Winchester Heritage Centre - Trust Annual Report 1987
Last year it was reported that the immediate concern of the Management Committee was to increase the utilisation and income of the Heritage Centre. After considerable research the Committee decided to commission an audio/visual production, "Winchester Heritage", which is aimed to introduce the visitor to Winchester and its history. The producers selected were a partnership, Patrick Rudden and Caroline Gracie, who had produced a highly successful audio/visual in Oxford, "The Oxford Experience".
The cost of the production and the necessary equipment was £8,283. We applied to various organisations for financial assistance and we have received grants from the following, to whom we would like to record our grateful appreciation:
- Hampshire County Council
- Henderson Administration Ltd.
- Southern Tourist Board
- Television South Charitable Trust
- Winchester City Council
The balance of the money has been provided on loan by Winchester Preservation Trust, which has backed this project throughout.
Showings of the audio/visual commenced at the Heritage Centre in April 1987 and it has won considerable acclaim. A congratulatory letter has been received from the Southern Tourist Board and it is interesting that Patrick Rudden and Caroline Gracie have now received further commissions for similar productions.
Unfortunately, however, attendances by the public have been disappointing, though we have done well on visits by schools and organised groups. The location of the Heritage Centre is far from ideal and this disadvantage has been exacerbated by the hoardings round the Brooks Dig. This has been discouraging to Alan Cooke, the Hon. Manager, his Deputy, Ray Eaglen, and to the very loyal voluntary stewards who man the Heritage Centre (now open every day except Monday) and who put in an immense amount of time and effort.
Nevertheless, this project is a long-rather than a short-term one and, as it gets better known and with increased publicity, we believe that it will prove very worthwhile. The audio/visual has been copied on to a master video tape and copies of the tape are available for sale.
The Hon. Manager of the Heritage Centre and his team have been active in other directions, and shop sales, and sales of secondhand books organised by John and Eunice Balchin, continue to provide an important source of income.
In April we held a "Strategy Meeting" attended by representatives of Hampshire County Council, Winchester City Council, the Southern Tourist Board, Winchester Cathedral and others who have supported or been concerned with the Heritage Centre. Two similar meetings have been held in the past and the object of this one was to bring our friends up to date with our activities and to explain to them our concerns for the future. In particular, we were anxious that the Heritage Centre is considered in any overall plan which may be made for the presentation of Winchester, its history and its heritage, especially in the light of any redevelopment of Peninsula Barracks.
The meeting was designed to ensure that the Heritage Centre is firmly on the map rather than to resolve specific problems, and we believe that it was successful in achieving this, and we were assured that the Centre is definitely regarded as having "arrived".