Centenary Exhibition at the Public Hall
The weekend of the 27th and 28th of November saw the people of Shirehampton celebrate the Centenary of their Public Hall and what a success it was. All user groups of the Public Hall were represented to demonstrate what a key role the Public Hall plays in the day to day life of Shirehampton.
The Exhibition opened on Saturday morning at 10am. Many people streamed through the doors at opening time to see the displays of pictures and memorabilia dating back to the opening of the Public Hall in 1904 including original architect drawings and documents showing the donation of land from Napier Miles.
Emily Bull cuts the cake
Saturday at 11am saw the cake cutting by Emily Bull who was also presented with a book of the Public Hall. Joshua Owen and Katelyn Arnel, who are current Children of the Playgroup, made presentations to those who had worked so hard, Judy Helme who collected the content and authored the book, Jeannette Cossey and Kate Pollard for the organisation of the weekend and the general organisation of the exhibition.
The Exhibition was organised by (L to R) Ralph Hack, Jeanette Cossey, David Thomas, Judy Helme, and Kate Pollard
The remainder of the Saturday and all day Sunday saw a succession of people streaming through the doors to enjoy presentations from the Grainger Players who displayed videos of past performances, The Evergreens showing photographs of their involvement in the community, the Model Railway Club who have displayed their work, David Tudor for his own model railway of Shirehampton Station, Pillow lace group with a display of their lace stitch work and the Shire Stitchers Millennium quilt that was produced to celebrate the year 2000.
Station Road Playgroup displayed records dating back to 1965 where people enjoyed picking out families' and friends' names and photographs who had attended over the last 35 years. A video was displayed of the Public Hall when it was the setting of Casualty on national television.
It was clear that everyone who attended the weekend enjoyed themselves and brought back many great memories of the part the Public Hall has played in many peoples' lives young and old. If you missed this opportunity to purchase a copy of the book by Judy Helme please contact Jeannette at the Public Hall or Judy Helme on 0117 938 2849.