The Lymm Heritage Centre team are working around the clock to hit an opening date of June 22 – to coincide with the 120th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.
While research was being carried towards the first exhibition at the centre they realised that the date could have hardly been more appropriate.
Group chair Alan Williams said: “There is a wonderful set of photographs of the village being decorated for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee and the council had spent a significant sum on restoration of Lymm Cross for the occasion.
“They were investing in Lymm’s Heritage for future generations. It was only when we read further that we realised that the Jubilee date, which generated all sorts of activities and celebration around the village was June 22 1897. So what could be more fitting than for the latest investment in our heritage to open on that very date and on the first day of the modern Lymm Festival exactly 120 years later?”
The centre opens with a temporary exhibition called A Quiet Revolution, a social history of the bicycle and how it changed lives in and around Lymm.
Team member Alan Taylor said: “We have unearthed some great local photographs, stories and ephemera to bring the past to life.”
The team are also looking for people to contact [email protected] with personal stories; maybe how they learnt to ride, or how a bike got them to work.
The Centre opens its doors for the first time at 1pm on Thursday June 22 and will stay open until 8pm to be part of Foodfest. It is then open every day during the festival from 1pm until 5pm up until July 2.
There will be a short official opening by invitation at 2pm on June 28 when guests will include the centre’s patron Terry Waite CBE and the Mayor of Warrington.
Looking further into the future the team are already planning “The Lymm Story” a more complete telling of the story of Lymm’s Heritage. They would like to know what people think are the most important chapters of the story. It could be anything from Dinosaurs to the Domesday Book, from Fustian Cutting to Rushbearing. Have your say at www.lymmhic.co.uk/sowhat or get involved as a volunteer.
