High Street on Parade

From Thursday 11th September, the latest phase of the DigBromsgrove project will be up and running in the Town Centre with the launch of the 'High Street Gallery' exhibition. As part of the nationwide festival of Heritage Open Days, dozens of buildings along the High Street, Worcester Road and The Strand are displaying posters that will shed light on the buildings and characters of Bromsgrove's past. The exhibition will remain up for a fortnight before moving into Bromsgrove Library.

Local historians Jenny Townshend and Julian Hunt have been searching the archives for historic maps, photographs and documents to provide the material for the exhibition.

There'll also be links on some posters to clips from interviews recorded between Bromsgrove School students and local residents talking about their memories of Bromsgrove's past. You can find more of the audio clips, together with photographs of the places featured, on our Audioboo playlist. Copies of the 'Bromsgrove: People and Places' CD are available from Bromsgrove Library.

Bromsgrove town centre has some wonderful buildings with long and interesting histories, and some colourful local characters. Many of the buildings along the High Street are much older than they appear, with grand 18th and 19th century brick facades concealing much earlier timber-framed structures. This exhibition is all about getting people to take a second look at a familiar space: look up, look around, and find out about some of the people who've brought life to the High Street over the centuries.

This Saturday 13th September, we'll have a market stall in the High Street, talking to residents about the fascinating history of the town. Come along and say hello!