After 16 months it is great to see that Gainsborough Heritage Centre has opened its doors once again.
Dedicated volunteers have been busy throughout the pandemic, cataloguing, researching, writing up newsletters and applying for grants which help keep the centre afloat. Gainsborough Heritage Association is a registered charity and, like many organisations, relies heavily on volunteers, memberships and donations.
Those who thought they had missed out on seeing the amazing Mayflower II exhibition, which was planned to coincide with the 400 year anniversary of the original Mayflower celebrations in 2020, will be pleased to hear it’s still on display at the centre. Don’t let the opportunity to see it pass you by. Gainsborough Heritage Centre is the first in the country to house this amazing collection of artifacts and video footage of this famous event. Warwick Charlton’s story of his dream to build the Mayflower II is brilliantly told by his son Randall Charlton in his book the Wicked Pilgrims, which is also on sale in the centre’s gift shop. It is a great read which highlights that it wasn’t all plain sailing for Warwick and he faced plenty of obstacles and opposition before his ship finally set sail in 1957 to be given to the people of America for helping us during the Second World War.
During your visit to the centre, step back in time and soak in the history of Marshalls, Roses, local businesses and local schools, take a nostalgic walk down their quaint street and pop your head in the shops to discover days gone by. The centre is disability friendly, with a lift to all floors.
Unfortunately, it is only open on Saturdays at the moment, from 10.00am to 4.00pm, due to lack of volunteers. They are desperate for people to join their friendly, hard working team, so if you want to help preserve our local history and feel you would like to become involved don’t hesitate to contact the centre for more information via their Facebook page or website, www.gainsboroughheritage.com.
