Heritage Silkstone is a local heritage group that promotes understanding and involvement in the local heritage. With the church itself set in a rich landscape of industrial and environmental heritage, it provides an obvious centre for its passionate volunteers.

Through the project, restoration work has been undertaken to significant monuments and windows in the church to protect them for future generations. The Bramah Gallery, as an education and resource hub, is designed to provide an area for local volunteers and community groups to research the stories of the church and its people. It also offers volunteer opportunities, educational activities and wider interpretation of the building’s history and local heritage for visitors.

The gallery is well-used and complements the range of interpretation materials now offered within the church, and the broad and varied programme of volunteer-led schools and heritage activities. Through the gallery, Heritage Silkstone provides a new focus for the local community – opening up the wide-ranging heritage of the area to a new audience.

Colin Bower, Heritage Silkstone, explains: “The project has allowed us to establish a foundation of heritage resources around significant ecclesiastical and regional themes and has developed the skills, experience and contacts we needed to take forward this successful heritage initiative into the future.”