The annual Bembridge Heritage Exhibition will this year focus on ‘Working Bembridge’.
This exhibition will show the many ways villagers earned their living in days gone by. It will look at diverse occupations and businesses from building boats and aeroplanes to bakers and smuggling.
The coming of the railway saw Bembridge develop from a scattering of small hamlets into a popular Victorian tourist centre. As the motor car replaced the train, numerous garages and other new businesses started up to support the expansion of the village. The story and memories of these developments will engage and fascinate today’s visitors and maybe surprise local residents.
Storyboards and information folders will show what made the village tick. Local historians will recall personal memories and visitors can dip into the archive database or browse original archive material. Local history publications will be available to buy. There will also be a chance to win a raffle prize and have a welcome cup of tea.
Bembridge Heritage chairman Verena Sparrow says:
“I’m hoping that this exhibition will re-kindle memories and personal histories of working lives as well as showing how this village has sustained and developed.”
The exhibition in Bembridge Village Hall (High Street) is on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd August from 1000-16:00.
