The idea of having some information boards in Radstock for local people and tourists to learn a little more about the heritage of the town originally came from the Radstock Resident’s Association.

Last week, the resulting boards were installed, and already many people have been stopping to look at them during their daily lockdown walks.

Local residents raised the idea with Radstock Town Council in September 2018 and a budget for the boards was made available from CIL funds. Diane Abbot, Office and Communications Officer at Radstock Town Council, coordinated the project, and began by organising a meeting with volunteers from Radstock Museum.

Volunteers Dr Nick Hall, Museum Chairman and Lucy Tudor, Head of Publicity, set about choosing key locations within the town that had a story to tell. It was decided that there would be two A1 size boards, one to be sited in the Miner’s Memorial Garden outside the museum, and the other to be sited in the flower bed opposite

Radstock Town Council’s Hub, both on land maintained by the Town Council.

Lucy said: “Once we knew how many boards we had and what size they were to be, Nick and I chose to feature the history of twelve locations in total, six on each board. We split the twelve locations geographically: six on the northern half of the town would feature on the board in the Miner’s Memorial Garden, and the six on the southern side of the town would feature on the board opposite The Hub; that way, each point of interest would either be visible from standing by the board, or be only a short walking distance away. For example, Snail’s Brook, an outside swimming pool once used by Miners, is just a short walk from the board behind St Nicholas’ Church.

“To help the public find the locations, we needed a map in the centre of each board which would be surrounded by the old photos telling their stories. We decided that we could mark the locations on the map with a number which would correspond with a number on the old photo showing how it used to look. In the museum we had some local walks maps beautifully illustrated by local artist, Jane Randfield. I suggested that rather than having an ordinary map marking the historic locations, we should ask Jane to draw a three-dimensional, illustrated map.”

Diane contacted the artist and together with graphic designer, Justin Folker, Nick Hall and Lucy Tudor, a team was established to get the board layout agreed. Quotes for the physical boards and the mounting stands were also researched by Diane.

“There were a few hold-ups along the way,” adds Lucy, “With the artist

having to await the final approval of the new Radco buildings to go through

planning before she could draw them; then, of course, Covid delayed the project in 2020.

“However, the heritage boards are now in position and it is hoped that local people and visitors to the town will enjoy looking at and comparing the old

photos with the scene as it looks today.”