Stories about Kirkholt wanted for new book

Photo: Touchstones Local Studies

The Strand, Kirkholt circa 1984

Cartwheel Arts want your stories to create a book about the heritage of the Kirkholt estate.

The local arts charity will be working with Kirkholt Million on an eight-month long project to explore and celebrate the heritage of the Kirkholt estate that will culminate in the creation of a book and a community celebration event.

They plan to work with schools, community and youth groups to deliver a mixture of heritage, arts and creative writing workshops to capture the stories and memories that make up the fabric of the estate.

As part of the project, long-standing residents will be interviewed about their experiences and views on how the estate has changed during the time that they have lived there, and this material will be donated to the archive service in Rochdale to preserve it for future generations.

It is widely known that German prisoners of war from the Second World War helped to build the estate. Volunteers will be trained to carry out further archive research.

Project Manager from Cartwheel Arts, Lucy Holland, commented: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Kirkholt Million to deliver this important project exploring the history of Kirkholt.

“It’s vital that the rich heritage of the area is identified and captured for future generations as well as celebrated by its current residents.”

Residents are invited to come and share tales and reminisce about times gone by over cake and cups of tea. The session will be led by professional writer, John Lindley and is open to all whether you’ve lived on the estate for 50 years or five weeks.

The first event will take place on Wednesday 12 December 2018 between 1pm - 3pm at the new community hub in Kirkholt (The Strand Hub, 17 The Strand, OL11 2JG).

The session is free to attend, but booking is required. Please contact Lucy on 01706 361300 or lucy@cartwheelarts.org.uk