Schoolchildren in Mansfield are being trained to collect and record memories of Mansfield town centre from their families and friends as part of Mansfield Townscape Heritage Project.
The £1.3m project, which focuses on parts of Leeming Street, Stockwell Gate and the Market Place conservation area, has benefited from £849,100 of money from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, raised by National Lottery players.
Mansfield District Council is leading the scheme and it is being delivered in partnership with Mansfield BID, Vision West Nottinghamshire College and Nottinghamshire County Council.
Over five years, it will be helping local businesses and property owners in this area carry out property repairs and refurbishments to enhance the architectural quality of the Victorian and Georgian buildings.
Property owners are able to apply for match-funded grants of up to 75% to help with the cost of making improvements that are in sympathy with their heritage.
Running parallel to this are community engagement activities including a scheme to document the memories of local people in a series of oral history recordings.
Teachers and pupils have been invited to take part in training sessions developed by Nottinghamshire County Council’s East Midlands Oral History Archive service.
Pete Brown, Community Participation Co-ordinator of the project, said: “The Christmas break will be an ideal time for families and friends to share their memories of the townscape area, which can be captured and archived by the trained volunteers for future generations to learn from and enjoy.”
Students at Vision West Nottinghamshire College are also being encouraged to get involved in the project over the next three years as part of the college’s work experience programme.
Pete said: “There will be opportunities for students to devise heritage trails or street theatre performances. They can also contribute to the project booklet or support schools with art, photography and creative writing workshops, as well as helping with marketing and promotion, and evaluation.”
Details about the project can be found on the Townscape Heritage website (opens in new window) where visitors can post their memories of the shops and other businesses in the project area.
They will also soon be invited to take part in a weekly “Which building?” quiz, featuring images of obscure architectural details from buildings in the Townscape Heritage area. No prizes – just the satisfaction of getting the answer right!