HERIAN News

Community groups from across South Wales are being urged to sign up to the next round of heritage-based learning workshops.

Groups keen to explore and record their local heritage are being offered the opportunity to discover and celebrate their rich industrial past through a series of This Is our Heritage training workshops under the guidance of the HERIAN – Heritage in Action partnership initiative.

Aimed at helping communities tell the story of their community's heritage in their own unique way, groups will gain key skills necessary to bring the stories of industrial South Wales to life and leave lasting records of their town's people and places.

To date more than 130 people from community groups across industrial South Wales have attended the one day interpretive training workshops organised by HERIAN. Earlier this year 10 community groups were selected for ongoing support in preparing plans to tell their story. The new round of support being funded by HERIAN is designed to encourage more heritage interpretation projects to come forward in the New Year.

“The story of industrial South Wales is extremely impressive and proper interpretation can enrich experiences and understanding of the past. It is a skilled job to be able to effectively recall and understand myths, memories, historical facts and figures, and present them in an exciting and enticing way. We hope these workshops will help equip communities to better tell their story for their own benefit and the benefit of visitors”, says HERIAN's Interpretive Advisor Ruth Taylor Davies.

“People place different meanings on their physical, social and cultural surroundings, so we are giving community groups the opportunity to develop interpretation plans with the aim of taking projects forward that will be sustainable well into the future. We have found that it can also help community groups access funding to implement projects by giving confidence to funding bodies like HLF, that their completed projects will help present the 'big picture' of industrial south Wales and the key contribution made by their region in making Wales the 'First Industrial Nation'.”

Groeswen Chapel just outside Caerphilly, which was part of the first round of This Is our Heritage workshops has reached the final chapter of their story.

The Chapel, which was once at the heart of the development of non-conformity in Wales is a Grade II listed building now undergoing restoration. The Chapel Trustees aim to return the building to its former glory in order to hold community based events and provide an improved place of worship.

Peter Jones, Chairman of Groeswen Chapel Trustees said: “We worked closely with HERIAN in order to develop our interpretive plan for our project. It gave us a clear direction of exactly what needed to be done if we were to make Groeswen Chapel more accessible and available to the community. We have been able to plan the sensitive and historically appropriate restoration and go on and secure our final pot of funding from the Welsh Assembly and the Heritage Lottery Fund and we have now commissioned building specialists to carry out the work which we hope will be competed by next spring.”

For further information about the This Is our Heritage workshops contact Gareth Kiddie on 01446 488075 or email gareth@gka.org.uk.