Textile and pigeon racing histories celebrated

Pigeon racing and the textile industry will be explored as part of a heritage project to celebrate working class histories.

Each scheme in Historic England's Everyday Heritage programme will receive a grant of between £6,800 and £25,000.

They include The Talking Tapestries project in West Auckland, which aims to preserve its textiles heritage by recording stories and memories of surviving workers.

A project in Skinningrove will celebrate the tradition of the community's pigeon fanciers.

Gillian Eilidh O'Mara is an artist, illustrator and writer of children's stories who is part of the collective Hidden Story which is behind the West Auckland project.

She said she was taken by the story of the clothing factory which opened in 1934.

"There's quite a lot of people still around who used to work there. They were making clothes for big brands, like M&S," she said.

"It took a while to find out more about the people that worked in textiles. It is a rich and amazing history."

Ms O'Hara is hoping to see a revival of the trade through a company called Self Made Studios of Bishop Auckland.

"I just thought it would be really interesting to get present-day textile people together with people over the last 100 years and get them to talk to each other," she said.

"I've heard mention of things that I think would be really important to preserve like songs that were sung in the factories, stories, pictures - just things about people's everyday lives."

In Skinningrove, artist Joanne Coates will work with residents to record the stories of its pigeon fanciers.

The project will celebrate the tradition, which is rooted in East Cleveland's industrial heritage.

Through workshops for local pigeon fanciers and people aged 18 to 30, participants will create an art trail and community event.

Other projects in the North East are exploring histories of drag in Newcastle's Pink Triangle, South Tyneside's coastal history at the South Shields Volunteer Life Brigade Watch House and the South Asian community's heritage in South Shields.

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