One Square Mile: Heritage on our Doorstep

Following on from this year’s Operation Market Garden, the Battle of Arnhem Commemoration Service that took place on Tuesday 17 September, our One Square Mile: Heritage on our Doorstep project supporters 16 Air Assault Brigade invited pupils from St John's Green Primary School to Colcheser's Merville Barracks yesterday for a special presentation of a statue by Mick Campbell MBE, in honour of the Colchester Flower Children.

The pupils enjoyed seeing the AI parachute jump and all the equipment a soldier would need. They were also very lucky to go in the WWII Dakota.

Thank you to 16 Air Assault Brigade

Here's a link to the article in the Gazette for our One Square Mile exhibition at the Minories.

Colchester Primary School holds exhibit to showcase its 125-year history St John’s Green Primary School is showcasing its ‘One Square Mile: Heritage on our Doorstep’ project at the Minories Art Gallery.

We were so proud of Awana from St John's Green Primary School when she read at the Commemorative Service at the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem yesterday at Colchester War Memorial.

A proud day yesterday when Awana, from Year 6 at St John's Green Primary School read at the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem Commemorative Service.

Our One Square Mile: Heritage on our Doorstep exhibition is officially open at the The Minories!

What a fantastic launch party we had last night! It was wonderful to share this special occasion with all our project partners, the freelance team, teachers, pupils and parents. We have had so much support for this heritage project - thank you so much!

Do come along on Saturday 14 September for our Heritage Open Days events. Between 11am and 3pm we have our fantastic pupil tour guides to show you around the exhibition, then take a stroll to St John's Green Primary School town site for a tour of the fabulous 126-year-old building and view the Charles Debenham paintings of the Siege of Colchester.

The exhibition continues until Sunday 6 October.

Find out more about our project on our website: www.onesquaremilecolchester.co.uk

Thanks to our funders The National Lottery Heritage Fund, and supporters Colchester Recalled, The Essex Record Office, Colchester Civic Society, Colchester Archaeological Trust, 16 Air Assault Brigade, Colchester Museums.

Adrian Rushton Photography

Very exciting- all the artworks and objects have been delivered to The Minories. We are now busy installing the One Square Mile: Heritage on our Doorstep exhibition ready for the opening on Thursday.

St John's Green Primary School's One Square Mile: Heritage on our Doorstep exhibition at The Minories is fast approaching. We're looking forward to installing the exhibition over the next couple of days. The exhibition opens Thurs 12 Sep - Sun 6 Oct.

There will be lots to see including the pupils' fantastic 3-D model of Colchester's heritage sites; oral history recordings by former pupils and staff sharing their memories of the school; and an historical timeline showcasing the school's 125-year history; material from the archive including a school log book. There will also be historical objects on loan from Colchester Archaeological Trust, found on the school's Abbey Field site, and an incredible painting of the Siege of Colchester by local artist Charles Debenham, from Colchester Museums. If you want to get hands-on you can have a go at some weaving inspired by our research on the Flemish Settlers.

We're sharing a selection of photographs for a sneaky peak of what will be in the exhibition.

Thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund and our supporters Colchester Civic Society, The Essex Record Office, 16 Air Assault Brigade, Colchester Recalled, Colchester Archaeological Trust, Colchester Museums for helping us to make this project such a success!

We're looking forward to our One Square Mile: Heritage on our Doorstep exhibition which opens at The Minories next Thursday 12 September 2024!

The exhibition celebrates the two-year project at St John's Green Primary School exploring the rich local history right here on our doorstep in Colchester.

Visitors will be able to explore and enjoy displays of pupils' artwork, a 3D cardboard model of Colchester, a timeline of the school's history, oral history recordings, and resources developed by pupils and teachers. We will also be launching our project website with the school's bespoke One Square Mile History Curriculum researched and written by teachers for teachers.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Thursday 12 September — Sunday 6 October 2024, 10 am - 4 pm
(Please note, early closure Saturday 5 October at 12 pm)

The project was made possible by the The National Lottery Heritage Fund

Thanks to our project supporters:
Colchester Civic Society, 16 Air Assault Brigade, Colchester Recalled, Colchester Museums, The Essex Record Office, Colchester Archaeological Trust

Yesterday, our project historian Claire Driver and a team of pupil historians, oral historians and tour guides from St John's Green Primary School presented our One Square Mile: Heritage on our Doorstep at a talk at The Essex Record Office. It was a very proud moment hearing the children talk so confidently about the project and in such a professional manner.

Thanks to our project supporters and the team at The Essex Record Office for the behind the scenes tour afterwards. What an amazing opportunity for the pupils to visit the stores and discover where the school archive and oral history recordings will be deposited at the end of the project. They were fascinated by the search room and learnt about the different tools to use for researching, including the microfiche. They enjoyed listening to oral history recordings and to find out that many of them are on cassette tapes. There was so much amazing equipment. They even saw where our school archive had been digitised. They were particularly fascinated about how paper and seals could be conserved.

It was wonderful for the pupils to discover all the different types of jobs. One pupil was so inspired, he was overheard saying; 'well, that's my life planned out!" Definitely a day to remember.

This project was made possible thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund

We’re making our final preparations for our St John's Green Primary School talk and display on Tuesday 2 July, 10.40 - 12.00 at The Essex Record Office. Our history ambassadors and oral historians are excited to share how they have been working on the One Square Mile: Heritage on our Doorstep project funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Click on the link below to book your tickets.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ero-presents-one-square-mile-heritage-on-our-doorstep-tickets-846950360327?aff=erelpanelorg