Historic Buildings

'Recording and Presenting our Yesterdays for Tomorrow - Using Heritage to Promote Community Cohesion & Digital Literacy

The main aim of this multi-faceted project is to make our heritage more accessible. We aim to engage with a wider audience, connecting people to place through heritage and establishing Thorpe Thewles History Group as a community heritage champion. Thorpe Thewles is an expanding community with two new housing developments and more planned. While the core community is ageing, the newcomers are largely busy working families, so there is at present a lack of social cohesion. As a result, our Village Hall, recently refurbished with the aid of the National Lottery grant, is at present underused. We believe connection to local heritage is a powerful tool to encourage a sense of belonging, mental well-being and pride in the rich heritage of southeast Durham and that our project with its varied use of technology will stimulate community interest, protect elements of our heritage and be sustainable for the future.