Village History Project
The Southrepps Society was formed by a group of Southrepps residents who were keen to record and where possible conserve the best aspects of life in their village and the surrounding countryside at a time of great change. Within living memory the village had been a self-contained community with most Southrepps-born people growing up in the village and subsequently relying for their livelihood on some aspects of farming or market gardening in the locality. Today very few of the residents work in the village, which is now populated in part by retirees and, at the weekend, by visitors and second home owners whose life experience is so very different from those who lived in the village a couple of generations ago.
At the Society's very first meeting in 1979 it was resolved to keep an archive of the memories and artefacts of former times and one day to produce a history of the village. In 2006 a project was initiated to gather together the existing archive and raise funds for the production of a village history. As part of this Memories Project a series of events were planned to encourage villagers to donate old photographs and other memorabilia and assist in the identification of items already in the archive. The Memories Events were very successful in generating new material for the archive and sparked enthusiastic community-wide interest in the Project and the village. Generous donations towards the cost of the Project were received from individuals and the Southrepps Support Scheme and grant aid was received from The Griffon Partnership, North Norfolk District Council and The Norfolk Rural Communities Council.
The culmination of a years work by the Society is a DVD entitled "Southrepps - The Story of a North Norfolk Village". Peter Stibbens of Poppyland Productions in Cromer has provided the technical support for the project and Peter with his video camera has been a familiar face at many of the social and cultural events held in the village throughout 2007 including the very successful Southrepps Fayre.
The Society Secretary, Carol Needham, says - "the DVD will go some way towards meeting the founding members' aspirations to produce a detailed village history. The purpose of the DVD is to set in context the long history of the vllage and the events that have shaped the lives of its people up to the present day. The DVD format is an ideal way to showcase the Society's collection of images and recorded voices in a readily accessible and entertaining way. Photographs and the older residents recollections of times past are entwined within a video tour of the modern village. We hope that the DVD will be of interest to residents, and assist a younger generation and visitors to our village to really appreciate what makes Southrepps special".
The DVD (Titled "Southrepps - The Story of a North Norfolk Village") has now been shown to an enthusiastic local audience and is available to buy at only £7-50. To obtain a copy or for further details contact Carol Needham, as listed below.
The Society has plans in place for a more detailed study of the village to be published in the future. It is hoped that publication of the DVD will tease out more old long forgotten photographs from cupboards and dusty attics and encourage new members to enlist and assist the Society in its work. While the process of gathering information is still proceeding, it is recognised that many former residents have moved away, or that their connections were through relatives or employment . The Society is therefore appealing for anyone who may have items of interest - photographs, articles, personal recollections or artefacts of any kind - to get in touch with one of the members listed. Your contribution may well be a vital one!
01263 - 834242 Carol Needham
01263 - 833740 Colin Thornhill
or E-mail to the address listed under 'Contact Us' on this site.