A major scheme to celebrate Holyhead’s rich history has been given the go-ahead after receiving a grant of almost £100,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The three-year project aims to engage the local community and boost visitor numbers by exploring, celebrating and enjoying the port town’s 2,000 year old heritage.
The successful application was made by the Porthyfelin Community Partnership who headed a group of local organisations, who together will make up the Community Heritage Initiative for Maritime Engagement, CHIME.
They include the Holyhead Maritime Museum, the Holyhead Sea Cadets, St Cybi’s Church, Menter Mon and the Isle of Anglesey Council and have received £98,000 from the Fund, half the cost of the project.
Ann Kennedy, the Chair of the Porthyfelin Community Partnership, is delighted that the application has been successful. She said: “This is a very important boost for Holyhead and a real example of a community working together.
“We will now be able to access other sources of funding to make sure this goes ahead and one of our first objectives will be to appoint a Heritage Ranger to co-ordinate and support the CHIME project.
“We have a number of local organisations involved and we are very grateful for the advice and guidance we have received in making the application from the Isle of Anglesey Council and from the Holyhead Townscape Heritage Initiative.
“The post of Heritage Ranger will give the project a certain cachet and will be vital in working with local schools, community groups and others.
“Holyhead has an incredibly long and rich history, going right back to the Romans who built the fort whose walls surround St Cybi’s Church, and we want to celebrate that and make more people aware of it, both here on Anglesey and for visitors.
“The aim is that Holyhead will be increasingly known as a distinctive place, an asset to both the local community and the county and through providing a variety of activities and projects, its local distinctiveness will serve to inspire future generations.
“The town’s heritage will help create an increasingly vibrant atmosphere, attracting people to work, live, relax and visit the town.
“We want the local community to be activity involved in understanding, researching, valuing, managing, enjoying, and promoting the town, ensuring there is a strong sense of civic pride, underpinned by the town’s past, its international connections and its communities.”
Holyhead Councillor J Arwel Roberts, Deputy Leader of the Isle of Anglesey Council, said: “It’s wonderful news that we have managed to secure this major funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
“It really gives the green light to this project which will have a lasting impact on the town and the island.
“It is so important now that we make people aware of the culture and history of Holyhead and its importance through the years and the impact it has had, not just locally but internationally as a port.”
The Rev Jane Bailey, Vicar of St Cybi’s, said: “This is excellent news for both the church and the wider community of Holyhead.
“Coming so soon after the generous donation by the Heritage Lottery Fund to the restoration of St Cybi’s, now nearly complete, we are overwhelmed by the support HLF is giving to Holyhead.”
