The rich heritage of Gedling borough is to be celebrated by a new £74,000 project being launched this Friday in Gedling Country Park.
The “Heritage Brought Alive Project” will be showcased at a launch event being held at Café 1899.
During the event there will be a book launch, the unveiling of new mosaics created by local children, a new local history mural and also screening of a short film showingbinformation about the borough’s historic places, people and industries.
Two large mosaics, each made up of around 10,000 1cm square tiles, showing the past heritage of the area and how it is today, will be unveiled by the Mayor of Gedling.
One mosaic will represent the mining history of the park, titled the Pit of Nations.
The second mosaic represents the former colliery site return to nature and recreation.
The mosaics were designed by artist Peter Massey and put together with the help of children from Stanhope Primary School.
The event also includes the launch of a new 80 page book written by volunteers and compiled and edited by Dr Stephen Walker, which is the first ever publication to talk about the heritage of the whole borough.
There will also be a trail leaflet which guides readers around the borough’s historical sites such as Newstead Abbey and Papplewick Pumping Station.
Five new interpretation panels will also be unveiled around Gedling Country Park.
The project, made possible thanks to a £74,900 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the work of volunteers over the last 15 months, is part of the council’s heritage strategy with more projects planned to follow.
A new website on the borough’s heritage is also due to launch later this year.
Leader of Gedling Borough Council, Cllr John Clarke said: “We’re very pleased to be launching the Gedling Heritage Brought Alive Project at Gedling Country Park.
“A huge amount of work has gone into this project and it’s incredible to see just how much history there is in our borough.
He added: “I’d like to thank everyone who made the project a reality, it’s so important for us to keep the history of our heritage alive and give residents and visitors easier access to the rich history of this borough.”
