‘A Window in Time’ project begins

1932- Ladies outing from St.Just in Roseland

‘A Window in Time – St Just and St Mawes Remembers’ is an exciting new project emerging through the mellow mists for Storylines this autumn of 2018. It will explore the narratives hidden behind the historic buildings of these 2 beautiful Cornish villages through a series of oral history interviews and Memory Walks, ultimately producing a series of films to be shared at future events and workshops.

Over the decades countless visitors and locals will have passed the rows of shops and houses lining the harbour front at St Mawes or peeped through the windows of the quaint houses in the historic square of St Just and wondered about the daily lives of the occupants who have inhabited these spaces. How did they earn a living? How have their lives changed over the years? Have the buildings had a change of use or been altered? These are some of the questions that Storylines is hoping to answer as they embark on this new project in partnership with the St Just and St Mawes Heritage group.

Pomerys Garage in St Mawes

A generous grant of £10,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund will enable the project to unearth the memories of these buildings revealing the changing physical, social and economical changes that have occurred over the decades. One fine example of the changing nature of buildings in this locality is Pomery’s garage in St Mawes which the St.Just & St.Mawes Heritage Group inherited in 2016 and are now working hard to renovate as a permanent Heritage Centre. This building has a varied and intriguing history, its usage changing continually from a pilchard shed to a WW2 reading Room to an artist’s studio to a garage to a gig club. A fascinating cultural journey which Storylines is looking forward to capturing in voices and images.

St.Mawes

Celebrations are always a big part of Storyline’s work and a further part of the project will be the 2 screenings of the 3 films produced from the amalgamation of the interviews and the memory walks. These are a means of bringing the whole community together to honour their heritage and also as a stimulus to inspire other groups to celebrate what they have on their doorstep. With this in mind the films will also be used to inspire the local primary school children and youth group through a series of creative workshops. In the future we hope that the memories and material gathered throughout the project will be transformed and displayed as an integral part of the future St.Just and St.Mawes Heritage Centre.