A PROJECT celebrating the history of Eccleston has been launched at the Smithy Heritage Centre, on Kiln Lane.

The event included a private preview of the Memories of Eccleston project featuring photographs and stories collected over the past year, and launched a special book full of people’s recollections of the area.

More than 100 people turned up on the night, with Star heritage columnist Chris Coffey one of those in attendance along with people who participated in the project and their families and friends.

Councillor Michael Haw and Janet Anderson, Clerk to Eccleston Parish Council, assisted in greeting guests and serving refreshments, along with Andrew Martlew of The Lester Drive Centre.

The exhibition will be on public display later this month on the weekends of April 19-20 and April 26-27 between 1pm and 4pm, with admission free.

The scheme, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, is also making the exhibition available for hire free of charge to community venues such as schools, day centres and residential homes. The project also includes a free Teachers' Pack available to local schools featuring PowerPoint presentations and notes for historical studies of the area.

Joint-curator of the Smithy Heritage Centre, Vicky Griffiths said: “It’s been a lot of hard work, but we’re thrilled with the way it’s turned out, and really brought people together. We had people reconnecting with old neighbours and childhood friends, some even found that they had unknown links to others involved.

“The stories are still coming thick and fast so we’ll keep adding them to the website over the years; this short term project will have a real legacy.”

Anyone who wishes to make use of the material should contact joint-curators Vicky and Joanne at smithyheritagecentre@hotmail.com.