AdminAfter a glorious drive through glowing autumn leaves a warm welcome awaited in Wisbech.
The SEMFed autumn study day for 2024 was kindly hosted by the National Trust’s Peckover House in Wisbech.
Operations Manager Ben Ricketts talked us through the Unlocking Peckover for Wisbech project, which has seen a wide range of organisations in the town working together to create social benefit. The project took place over 18 months and was an opportunity to connect with a wider variety of audiences.
Ben introduced us to some of the challenges in Wisbech through a short film titled ‘Is Wisbech really that bad?’
Peckover is an unusual National Trust property, being in a town rather than out in the countryside.
The project has included expanding provision for families, children with additional needs, and adults with dementia.
The Peckover team have worked with other heritage organisations in the town to take a joined-up approach to town-wide events, and also with organisations such as the Ferry Project which supports people who are homeless.
One of the particular successes of the project has been Damsons, a group for people living with dementia and their carers, which is hosted in Peckover’s Reed Barn, and now has about 50 regular visitors. The gardens are now open for free, which has been an enormous benefit for all sorts of people.
The team recently received funding for the next phases of the project which has allowed them to employ Community Ranger Dainius, who showed us the land where he is planning to create a foraging orchard and space for outdoor activities.
The new activities and projects have brought lots of new visitors onto the site for the first time, and brought benefits for people’s wellbeing and skills development.
We also enjoyed a whistlestop tour of some highlights of Wisbech’s history, including the birthplace of abolitionist Thomas Clarkson, and Wisbech Museum.
We also heard from Hannah Salisbury of Suffolk Archives about the Deaf Perspectives project, a music and photography project for deaf children and young people in Bury St Edmunds delivered by a partnership of organisations. You can find out more on the project webpage.
