Heritage Centre News - TrustNews January 1987
The Duty Officers and Management Committee have been gratified to see so many visitors to the exhibitions in the Centre (over 2,200 from May to the end of November).
Visiting groups included Gloucester Civic Society, The Sherborne Society, Shell Pensioners' Association, women's organisations and other groups invited by the Urban Studies Committee and school parties from Southampton, Chandler's Ford, Hursley and North Baddesley. On one memorable occasion we had more than 60 children and their teachers in the Centre at one time.
We are hoping to build on this increased interest from schools, and Brian Milloy, a local Headmaster, has joined the Committee with the express purpose of fostering links with schools and children.
The RIBA, who rent an office on the first floor, are moving to larger premises. With them will go about one third of the money needed to keep the Centre open. Also additional money will have to be found in the near future for roof repairs.
In order to provide a new source of income for the Centre, the Management Committee has commissioned an audio/visual (slide-tape) presentation on Winchester. It will last about 20 minutes and be shown at regular intervals in the upstairs committee room from April to October. This new facility will enable us to charge visitors (other than members) a modest entry fee, as it will greatly increase the Centre's attraction.
Audio/visual presentations on these lines are operated with success in other historic cities, and Committee Members were impressed by one made recently in Oxford entitled "The Oxford Experience". This is shown at St. Mary's Church, Radcliffe Square, and during its first six months of operation in 1986 it attracted over 20,000 visitors. The producers are a young partnership, Patrick Rudden and Caroline Grace, and we are using them to create the Winchester presentation.
This will form an excellent adjunct to the main exhibition "Discover the City" and will give visitors an admirable foretaste of what Winchester has to offer.