Heritage Centre - Trust Annual Report 1993
The Heritage Centre has had a successful year with the number of visitors up by 40%.
In order to make the maximum effective use of the Centre during winter weekends (the Centre normally closes from 1 November until 1 April) an exhibition of "Pets of Winchester", organised by Winchester animal care societies, was opened by the Mayor in December 1992 and proved to be most popular.
This was followed after Christmas by an exhibition of panels loaned from the Department of Transport showing the planned route of the M3, emphasising the landscaping aspects, which are being monitored by the Preservation Trust.
An experiment to open the Centre every Saturday morning as a social centre for members, with coffee provided, was not well supported.
In April 1993 the Centre staged the first public event of the "Winchester 900" celebrations by exhibiting memorabilia of the King Alfred Bus Company, which served Winchester for sixty years up to its closure in the early 70s. The main exhibition of the year "Cathedral Characters" opened in May, depicting a snapshot of a moment of time of all those many people who keep our Cathedral running day by day.
The 75th anniversary of the formation of the Royal Air Force is currently being commemorated in the Centre by a display entitled "Winchester Wings", illustrating the role played by the Winchester area in the formation of the RAF.
Behind the scenes at the Centre there have been many improvements. New entrance panels which explain the Preservation Trust and what the Heritage Centre can offer now greet the visitor; the garden has been replanted; the 20th Century Room and the Resources Centre, where the archives are being stored and will eventually be displayed, are being renovated; the kitchen arrangements have been updated, and safety arrangements have been checked and improved.
Several organisations and individuals have been most generous in assisting the Centre, including Keith Bell of Bell Fine Art, Mr and Mrs Nicholas, and Colin and Esme West-Watson. TV Rentals have kindly donated a TV set on which we are now able to show reliably our "Winchester Heritage" video and other educational videos.
Our plans for 1994? In addition to the permanent exhibition giving an introduction to Winchester, we will be exhibiting how life was in Winchester fifty years ago as part of the national D-Day celebrations. We look forward to seeing you there!
Finally and most importantly, there has been a great increase in the day-to-day activity of the Heritage Centre. The Preservation Trust has set up its Office there, and the number of both formal and informal meetings convened by the Trust, the Heritage Centre and other external organisations has increased immeasurably. The smooth running of these activities and the exhibitions is primarily due to the work of the Heritage Centre Management Committee, the Hon. Treasurer and those concerned with organising the exhibitions who have put in many, many hours of hard work to ensure success. We are most grateful to them and congratulate them.