Help Save Ellesmere Port's History11 months ago
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By Ellesmere Port Local and Family History Society
Click on the short video above to see what our goal is. Our video will be a new, longer (but similar) one of Ellesmere Port's varied development: Canal Port to Industrial Town to Major Retailer.
Despite its appearance - we are NOT a New Town. There are hidden stories that need to be told and can do this by our new 10-15 minute video of the past. Starting at the docks around 1900, we fly through the small core of Ellesmere Port Town as it was then. We then change to wartime Ellesmere Port in the 1940s and a bomb in William Stockton's school playground. Moving west we fly around Tudor Poole Hall, Hooton airstrip and Hooton Hall along with St Paul's Church and through 1960s Little Sutton. We then head to the hugely popular Rivacre Baths and the changing urban spread. Heading back into town we see the growth in the number of shops and housing, the industrial areas of Cabot and the massive gas holders. We briefly delve back into ancient history with Stanlow Point and the monastery before returning to today and the oil refinery, the Docks and the National Waterways Museum.
What we'll deliver:
Why it's a great idea:
For too long we have been second fiddle to the larger cities either side of us. We have a unique story that should be told and appreciated. A top-class video will do this simply and quickly. With our resourcefulness and industry we have been the breadwinners of the county for generations. This video will show some of our great achievements. It's short, sharp and to the point and brings our history to life. Its appeal is to all generations, both young and old - and the many in between that work here. Once the true character of tough, hard-working and loyal souls that live here has been revealed, it will bring not only pride but new investment into the town. We need to celebrate our achievements - and there are many.
Steps to get it done:
We already have an experienced historic video producer lined up to make this video, having seen many fine examples of his work. The opening image to this project includes snippets of some of the previous productions he's created. We have the route, and we have the enthusiasm. All we now need is the funding!
Gallery
Location Ellesmere Port
About the space
From the heart of Ellesmere Port we fly north-west to Poole Hall and Hooton, then south to Rivacre, south-east encompassing Little Sutton, back into today's town centre, Stanlow. We return to the Port, now the National Waterways Museum.
Council
Cheshire West and Chester Council
Journey
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We are postponing the Premiere of our forthcoming CGI video ‘Help Save Ellesmere Port’s History’. We have reset the Premiere for Sunday, 11 February, again in the main bar of the Whitby Sports and Social Club in Dunkirk Road off Chester Road, Whitby – this time, starting earlier than 7 p.m. We have changed the start time to 6 p.m. with the ‘Help Save Ellesmere Port’s History’ 15-minute video being shown at 6:30 p.m. We’ll repeat it at 7:30 p.m. It’s so important that we make this the very best possible representation of Ellesmere Port’s history. However, at a fairly late stage in the process, we realised that we had missed a large chunk of the Port out. This has delayed the completion of the CGI video. It'll be worth the wait.
After many months of work on producing a CGI video on Ellesmere Port’s past, we are delighted to announce the Premiere of this video created by Dextra Visual. We have arranged to show it at the Whitby Sports & Social Club in Dunkirk Lane, Chester Road, Ellesmere Port, CH65 6QF, Sunday, 7 January at 7:30 p.m., with admission from 7 p.m. We’ll be using the main bar. So that we have an idea of numbers, I’d be grateful if you could send me an RSVP at [email protected], titling it GUEST, and let me know of any friends or family you wish to bring with you. Numbers are limited so it will be on a first come, first served basis. The Premiere of the video, with some of the story behind its production and an essential acknowledgement to those who contributed, will finish at approximately 8 p.m. We have been advised that the Club’s facilities are available to our guests for the remainder of the evening.
Here is the latest progress report from Dextra Visual on the 'Help Save Ellesmere Port's History' video you so generously subscribed to. It's all very exciting. "The scenes are building up ready for the animation renders. "All of the models are complete and I am building up the Dock Road, Basin Area and the Flour Mills. I am focusing on this at the moment as that area will have the most effects to be applied - smoke and atmospheric volume, lighting, etc. "Attached are some quick renders of the lighthouse and the view past the Telfords Warehouse towards the Flour Mills. "These are not finished scenes by any stretch and I haven't applied any effects or colour grading. They are all currently being dressed and there are hundreds of completed models and props still to be placed. "The characters have been compiled with their appropriate animations made and will be imported towards the final render. I have imported one for scale reference. "I am currently working on this project full-time. We are well on track for a mid-November test viewing. We will have time to make changes, tweak music, etc. before the full release." We can't wait to see Ellesmere Port in this amazing footage. Thank you Martin for all you are doing for us.
Dear All First I must apologise for not contacting you before with an update on our proposed video. I was over-enthusiastic when I originally put the date for its launch. Since then I have realised that I worked out the timings I was given incorrectly. Instead of having the video this summer, it's more likely to be the end of the year. It's a very long process but we are still just as excited about its eventual release. It could do so much for Ellesmere Port with this visual interpretation of its unique story. However, its production is well on the way. The buildings have been gridded out for each time period and the terraced houses have been modelled. Poole Hall, our Tudor mansion's base model, was the next step. I will continue to update you as I receive more information. The delay has meant that we are now able to include a proper launch of this video. As a contributor to this crowdfunding, you will get an invite as soon as we have a definite date. After this launch we intend to distribute it as widely as we can. Please bear with us and, again, apologies for not keeping you informed. Celia Webber for Ellesmere Port Local and Family History Society
Brilliant news, thanks everyone!
How will the money be spent?Target (inc. fees) £13,197
Costs Breakdown
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Overfunding
This project is enabled for overfunding. If the project hits its funding goal before the end of the campaign period, any extra funds raised will be spent (in order of priority) on:
Target (inc. fees) £13,197
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For the past 13 years we have been beavering away on our Town's local history. We're between Chester and Liverpool and their 'poor relation' with little of our back history recorded.
We have an actual Society membership of around 100 and a virtual one of 1,000 on Facebook, mainly locals - the elderly and retired - but we're open to all and just love youngsters enthusiastic about history.
We're all passionate about Ellesmere Port and its surrounds, doing all we can to preserve its unique story.
The Port of Ellesmere was first named as such by Thomas Telford in the autumn of 1795 with the opening of a canal and a canal port. Expansion came in 1843 to meet the Midlands' trade. In 1891 a massive canal, the Manchester Ship Canal, opened to Ellesmere Port bringing heavy industry: oil refining, steel makers, cement works, chemical works, nuclear, cars, etc. The Town has always been at the heart of manufacturing and, in its heyday, it wasn't a pretty expansion. Heavy industry close to our fast-growing population (and the housing they so desperately needed) gave the Town a bad name with pollution, excessive noise and obnoxious smells!
Today, within the Town's former boundaries, we have some large, thriving industrial parks along with a massively successful retail park - Cheshire Oaks. These have become much-prized commercial areas under the auspices of Cheshire West and Chester Council.
We've cleaned up the Town, added some attractive areas and are keen to continue this improvement. We're proud of what we have achieved but need to do more and let the world know how we got there. Our unique back story should be used to contribute to our future as will help improve the perception of Ellesmere Port. We're doing all we can to retrieve it, but without our own premises or strong champions to push our development forward, its a frustratingly slow journey.
A short, sharp way of doing this, and making our population proud of our achievements, is creating our very own video on the development of the Town. One we can broadcast far and wide to tell people who we are and what we have achieved. We're hopeful this can be financed by crowd-funding which is where you come in. It's a real need and we're hoping we've found just the people to do it.
Project Owner: Ellesmere Port Local and Family History Society The Project Owner takes legal responsibility for receiving and spending the funds raised and ensuring the project is delivered.
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