Bullion Hall Remembers
Our GeoStories projects bring local heritage to life while preserving it for future generations. For more than a decade, we’ve worked with communities across the North East to capture memories, uncover remarkable stories, and celebrate the people behind them, most recently in Chester-le-Street.
The project, which began which ran for over 6 months has recently concluded, culminating in a launch event for the Chester-Le-Stories podcast. This community event featured a screening of the youth-created animation, excerpts from the ‘Chester-le-Stories’ podcast series, and displays of photographs, archive materials, and community contributions.
“A few years ago, we discussed a heritage project to capture the history of the area around Bullion Hall and while we did get help from Chester Heritage Group with collecting old photographs, we didn’t have the time to properly pursue the idea. So, we were delighted when Digital Voice for Communities approached us with the proposal for this work. The project generated a lot of interest in the local community, especially the older population and we now have a record of their experiences with the collection of podcasts. But it was great to see Bullion Hall’s Junior Youth Club and Bullion Lane School getting involved too, and so creatively in making the short animation.”
- Martin Gollan, Community Development Worker
And what a series of podcasts it is! Chester-le-Street has a rich history, and this project uncovered first-hand accounts of everything from emergency plane landings, train crashes, courtroom drama, and the great escape of monkeys from a local zoo. These are very important stories to preserve, as our project participants reflect: