apologiesOur apologies in advance but on Thursday 10th October we will be closed for the day due to our 25th Anniversary celebrations which the majority of our volunteers and Trustees will be attending. We will be open as normal on every other day this month.

A landmark day dawned on Friday 7th June 2019 when, on the invitation of vice chairman Wesley Turnbull, Guy Opperman MP formally opened the Heritage Centre as Edie Lyons had done 25 years earlier at Shellcroft on 10th June 1994. Edie had worked for local photographer, W. P. Collier, in the 1920s and it was a collection of his pictures that prompted Dorothy Bell and a group of local enthusiasts to create the Heritage Centre.

Thursday 11th April saw the first of the special events organised to mark the 25th anniversary of the Heritage Centre with the arrival of TV personality and antiques expert Paul Laidlaw and his assistant Georgina Norman to conduct a Charity Valuation Day in aid of the Heritage Centre.

The year 2019 sees two celebrations: the centenary of the Forestry Commission and the 25th anniversary of the Heritage Centre, both of which are being marked by seasonal displays.

The Forestry Commission was formed in 1919 to secure a sustainable supply of wood in the aftermath of the Great War when huge quantities of timber were required at home and in the trenches, leaving the United Kingdom the least afforested country in Europe.

Our AGM this year will be held on Thursday 14th March 2019 at The MURC Hall Bellingham at 7.00pm

There will be cheese and wine, and all are welcome.