COMMUNITY / EDUCATION New Hampshire History Trust reveals exciting plans for the future
The organisers of Winchester’s successful Heritage Open Days programme announce the formation of Hampshire History Trust, a brand new Charitable Incorporated Organisation. The primary role of the new Trust will be to run Winchester Heritage Open Days, to develop a Winchester History Festival and to run other community projects such as a Blue Plaque Scheme and Hampshire HistBites, Hampshire’s very own history podcast channel. Nicky Gottlieb and Becky Brown, two of the three founding Trustees, said they were delighted that the new charity had been approved by the Charity
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Commission, especially as they got the news on the close of last year’s Heritage Open Days. “This is the start of an exciting journey for us,” Nicky said. “Five years ago when I first re-launched Heritage Open Days here in Winchester I always dreamed that it would develop into a wider history festival to celebrate Winchester’s incredibly rich history and heritage. Becoming a CIO in our own right is a crucial and exciting first step in realising our ambitions to bring Hampshire's rich history and heritage to a wider audience. ” Becky paid tribute to the City of Winchester Trust and Bruce Winton at Community First and all the organisations, sponsors and volunteers who have been involved in Winchester Heritage Open Days since 2016. “We wouldn't be here without their support and encouragement ', she said.” And we hope our partnerships with the City of Winchester Trust, Hampshire Cultural Trust, Winchester College, Hampshire County Council, Winchester BID, and the University of Winchester will continue
to grow as we build on the success of Winchester Heritage Open Days to develop a Winchester History Festival and hold more outreach activities and events for schools .” The proposal is for the Winchester History Festival to take place in late September, immediately following on from Heritage Open Days to ensure that the Trust continues to offer a diverse range of events that are accessible to the whole community.
The general public can discover more about the Trust and its plans by visiting the website www.hampshirehistorytrust. com , or by listening to Episode One of Season Three of Hampshire HistBites released on Wednesday 3rd March and available via Spotify, Apple Tunes and Google Podcasts.
