3 minute read
HERITAGE BOARDS
from The Wheel issue 3
by Tina Veater
RADSTOCK hERITAGE BOARDS
The idea of having some information boards in Radstock for local people and tourists to learn a little more about the heritage of the town, originally came from the Radstock Residents’ Association.
Recently, the resulting boards were installed in the town, and already many people have been seen stopping to look at them during their daily lockdown walks.
Local residents raised the idea with Radstock Town Council in September 2018 and a budget for the boards was made available from the “community infrastructure fund” (monies given to councils by developers). Diane Abbott, Office and Communications Officer at Radstock Town Council, coordinated the project, and began by organising a meeting with volunteers from Radstock Museum.
Volunteers, Dr Nick Hall, Museum Chairman and Lucy Tudor, Head of Publicity, took onboard the residents’ wishes and set about choosing key locations within the town that had a story to tell in local history. It was decided that there would be two A1 size boards, one to be sited in the Miner’s Memorial
Garden outside the museum, and the other to be sited in the flower bed opposite Radstock Town Council Hub, both on land maintained by the Town Council.
Lucy said: “Once we knew how many boards we had and what size they were to be, Nick and I chose to feature the history of twelve locations in total, six on each board. We split the 12 locations geographically: six on the northern half of the town would feature on the board in the Miner’s Memorial Garden and the six on the southern side of the town would feature on the board opposite The Hub; that way, each point of interest would either be visible from standing by the board or be only a short walking distance away from it. For example, Victoria Hall is visible from the board opposite the Hub, and Snails Brook, outside swimming pool used by miners, is not visible, but is just a short walk from the board behind St Nicholas’ Church.
“To help the public find the locations a short walk away, we decided we needed a map in the centre of each board which would be surrounded by old photos telling their stories. We decided that we could mark the locations on the map with a number which would correspond with a number on the old photo showing how it used to look. “In the museum, we had some local walks maps which were rather out of date, but they were beautifully illustrated by local artist Jane Randfield. I suggested that rather than just having an ordinary map marking the historic locations, we should ask Jane to draw a three-dimensional, illustrated map which would be visually much nicer and clearer, and I am really pleased to say that the idea was thought to be a good one.” Diane Abbott contacted the artist Jane Randfield and together with graphic designer Justin Folker, Nick Hall and Lucy Tudor, a team was established to get the board layout agreed. Diane, meanwhile, researched and received quotes for the physical boards and the mounting stands. There were a few holdups along the way with artist Jane Randfield having to await the final approval of the new Radco buildings to go through planning before she could draw them onto her three-dimensional map; then, of course, Covid delayed the project in 2020. However, the heritage boards are now in position and it is hoped that local people and visitors to the town will enjoy looking at and comparing the old photos with the scene as it looks today. Maybe those people will also be inspired, after reading the snippet of history accompanying each photo, to visit Somerset Coalfield Life at Radstock Museum and find out more. The museum hopes to re-open in the spring or summer of 2021, for news updates, visit radstockmuseum.co.uk.
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