AS PART of the National Heritage Open Day (HOD) programme in North East Lincolnshire, an event billed ‘A Pier, A Prince, and a Castle’ was held during late summer to celebrate Cleethorpes.
This was hosted by the trustees of Cleethorpes Town Hall with its purpose being to appreciate the development of the pier and ‘Meggies’ resort, more than 150 years after the pier was built in 1873.
It was in 1863 that the railway arrived in Cleethorpes, a vision of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway’s chairman at the time, Sir Edward Watkin. Due to the promotion of sea air and gentle walks along the promenade as a way of inland people staying healthy, the railway’s arrival saw thousands of Victorians head for the coast each year.
As part of the activities programme for the HOD event, North East Lincolnshire Council’s Townscape Heritage Project Manager for Cleethorpes, Carol Heidschuster, collaborated with St Peter’s C of E Primary Academy and its Year 4 pupils on a postcard competition. The academy is situated a short walk away from the seafront.
The remit was for the pupils to create a postcard depicting their favourite place or activity in Cleethorpes, with all entries displayed at the September event before being judged by the general public. The teacher organising the competition at the school, Rachel Butler, was “delighted” with the overall event. Rachel is also History Subject Leader at St Peter’s and the stories documented at ‘A Pier, A Prince, and a Castle’ fitted in well with her classes.
The winner of the competition was Adelaide Jennings, now a Year 5 pupil, who was excited to win a family voucher for Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway. Adelaide loves to craft and draw in her spare time and is described by her teacher as “very creative”.
Rachel said: “I was so very proud of the things they produced; they were all so interesting and colourful.
“They thought long and hard about what they were going to do and were really pleased to be a part of the event, especially as it was celebrating their hometown.”
Townscape Heritage Project Manager Carol finished: “The public really enjoyed the display of creative postcards and judging the competition.
“The HOD events are all about engaging the local community and visitors with the history of Cleethorpes, and this competition brought local history to life for Year 4 pupils. The Council is very grateful to Rachel for organising the art class with her pupils and offers a big thank you to Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway for the generous donation of the prize.”
Share this article