Anne Grimshaw, a volunteer at the Heritage Centre, takes us through what’s on offer:
“Housed in the elegant Regency Town Hall in Gaol Lane, the Heritage Centre shows the history of Sudbury from fossils to Flying Fortresses, and from Saxons to silk, and everything in between. Compact but beautifully designed and illustrated, the Heritage Centre’s display panels are self-explanatory. The Heritage Centre is unmanned except on Saturday mornings when two of our volunteers will be on hand to answer your questions.”
“To get a taste of what’s on offer have a look at the Heritage Centre’s online Sudbury Photo Archive which has hundreds of photos of the town from the mid-19th century right up to last year. There are also photos of the (friendly!) invasion of Sudbury in 1944 with the arrival of the 486th Bombardment Group of the United States Army Air Forces based on Sudbury airfield to the north-east of the town from where B-17 Flying Fortresses took to the skies during the Second World War.”
“Little did they realise that they were taking off from what had once been an ocean floor, home to now-fossilised marine animals and invertebrates many of which have been discovered locally and put in the Heritage Centre.”
“Find out which streets in Sudbury had once been part of a huge rampart and ditch that defended the Saxon town against the invading Vikings. A thousand years later, those same streets were lined with silk weavers’ cottages.”
“There is much space devoted to Sudbury people during the First and Second World Wars and to the USAAF, with Rolls of Honour for all of them, listing the names of all those who lost their lives in conflict. In the Local History Booth you can watch Big Screen presentations on many different aspects of Sudbury history, put together by our team of individual researchers. You can also find these presentations on our website.”
“One of our trustees, Ashley Cooper, a well-known local author and historian, has recently interviewed some of Sudbury’s seniors to discover their varied memories of the town over the years. Videos of these can be found at The Ashley Cooper Interviews.”
“For young visitors there are a series of quizzes that call upon their curiosity and powers of observation. School classes and children’s groups also visit and join in tailor-made activities.”
“The Heritage Centre and Tourist Information Centre in the Town Hall are wheelchair and pushchair accessible and participate in the Warm Rooms Initiative where a hot drink and biscuits are on offer.”
“There is something here for visitors and residents alike. Enjoy your visit!”
