QUARRY workers of today will become a living part of a major heritage project capturing the unique relationship between industry and community in a Leicestershire village.
Employees at Lafarge Aggregates & Concrete UK’s flagship Mountsorrel granite quarry will have their experiences preserved for prosperity during one-to-one sessions with Glassball Art Projects volunteers.
Glassball, backed by the Heritage Lottery Fund, is spearheading research into the unique industrial and social heritage of Mountsorrel village from 1876 when the Mountsorrel Granite Company took over the rights to Broad Hill Quarry.
Entitled Memories of Stone, Steam and Metal, the project aims to collect and preserve stories, creating a lasting record of how quarrying has shaped the village over the last 130 plus years.
While historical accounts are vital, Glassball is also keen to record more contemporary memoirs and gain an impression of how important the modern quarry is to both the local and national economy.
Volunteers will be on hand to speak to current Mountsorrel Quarry staff at the employee quarry open day on April 28, a forerunner to the series of five public open days being organised in early May.
Angus Shedden, quarry manager at Mountsorrel, said:
“We are proud to be involved with this fantastic project and really hope the experiences of our modern day employees will be a valuable addition.
“Quarrying and the community have been closely interlinked in and around Mountsorrel for hundreds of years so recording that relationship for future generations before the information is lost is essential.
”It is also important to highlight the role of Mountsorrel in 2012 and help people understand the vital part it plays in contributing to both the local and national economy and how its’ unique material supports infrastructure and development across the UK.”
Glassball has already started documenting family stories and organised workshops, film-making and photography events.
Cora Glasser, from Glassball, said:
“The project is going really well. Through collecting and preserving stories we aim to create a lasting record of people’s experience of living and working in Mountsorrel and help future generations understand the role the quarry has played in the village’s history and in the present day.
“The contemporary accounts from people working at Mountsorrel Quarry today will be an important element of the project and we are looking forward to speaking to Lafarge employees and getting lots of modern day experiences.”
* Mountsorrel Quarry public open days run on May 5,6,7 and 12 and 13. Entry is strictly by ticket only. Some tickets remain for the later dates, to apply visit www.mountsorrelquarry.co.uk.There is a maximum of four tickets per household and the deadline for applications is April 25. People who have already applied should receive their tickets soon. The volume of applications has meant processing times are taking longer than anticipated.
