Report from the Heritage Centre - TrustNews Spring 1997
This is possibly the last report on the Heritage Centre's activities before we close. It has been a difficult time living from hand to mouth, with no certainty of tenure making planning difficult.
We tried in November to go out in a blaze of glory with "Winchester Goes to Blazes" - a peep into the activities of our fire brigade taken from the archives held at North Walls. The first recorded fire was in AD 764 (no, they did not photograph that one!) but later pictures included the move from the Guildhall to the present site just before the last war and the most spectacular fires of recent years at the west wing of the Guildhall, St Laurence's Church and of course the Recreation Centre. We could only show a snapshot of the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Brigade's activities and are all grateful for their vigilance. Our thanks go to Ken Jones and his colleagues and of course to the Officer in Charge of North Walls together with the Chief Fire Officer for the loan of the artefacts and photographs.
We will finish with a small exhibition on Winchester butterflies and Dr Tom Beaumont James' "Winchester Project" - a computerised history of buildings which is now being demonstrated, after many years' research under the auspices of King Alfred's College. Dates are bound to be uncertain pending the closure of the Centre, so look in quickly.
Finally, a big thank you to everyone over the years and the very loyal Committee, not forgetting the Managers who have given endless hours of their time. We may rise again like the phoenix, but for now, Au revoir.