Hampshire Cultural Trust has been working in partnership with Radian Housing on Welcome to Whitehill & Bordon, a Heritage Lottery Funded project which ran from March - September 2018.

This six month community cohesion project aimed to use local heritage to connect with and welcome new residents moving into the area, as it undergoes a period of regeneration. This project encouraged both new and existing residents to explore Bordon and Whitehill’s tangible and hidden heritage in a new way, giving people a sense of place and ownership at a time of great change.

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As part of the project, local residents were interviewed by volunteers to find out more about their own experiences of living in the area. These memories were collected through home visits and a series of drop-in sessions. Volunteers received training on how to conduct oral history interviews and these were used to inspire an art project with year six pupils from Bordon Junior School. Nearly 60 pupils worked with artist Lindsey Southworth to create two large mosaics, which were the centre piece of an exhibition about the project launched as part of Heritage Open Day on 8 September 2018. They also achieved an Arts Award qualification.

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Participants also had the opportunity to visit local heritage sites, including the Curtis Museum and Allen Gallery in Alton, which welcomed a group from Radian’s Oak Lodge sheltered housing scheme. Volunteers also received training on exhibition design at Hampshire Cultural Trust’s head office and had an exclusive tour of the onsite collection. The visit and training helped volunteers to support the creation of the September Heritage Open Day exhibition.

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Groups involved in the project who must be thanked:

Our Community Groups and Organisations:

Bordon Junior School, Bordon Library, Community First, Haslemere Camera Club, Liss Area Historical Society Whitehill and Bordon Community Trust, Whitehill Town Council and Woolmer Forest Heritage Society

Our Project Funders and Supporters:

Hampshire Cultural Trust, Heritage Lottery Fund, Radian Homes

Our Oral History Interviewees and Item Donators:

Angela Ashwell, Bridget Lindstedt, Darran White David Cox, Derek Port, Gregor Anderson, Hannah Ashwell, Lee and Kevin White, Michael Kolczak, Norma Scott, Sandra Finch and Yvonne Kilburn

Our Volunteers:

Amy-Jane Humphries, Clare Wunderly, Eleanor Andrews-Steele, Emma Muscat, Jan Goshawk, Katy Turner, Louise Passingham, Melanie Marsh, Melodie Walker, Padmini Broomfield, Paola Palma, Philippa Secretan and Tabitha Burch

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