Routes to Roots awarded National Lottery support – bringing exciting new heritage trails to Mossley.

Reporter : Judith Grinter

Mossley Civic Society is delighted to announce that they have been awarded a confirmed grant of £35,900 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the Routes to Roots project.

Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, the project aims to greatly raise the profile of Mossley Industrial Heritage Centre by increasing visitor numbers and encouraging children and adults to explore the heritage of Mossley in an engaging and fun way.
Working with Green Monster Arts, a local specialist educational arts provider, the Society will work with 6 local primary schools to explore the heritage of Mossley and design an interactive walking trail from their school to the Industrial Heritage Centre.

The Centre itself will also have a makeover including new branding, signage and physical enhancements to tempt the public in along with a new, accessible website to record Mossley’s past. There will also be opportunities for existing and new volunteers to develop new skills in archiving and displaying photos and collecting stories to illustrate Mossley’s fascinating past.

Ann Gilligan, one of the bidders for the award, told Saddleworth News: “We’re delighted that Mossley has received this support thanks to National Lottery players. Green Monster Arts and Civic Centre volunteers are chomping at the bit to get the project underway and we can’t wait to see the finished trails next year. We hope the project will really get the Heritage Centre on the map.”

The Heritage Centre began over 20 years ago when local residents were invited to look around inside Longlands Mill when it was bought by Emmaus and memories came flooding back. Some of the visitors had been workers in the same mill years before. The memories they brought back and the stories they had to tell were the inspiration for the development of the Industrial Heritage Centre. Mossley folk have gone through attics, photograph albums and memories to find things of interest and this project hopes to discover even more stories which will be presented in an imaginative way to bring history alive especially for the younger generation who were born into the digital age.

The project will run during 2018 with more details to follow in the New Year.
Find out more on the Facebook page @mossleycivic

Author: Jude Gidney - Editor

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