Project: Capturing Cleethorpes Cultures
Funded by: Heritage Lottery Fund
When: 2021 – 2022
This project is all about engaging with Cleethorpes residents to find out about traditions and customs that are important to them as part of historical cultural events or linked to specific buildings or places in the resort. The aim was to capture residents’ memories and create new ones for future generations to shape and re-enact.
The project concluded around May 2022.
Our project enabled us to engage and work with Cleethorpes’ residents to find out more about traditions, customs and historic places that are important to its residents of all ages. We explored what was important to Cleethorpes’ people as part of historical cultural events such as the Cleethorpes Carnival or linked to specific iconic buildings such as Cleethorpes Pier or other notable community places and spaces in the resort such as Sidney Park.
We captured older residents’ memories and those of people who had lived in Cleethorpes for a long time then shared these recollections with younger residents and those people who have lived here for a shorter time period. Our original plan changed from broader re-enactments of Cleethorpes’ historical cultural events in heritage buildings and places to focus on one specific past event – given the timescales and amount of organising needed.
The main findings were:
older people engaged readily with us when reminiscing about the history and heritage of iconic buildings and big events in Cleethorpes;
funding and availability of people to get involved with re-starting events like the Carnival were in short supply and
competition for resources since lockdown has been very high.
However, we did identify people to engage in smaller scale events.
There were very few younger people interested in the re-enactment until we actually performed it on 15th May 2022 as part of the Cleethorpes Culture Festival so we will follow up with them to include in our bigger bid proposal over the coming weeks.
For more details about the project and how to join in contact: paula@capacitybuildings.org.uk
Update May 2022
A re-enactment of the Charter Day took place in Cleethorpes in May 2022. Watch the video below:
