SHOPPERS in Downend’s high street came face to face with fascinating people from the past at Downend Community History and Arts Project’s Promenade Through Time.
Put on with support from South Gloucestershire Council’s Creative High Streets Fund, as CHAP member Jenny Alcock said: “Our aim was to make an impact and engage the public – and we certainly achieved that!”
Professional actors, re-enactors and volunteers strode up and down the high street in costume, answering questions about their role in the area’s history.
They included a miner, a medieval peasant, World War One nurses, a suffragette, a quaker, a trade unionist, a 1940s housewife, a storyteller relaying ghostly tales from Downend’s history, as well as cricketing legend WG Grace, Holocaust survivor Hella Hewison and Edward Higgins, the disreputable local highwayman.
One young visitor said the Roman gladiators and soldiers were her favourite, saying: “They’re so friendly and they’ve told me a lot of interesting things. I never knew there were female gladiators.”
In turn, the Romans said how much fun it had been for them to be wandering around talking to people.
Instead of performing a set display at a re-enactment, this time they were part of the community, encouraging locals to examine at close quarters their armour, or even hold their weapons and shield!
A living statue of Lord Nelson atop Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square gained a lot of attention, especially when he suddenly moved, startling passers-by.
Why was he there? Because EH Bailey, who sculpted him, came from Downend.
As well as all the live action CHAP had a stall, where photos of Downend in days gone by provided by Kingswood Heritage Museum created a real talking point for many people, who enjoyed reminiscing about how things were ‘back in the day’.
The stall also displayed beautifully-made dolls depicting other characters from history, including Lady Cave, who would have lived in Cleve Hill House when the big stately home was at the heart of Downend, as well as a ‘mad hatter’ hat factory worker, and a pin factory worker.
Another crowd-pleaser was local folk singer Lou Shepherd, who performed outside the Horseshoe, with the Riff Raff Choir also entertaining visitors who combined their journey through time with a browse of the many Sunday market stalls.
Downend CHAP is a not-for-profit voluntary group that aims to bring history to life through arts, publications, music and events that engage the community and build a sense of identity for Downend and Emersons Green.
For more information visit www.downendchap.org.
Helen Rana