Second Exhibition of the Local Heritage Initiative Project

“RESEARCHING THE HISTORY OF EAST HOATHLY & SURROUNDING VILLAGES”

BY EAST HOATHLY & DISTRICT PRESERVATION SOCIETY
HELD ON FRIDAY 23RD NOVEMBER 2007
IN EAST HOATHLY VILLAGE HALL

The second exhibition which formed part of our history project funded by a Heritage Lottery Grant was held on Friday 23 November 2007 at East Hoathly Village Hall.  The list below gives a list of exhibits and exhibitors.

Digital slide shows

• East Hoathly Village today  - Russell Brown - Digital photo show of 3 minutes duration showing historic buildings in the centre of East Hoathly
• Laughton then and now – Ivor Berresford - A digital photo show of 2 minutes duration produced for the Millennium celebration in Laughton. Photos of then and now around Laughton.
• The Gate House History – Jonathan Walker - Digital photo show and print showing the ongoing research into the history of the Gate House
• East Hoathly Church website - File of printouts from the new Church website showing Church history

Photographs, postcards and artefacts

• Preservation Society Archives – June Tidswell - Albums from Society’s collection of  photos and postcards
• Project Training workshops – Carol Blakiston - Digital images, prints and explanatory text on fungi field workshop and other training workshops undertaken during 2007 – digital photography, hedgerow surveying etc.
• Local buglife – Jack Blakiston - Albums of photographs of wildlife of East Hoathly and District
• Picturesque postcards  - Jane Seabrook  - Collection of postcards and photos displayed by local historian Jane Seabrook
• Memories of Laughton – Gill Hamilton-Cramp - Selection of books, photos, albums and display boards compiled for the millennium exhibitions in Laughton
• Around the Church in Chiddingly – José Loosemore – Display boards, books, photos and cuttings explaining local Chiddingly history with the theme of “Around the Church in Chiddingly”.
• Turner family treasures – Rosemary Akehurst née Turner - Artefacts and photos of Rosemary’s father, a descendent of Thomas Turner the 18th century village diarist
• East Hoathly Truggery – Joy Brabyn - Display of photos of Joy’s father and the village truggery together with artefacts, trugs etc.

We enjoyed wonderful digital slide shows and colourful displays of photographs, postcards and artefacts. It was particularly good to have exhibits from Laughton and Chiddingly as our villages and villagers have enjoyed close connections over hundreds of years. We were glad to see how the exhibits were jogging memories and providing the stimulus for animated conversation. Much interest was generated and exhibitors/caretakers of displays were kept busy discussing the exhibits and answering questions.  There was something for everyone it seemed – family history, house history, local history, wildlife, historic buildings and local places of interest as well as pictures of project training events and outings.

We are grateful to Carol Blakison for taking the photos of the exhibition below.