E-bulletin (4 March 2019) – Grant Award for West Hill (Hastings) Local Heritage Project
Hastings & St. Leonards Society has been awarded a grant of up to £8,500 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund) for its West Hill (Hastings) Local Heritage and Community Festival Project.
Firing a Royal Salute using the town guns from the West Hill in 1911
The project involves researching the history of the West Hill area of Hastings for an exhibition and booklet, and to hold a community festival to promote and celebrate that extensive local heritage.
The project will run for one year, ending in May 2020. The Community Festival will be held on the second weekend of this year’s Heritage Open Days, Friday 20 – Sunday 22 September. The festival will open with a free concert at Emmanuel Church on the Friday evening. A professional string quartet is being booked for the event. Over the weekend, several events will be held on the recreation grounds of the West Hill, with the aim of appealing to all generations. There will be an exhibition on the local history and a talk on the project at the West Hill Community Centre, and guided local heritage walk. Other events are being arranged.
St Clement’s Caves Ballroom
The booklet on the history of Hastings’ West Hill will be available free (number limited) by the end of the project, and a leaflet highlighting the points of interest in the area will be available during the festival. The research project is to include recording oral history, and it is hoped many people with reminiscences relating to the West Hill will come forward to take part in these recordings.
Anyone wishing to get involved with the project, through helping with research, putting on events for the festival or contributing to the oral history recordings, should contact the Hastings & St. Leonards Society secretary by e-mail: hstlsoc@gmail.com
H & St. L Society committee
