Lottery grant will bring history to life

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WARRINGTON Borough Council has been awarded a grant of almost £10,000 to help create three linked digital resources to enable schools and the wider community to learn more about the town’s rich history.
The council is one of the first organisations in the UK to receive a Heritage Lottery Fund “sharing heritage” grant.
The project, Our Past, Our Present, Our Future, is being led by the council in conjunction with Culture Warrington.
In particular, it will highlight the story of Bridge Street and other key heritage sites and is linked to the commemorative event held in March last year to mark the 20th anniversary of the IRA bombing of Warrington.
Sharing Heritage is a new funding programme to help people across the UK explore, conserve and share all aspects of the history and character of their local area.
The project focuses on Warrington’s historic town centre and notably Bridge Street which has played a major part in Warrington’s history for more than 800 years.
There are three main strands:
*A web based virtual library of downloadable resources, documents and people’s memories of the area showing change through time
*A game which will take players on a virtual walk through time to rescue the Guardians – better known as the Skittles – which have disappeared from Market Gate.
*An augmented reality application, to be downloaded from the web or on location via a smartphone.
Schoolchildren will visit key locations, take pictures, search the Warrington Museum archives, study medieval artefacts and maps to enable them to gather all the information that is needed to create the digital resources.
Cllr Mike Hannon, deputy leader, said: “We can’t wait to get started on this digital initiative, which is all part of a wider project to create a legacy of the 2013 commemoration by engaging a wider audience in understanding the historic streetscape and its hidden history.
“Warrington is peppered with a rich and varied history – for example,
Bridge Street links us medieval times, Shakespeare and the English Civil War!
“There are so many interesting stories and facts to learn about our town as well as understanding and appreciating events, including the 1993 IRA bombing, which shape both our history and our future. I look forward to the introduction of these resources and people finding out more about our great town.”
Maureen Banner, chairman of Culture Warrington said: “I’m delighted that Culture Warrington will be working with young people to help everyone discover the town’s heritage.
“I’m very passionate about Warrington’s rich history and proud that through the Museum and Archive collections we have fantastic resources to tell these fascinating stories.
“I’m also delighted that this project involves young people in caring for the heritage of their town and also that their ideas will be shared through new digital media which make history come alive for current generations”.
Picture: Left to right, Janice Hayes of Warrington Museum, Cllr Mike Hannon and Barbara Dutton, Warrington Borough Council.


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Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.

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