Welcome to the village of Swannington and Swannington Heritage Trust Swannington Heritage Trust exists to preserve and enhance our legacy of the past for the benefit and enjoyment of people in the present. We maintain former mining and railway sites a mill and 10 acres of woodland. We make our sites and historical information available to everyone and we are keen to work with village people and organisations for the benefit of all. In February 2012 we completely revamped this website, hopefully we have kept the best of the old while adding new facilities. Apart from more information on how to contact, join and volunteer with the Trust, there are walks to enjoy and information on village events, organisations and businesses. Send us your photos and updates and we will publish them.
Site updates: 20 March 2013 - Village TodayClick Here 20 March 2013 - Diary DatesClick Here
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to our successful Easter reopening of the mill for the summer season, including:
• Land Management Team members who spent all Wednesday morning clearing the snow from the access track
• Mill Team members for their work on the brake wheel and cleaning the mill
• Museum Group for fixing new display boards, cupboards, digital photo frame etc
• Swannington village archivist for historical research
• Whitwick U3A History Group for researching some of the machines in the mill
• Milling families researcher
• Swannington Women's Institute Craft Group for making the four sets of Mr & Mrs Miller clothes
• Our webmaster and poster printer, plus those who distributed posters and flyers
• Ashby Tourist Information for adding our events to their online database
• Chapel in the Valley for their walking visitors and grain box
• Everyone who attended and helped with the events
• Museum & Heritage grants officers and consultants who have provided support and advice on our first steps to labeling our exhibits and applying for Arts Council museum accreditation.
According to our visitor book we had 163 visitors over the 3 day weekend which is a great start for what we all hope will be a busy season (by comparison we had 108 and 118 for the whole of April in 2011 and 2012). These comprised:-
• SATURDAY 30TH MARCH - Chapel in the Valley, Griffydam, community walk = 13
• SUNDAY 31ST MARCH - Brake Wheel Unveiling plus public opening = 21
• MONDAY 1ST APRIL - Easter Egg Hunt - Mill Visitor Book = 55 adults + 74 children = 129 from 37 families, although I also saw members from at least 2 families who did not sign in.
Apart from providing people with a good time we have also raised their awareness of our local heritage and future events. There were loads of very positive comments about the work of the Trust, the brake wheel, dressing up clothes, hands on activities etc. We also had 15 additions to our email list for future event notification and have photographs of children using our hands on activities which can be used for publicity.
Once again, many thanks for the contribution that everyone has made.
Village Walks
Swannington Heritage Trust is documenting a range of walks to suit all abilities and give ideas to both village residents and visitors. This web page is a new feature for 2012 and by the end of the year there will be at least 12 walks in our catalogue, so keep returning to see what is available. Access the Village Walks via the left hand menu.
