North Marston History
The History Club
The Village History Club aims to produce a book about the history of the village that will include chapters about school, shops, sport, pubs and village characters.
The club is collecting the memories of people who grew up in the village. The first group are those who remember life in North Marston during the pre-war and wartime years. A small group of people born in the 1920s or early 1930s have met together informally and talked about things they remember of the time they were growing up here. The recording of the conversation provide materials for the village book so their memories will not be lost but will form part of our heritage for future generations. The same process will be followed to capture memories from the 1950s through to the 1980s.
In The Shop ...
Visitors to The Shop can now buy the much talked about Memories Shared booklets and the 2012 Village Calendar Now and Then. Both have been published by the North Marston History Club and offer a fascinating insight into life in North Marston in years gone by; they also make ideal, unique gifts for friends and family.
And now there are North Marston Christmas cards. Don't miss out! Hurry while stocks last!
Time travel in North Marston
The past came to life in the village on Saturday 1st October 2011 when North Marston History Club held a Coffee Morning at the Chapel in Schorne Lane. The event was to launch the first of the club's publications including the much-talked about Memories Shared booklets summarising the experiences of many local people growing up in the village.
The Coffee Morning also saw the launch of the 2012 Village Calendar Now and Then featuring pictures that combine modern views in the village with the same view taken up to 100 years ago.
History Club notelets based on pictures from the club's extensive picture archive were also being sold.
Club co-ordinator John Spargo said: "The number of people who came and the amount we raised through sales, raffle and donations far exceeded our expectations. The money is to help pay for the publication of a Village History next year."
There will be further opportunities to buy History Club publications at the Table Top Sale in the village hall on 15th October and at The Christmas Fayre on 3rd December. It is also planned to offer some publications for sale at The Shop and on-line.
Memories Shared
Memories Shared is a series of A5 booklets produced by North Marston History Club, each containing a cluster of personal village memories with contemporaraneous photographs. Some are written contributions but most have been transcribed by Sue Chaplin from the numerous oral histories she has collected that form the Marston Memory Bank.
Each volume of Memories Shared spans a decade with four or five personal accounts in each volume covering a period shared in common. The booklets are illustrated with numerous photographs from the History Club's extensive picture archive, some of which have not been published before. They offers a unique glimpse into life in the village from the Great War to the 1980s, and the people and events that shaped village life in years gone by.
Memories Shared has been transcribed by Sue Chaplin and compiled by John Spargo on behalf of the North Marston History Club. The Club is selling the first volumes of these booklets at £3 a copy, and money raised will go towards the publication costs of North Marston's Village History in 2012.
