A new and exciting exhibition, ‘Legacy of a Rag and Bone Man: a century of community life in Eastcott’, opens next week on 14th March and runs until 5th May at Swindon Museum and Art Gallery.
The exhibition by Eastcott Community Organisation shares and celebrates their project exploring the history of Savernake Street Social Hall and the local area.. The exhibition brings together old photos, documents and objects, as well as brand new art work created by local primary schools.
It’s been made possible thanks to the Heritage Lottery Fund, which awarded a grant of £10,000 to Eastcott Community Organisation to discover and document the heritage of the Hall and the surrounding area. The project has also included memory sharing events, researching and publishing a book, and celebrating Eastcott’s heritage through themed community events.
The exhibition is a collaboration between Eastcott Community Organisation, the group of volunteers managing Savernake Street Social Hall, local organisations and volunteers, Local Studies team at Central Library and Swindon Museum and Art Gallery.
Charting the development of the site on which the community centre sits over the last 100 years, the story begins just before the donation of the land to the council by James Powell, a rag and bone man in 1918.
The site and the surrounding area have hosted Victorian circuses, a British Restaurant run by the Women’s Voluntary Service (WVS) that provided low-cost nutritious meals in the 1940s, and a Civil Defence Training Centre, as well as a host of classes, activities and community events.
The exhibition will include items from Eastcott Community Organisation, Local Studies; Swindon Central Library and residents, as well as artefacts from the Museum’s own collection. Visitors can expect to see a varied collection including a drawing of the community centre by artist Dona B, art and fabric bunting created by the Eastcott community, and an early 20th century bottle unearthed during a gardening session!
Local primary schools have created artwork depicting the themes from the exhibition through sessions with artist Suzie Simmons. The exhibition will feature exciting art by local schools; King William CE Primary, Drove Primary, Holy Rood Catholic Primary and Lethbridge Primary.
Caroline Davies Khan, Chair of Eastcott Community Organisation, is looking forward to the launch. ‘’We’ve had a fantastic year researching and celebrating the history of the community centre and it is brilliant to be able to work with Swindon Museum and Art Gallery to present those findings. The artwork by schools is very vibrant and colourful and will be permanently on display at Savernake Street Social Hall when the event finishes.’’
Sophie Cummings, Curator at Swindon Museum and Art Gallery, said ’’There are some really interesting connections between James Powell, who donated the land on which the community centre sits, and the Museum – Mr Powell donated several paintings to the Museum which contributed to its earliest collection of works. Some of these, including the landscape paintings by George Puckey, are currently on display at the Museum, and we will be including a wider selection in this exhibition’’
The exhibition ‘’Legacy of a Rag and Bone Man: a century of community life in Eastcott’’ opens on 14 March and will continue until 5 May, at Swindon Museum and Art Gallery, Bath Road, Swindon SN1 4BA. The Museum is open Tuesday – Saturday 10am – 5pm, and admission is free.
