memories of those who grew up, lived and worked there.
Joanne Chamberlain, joint curator at the Smithy, said: “We don't realise the importance of our memories, but once we are gone, they are gone too.
“Over the course of the year we will be holding a series of drop-in sessions in which people can just come along and chat and reminisce.
“These memories will be recorded and copies of any old photos scanned. This information will then be stored at the Smithy for posterity, turned into an exhibition that will go out to local schools and groups and will also see the production of a book.”
Sara Hilton, head of the Heritage Lottery Fund North West, said: “The success of All Our Stories has reinforced the fact that we are indeed a nation of story tellers and that we want to explore and dig deeper into our past.”
Information detailing the dates of the sessions and the venues will be released shortly.
For more information contact the Smithy on 01744 730744 or e-mail at smithyheritagecentre@hotmail.com
