Gainsborough Heritage Centre gets a £25,000 grant

The Gainsborough Heritage Centre has been awarded a £25,000 grant from WREN to help create permanent exhibitions
Gainsborough Heritage CentreGainsborough Heritage Centre
Gainsborough Heritage Centre

Building work is now taking place at the centre in North Street on the first floor to create new permanent exhibitions, which includes a reconstruction of a local Gainsborough street, some of the town’s former shops, a Post Office and much more.

And the ground floor exhibition room is to be a permanent industrial exhibition space, which will include many models of machines from the factories of Marshall’s and Roses.

The centre’s shop and library/research room is still open to visitors during the building works.

Chairman, Andrew Birkett, said: “The Heritage Centre has always been run by a small body of staunch volunteers who do a fabulous job of promoting and preserving our town’s rich heritage and many of their work ia behind the scenes that the public never see.

“We would not be able to do the work we do and achieve the award of this brilliant grant without such a hard working team.”

The team of volunteers will still be available to help with research for family history and local history researchers, with an extensive archive of local newspaper articles. There is also a photographic archive which is ever growing showcasing Gainsborough’s history and development throughout the years.

Despite the grant, fundraising is still essential for the centre. The next fundraising event is a 1940s Blackout Ball on June 4, at the Drill Hall in Ropery Road, Gainsborough, at 7pm.

Exhibition officer, James Titley, said: “Once again we welcome Room 21 Big Band to Gainsborough for a fabulous evening of 1940s entertainment, music and dancing.

“The Drill Hall was a popular dancing venue during the war, so it is a great chance for us to roll back the years.

“We encourage everyone to dress in period costume and will be awarding prizes to the best dressed and best dancers.

“The evening also features a wartime period buffet and bar. This is a great opportunity to get into the wartime spirit and help raise funds for a worthwhile cause.

“All profits from the evening go directly into the running of your heritage centre, keeping local history alive.”

Last year’s V.E. Day Dinner and Dance raised £1,500.

James added: “Following on from last year’s great event, we will again be partying like its 1945. So come on, there’s no need to ‘keep mum’ on this on, get yourself a ticket and join in.”

Tickets for the ball are £15 and available from the shop and archive/research room at the Heritage Centre.