This page, and the DVDs described below, are published with the financial assistance of the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
The community-based Cradley Then & Now Heritage Project is supported by an HLF grant to help discover more about Cradley's rich and diverse past.
The Project ran from from June 2009 to December 2010.
On Wednesday 9 February 2011 we celebrated the succesful completion of the Cradley Then & Now Heritage Project. The 'by invitation only' event took place at the Wilson Hall in Colley Gate, Cradley.
Hundreds of people packed the Hall to celebrate their part in bringing the Project to a very succesful completion.
The event started with a medley of songs and banter by Cradley's minstrel Bev Pegg, then a brief introduction to the Project by Harry Bloomer and Warren McCabe-Smith, followed by scenes from the Cradley Then & Now heritage film collection. The main event closed with the handing out of a DVD set to every person there. Meanwhile, food was served.
For the previous 15 months members of the Cradley Then & Now Group had been going into schools and youth clubs, and holding events to encourage involvement in local history and to help people to learn more about their heritage. Scores of stories were recorded and written, hundreds of pictures drawn by local artists, and thousands of old photos collected.
The results of all this effort are to be found in the triple DVD collection, a new heritage trail of 71 local places of interest, a specially-produced education pack for schoolchildren, and on this web site.
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Bev Pegg entertains
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Harry Bloomer (right) & Warren McCabe-Smith introduce the project
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The Hall was packed for the event
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Jill Guest receives her bouquet of flowers
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Sharon Smith (left) & Val Bloomer hand out the DVD packs; this one is for Cradley Butcher David Sidaway
