Heritage Centre - TrustNews Spring 1996
Heritage Centre sketch by Sir Hugh Casson
Vice-President of the Trust
Letter from Yvette of Lankhills School
Harold Wilson said a week is a long time in politics and so it seems with the Heritage Centre. An almost never ending series of phone calls, meetings and attending various inter locking City Council meetings either raised our hopes or left us in despair. The good news as outlined elsewhere is at long last the future of the Heritage Centre for the next generations is within our grasp.
The Royal Observer Corps Association exhibition 'Winchester Skywatchers' attracted wide interest and drew attention to their Second World War command post in Worthy Lane one of Winchester's few 20th Century listed buildings, ROCA demonstrated how the shooting war turned into a Cold War and the part they have kept in keeping peace. It was rather poignant to hear a few days after the closure of the exhibition that the ROC had been stood down, Our thanks to Neville Cullingford and his ROCA Trustees for an interesting and unusual aspect of Winchester's life. We wish them well in their quest to turn their listed command post into a national ROC Museum. Nick McPerson has kindly loaned us his degree work straight from it's London premiere on Hyde past and present as illustrated elsewhere in this newsletter. We are grateful to Nick and hope that his dissertation will eventually be printed along with his illustrations. Our Centre Manager, George Burnett received in his post this delightful letter from Lankhills School after their visit to the Centre. The Centre is now open every Saturday from 1030 to 1500 until the start of the season in April when we will have an exhibition of old Winchester post cards. The letter shows the important part the Heritage Centre is playing in educating the young. So this leads us back to my opening paragraph; to bowdlerize a famous American President - Think not what the Winchester Heritage Centre can do for me, but think what I can do to ensure the future of the Winchester Heritage Centre'.
Developments at the Heritage Centre - TrustNews Spring 1996
After seeing the recent press coverage and reading the Chairman's remarks in the last Annual Report, members will no doubt be interested in the latest developments on the Heritage Centre.
The current situation is that the Preservation Trust has been offered a long-term lease by Winchester City Council on the listed cottages (C1820) in Upper Brook Street, which form the Heritage Centre.
The Trust's intention is to enhance the Centre in four main ways:
1 By housing Roger Brown's impressive model of Winchester in 1870, with full sound and lighting effects. The model has been temporarily exhibited in the Great Hall, but has no permanent home.
2. By improving the Trust's educational activities by providing a new lecture/meeting room.
3. By creating proper storage facilities for the Trust's archives, including the Slide and photographic lending Library.
4. By restoring the front parlour, bedroom and kitchen in one of the cottages. This will be one of the few remaining Brooks houses in its original condition.
Heritage Centre - experimental sketch showing model room
Sketch by Michael Carden
The Trust has made good progress since 1983. Firstly by saving the cottages from demolition, and then restoring them to a reasonable condition. It raised the funding from the Carnegie Trust to create the panel display of the evolution of Winchester, and the many other schemes undertaken to improve the Heritage Centre.
A corner of the interior of the Heritage Centre
Ground Floor proposal for Heritage Centre and model room
drawn by Nick Bourne
First Floor proposal for Heritage Centre and model room
drawn by Nick Bourne