A chance to record your memories of the Humber Bridge Country Park
Tue 4th February 2020
East Riding of Yorkshire Council is looking for people to take part in oral history interviews to talk about their memories of The Humber Bridge Country Park, including Little Switzerland, Hessle Foreshore and the Black Mill.
The oral history project is part of the Quarry to Country Park heritage project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and delivered by East Riding of Yorkshire Council and their contractors, Ashcourt Construction.
The main aim of the project is to improve physical and intellectual access to the natural, industrial and social heritage of the Humber Bridge Country Park, a former chalk quarry known fondly in the locality as Little Switzerland.
The project will see the refurbishment and re-opening of the Humber Foreshore’s Hessle Mill, a rare example of an early nineteenth century whiting mill that once ground chalk from the nearby quarry. Once open, the mill will form part of ‘The Chalk Walk’ heritage trail, which will follow a path through the oldest area of the quarry, continuing on four levels inside the mill’s tower.
Quarry to Country Park Heritage Officer Dr Alex Ombler said: “ By conducting oral history interviews, we can learn about the everyday lives and experiences of the many people who have a personal connection with the site. It may be that they or their ancestors worked in the quarry or mill, or played in Little Switzerland or on the foreshore as a child.
“We know that those who take part in oral history interviews often find it very enjoyable to reminisce about their lives and talk about people and places from the past.”
The recordings will form a new archive of memories about the site, and some will feature on new audio listening stations inside Hessle Mill, as part of the new heritage trail.
Anybody wishing to take part should contact Alex Ombler at alex.ombler@eastriding.gov.uk; call him on 01482 392713; or message the Humber Bridge Country Park facebook page.
