The Clayton-le-Moors Heritage Project Grand Exhibition Opening was a vibrant celebration of the town’s rich history, bringing the community together to reflect on an 18-month journey of discovery at The Community Centre.
A highlight of the day was the performance by The Clayton Singers, who debuted “The Ballad of Clayton-le-Moors”—a newly written anthem celebrating the pride and spirit of the town. Adding to the excitement, Tom O’Kane from the popular English punk rock band The Stiffs was in attendance. Honoured as a key figure in Clayton’s musical history, his presence bridged the past and present of the town’s artistic legacy.
The event featured captivating displays throughout the centre, detailing a timeline of Clayton’s history, sporting icons, music, faith, and more. These exhibits provided attendees with the chance to explore and connect deeply with their community’s story.
Designed by Source Creative, the displays brought Clayton’s heritage to life in a visually impactful and engaging way using photographs from Clayton’s past and present to tell the story.
There was also a delicious buffet as people ate and conversed sharing stories of how they are all united as residents of Clayton and their learnings from the day.
It was truly a day to remember, uniting the community in celebration of their shared history and accomplishments!
A great achievement
The heritage project has been an 18 month journey led by community activator Ian Hodgson and the people of Clayton. During the project the group meet twice a month at
Clayton Community Centre and have sifted through the wealth of material unearthed to alight upon themes such as
“Important Local People”, “War, Religion and Leisure”, “Buildings and Architecture” and “The Leeds and Liverpool Canal”.
During the pandemic, many places in Clayton Le Moors were forced to shut their doors, cutting off access to much of the history displayed there.
Community activator Ian Hodgson said: “When Mercer House closed, then the Arthur Wilson Centre, then the local library some fabulous artefacts were farmed out to several places outside of Clayton-le-Moors, along with other items relevant to the area. This was a blow. The Clayton-le-Moors Heritage Project was therefore started to reinvigorate and unearth interest in the wealth of material here. We all been on an incredible journey together and are definitely a happy group of people.”
The project group are hoping to continue post-exhibition and intend to apply for new funding so they can produce a definitive book about Clayton-le-Moor’s history, as well as a dementia friendly colouring book and materials to be used in local schools.
There are also plans for an animation and an accompanying website which can accommodate all the material and any new finds which the exhibition did not manageto accommodate.
Team member David added: “It’s been incredibly inspiring for me and I’m happy to have played my part by collating all the photographs into a slide show which we used to pick out the final exhibition photographs.”
Thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund for supporting the project.
Check out the gallery below from a brilliant day!
