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Heritage Centre - TrustNews Spring 1993

The very popular 'Wish You were Here' exhibition of the Edwardian postcards of Winchester kindly loaned by John Brimfield brought the 1992 season to a close. The Centre's Christmas theme was the 'Pets of Winchester' organised by the animal charities in and around the City. The Mayor (Cllr Wing Cmdr John Nunn) kindly opened the displays with various pets in attendance including a 'King Alfred Retriever' and a cat called Amato] (his brother is called Semtex!) who was reunited with his Canon Street owner after being lost for four months and found half starved on St Catherine's Hill by a Winchester College boy. Visitors to the Centre were up by 20% over 1991 during the same period and the Centre is now much used in the evenings by various small societies.

As a result of the increasing use of the Centre the energetic Management Committee is now hard at work in the brief period before opening again in April replanting the garden, reorganising the shop and kitchen areas, creating an archive and resources centre as well as a proper administration centre for the Trust. One major project is the entrance display panel which will tell the visitor what the Trust is about and what the Centre can offer in interpreting Winchester before seeing the City.

All this costs money and the Fine Art Auction arranged by Jeffrey Smith gave us a magnificent boost to our funds and we are very grateful for the generous gifts and donations given. Bell Fine Art kindly arranged a joint promotion with the Trust in aid of the Heritage Centre's funds and a number of Winchester paintings in private ownership were on display. Sadly the day chosen for opening was one of the wettest December afternoons for years! The next fund raising activity will be a book sale in the autumn so please start looking out those unwanted books.

Although the period up to 1st April 1993 is not the official 'open season' for The Heritage Centre, the M3 exhibition panels showing the route and landscaping plans will be on display at the Centre at weekends from 6th February until 21st March.

The Winchester Heritage Centre will be holding two exhibitions as part of their contribution to Winchester 900. The Centre will open for the summer season on April 1st with "A Celebration of King Alfred Buses". This is part of King Alfred Buses' programme of events to remember the twentieth anniversary of the last scheduled journey by the bus company in 1973 (after 60 years of service) to the Chesil Street garage - since demolished and the site now occupied by Avalon House, home of the City Council planners. The programme culminates in a Vintage Transport Extravaganza Weekend on April 24th and 25th - the final weekend of the exhibition at the Heritage Centre.

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The second important contribution by the Heritage Centre to Winchester 900 will be the exhibition "Cathedral Characters - The Workers Behind the Scenes" which opens on May 8th and continues throughout the summer months. It will highlight the tasks performed by the wide variety of Cathedral workers such as the "Holy Dusters" and the "Brass Band".

In addition details of the Trust's Committees (Planning, Landscape, Traffic, Chippindale Venture, etc) and the Winchester Heritage Exhibition and video will be on display. The Centre is a focal point for the Trust and it needs people to make it function. George Burnett has kindly taken over the role of the Stewards' Steward so if anyone feels they can spare a couple of hours manning the Heritage Centre desk please contact George Burnett and he will tell of the little perks that can make two hours very enjoyable just meeting people - Wintonians and visitors.