Showground of the World: the Histories of Belle Vue Evaluation Report

A visitor explores the Showground of the World exhibition, Photo by Drew Forsyth

Showground of the World: the histories of Belle Vue Evaluation Report

Written by Vittoria Caradonna, Kate Campbell-Payne and Dr. Abigail Gilmore, University of Manchester, July 2014 CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 4 1. INTRODUCTION ...... 9 2. PROJECT DEVELOPMENT ...... 11 AIMS AND OUTCOMES OF THE PROJECT ...... 11 TARGET AUDIENCES ...... 12 3. EVALUATION METHODOLOGY ...... 14 4. FINDINGS ...... 15 A) HERITAGE WILL BE RECORDED AND IDENTIFIED: ...... 15 THE SHOWGROUND OF THE WORLD EXHIBITION ...... 16 THE BELLE VUE ROADSHOW ...... 19 THE BELLE VUE WALKING TOUR ...... 20 DIGITAL MAPPING AND ENGAGEMENT ...... 23 B) HERITAGE WILL BE BETTER EXPLAINED AND INTERPRETED: ...... 26 C) MORE PEOPLE AND A WIDER RANGE OF PEOPLE WILL HAVE ENGAGED IN HERITAGE: INCREASING AUDIENCE AND AWARENESS ...... 28 ...... 30 DEMOGRAPHICS ...... 31 MEDIA PROFILE AND COVERAGE ...... 33 D) PEOPLE WILL HAVE HAD AN ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE: INTERACTION WITH ARTS AND CULTURAL ELEMENT OF THE PROJECT ...... 34 WORKSHOPS, TALKS AND PERFORMANCES ...... 34 E) PEOPLE WILL HAVE LEARNT ABOUT HERITAGE: ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE AND INCREASING VISIBILITY ...... 37 F) PEOPLE WILL HAVE VOLUNTEERED TIME: VOLUNTEERS EXPERIENCE ...... 38 G) PEOPLE WILL HAVE DEVELOPED SKILLS: VOLUNTEERS AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES ...... 40 5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 41 LEARNING POINTS ...... 42 LEGACY ...... 43 APPENDIX II ...... 45 APPENDIX III ...... 47

FOREWORD

Despite the fact that it closed its doors over a generation ago Belle Vue remains one of Manchester’s best-known popular attractions. Its memory has been kept alive by campaigns on social media for it to be brought back, by a stream of local history books and by regular features in newspapers and on TV.

Of all the nineteenth-century visitor attractions in Manchester few have left anything like as powerful or as emotional a hold on the city’s imagination. More importantly perhaps none has left such a substantial documentary record to enrich and augment people's memories.

The Showground of the World project details how Manchester Histories took the fragmented memories of visitors and workers, and combined this with documents, exhibitions, workshops, lectures, school visits and events to retell the story of Belle Vue.

It did so in a way that was genuinely collaborative and inclusive, bringing together institutional collections, personal collectors, curators and academics, volunteers, actors and fans from all over the city and beyond to create a new history. This was no dry and stodgy tale of business success and failure where people are told what really happened but was based on a new way of engaging people with their heritage, not as passive spectators but as genuine collaborators or partners in the creation of new narratives. This was a remarkable achievement - one of Manchester’s recent cultural highlights and I am delighted to commend this account of how it brought this about.

Michael Powell, Chetham’s Library and home of the Belle Vue Archive

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This evaluation report explores the activities and outcomes of the Showground of the World (SOTW) project, which took place between September 2013 and March 2014, culminating in a walking tour, public talks, an exhibition and other activities during the Manchester Histories Festival (MHF), 21st – 30th March 2014. The project’s focus was on the histories and community legacy of Belle Vue, a theme park which once occupied 165 acres in East Manchester. Activities consisted of 23 events including talks, a digital mapping project, performances, walking tours and screenings taking place in and around two main hubs: an exhibition located at the Flat Iron building in central Manchester and the Belle Vue Roadshow at the Gorton Monastery.

The project was made possible by the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund, attracting 2825 visits to its exhibition and events over the course of ten days, bringing together existing and new audiences. In the spirit of the Festival, SOTW’s range of events was designed to uncover and make visible the wealth of memories, personal stories and informal histories of Belle Vue and explore opportunities for capacity building around the value and legacy of these histories to Manchester communities.

The project was led by Claire Turner, Director, Manchester Histories, and managed on a day to day basis by Ella Byford, a freelance project manager. To help manage the project, a steering group was established comprising community members with different affiliations and relationships to Belle Vue and its histories (see appendix for membership).

Manchester Histories is the charitable organization and delivery body for the biennial Manchester Histories Festival (MHF), along with other events in the Greater Manchester area. MHF is governed by the Manchester Histories Board of Trustees and managed by a Director working with a small core voluntary team, with support from a larger team of 44 volunteers during the Festival period.

Most events were specifically commissioned and designed for the festival. An exhibition was produced, bringing together disparate archives and collections, and was curated by the National Fairground Archive at the University of Sheffield. A number of the events were led by local historians, collectors or by the people who had themselves worked in Belle Vue’s main attractions. All volunteered their time and knowledge to support the project, and in addition a number of MHF’s volunteers and local residents were trained specifically for SOTW activities, from invigilating the exhibition, to oral histories recording, and acting.

The project also benefited from the experience and expertise of Manchester Histories in delivering performance-based approaches to public engagement with heritage. Monkey Business an interactive game run by theatre company, The Larks, and the Manchester Guided Tours and Lip Service’s interactive walking tour were highlights of this approach in SOTW, facilitating intergenerational exchanges in a relaxed, fun atmosphere.

The evaluation research was commissioned by Manchester Histories to examine whether and how the project has met its objectives. It has employed visitor, event organiser, venue, and volunteer surveys over the period of the festival, integrated with media and demographic analysis. A post-event focus group and series of interviews have been conducted with key stakeholders from the steering group and management team.

The main findings of the evaluation are:

Showground of the World in numbers

 2825 total attendances  2100 exhibition visits  645 Belle Vue Roadshow visitors  80 walking tour participants  276 participants in the Monkey Business interactive game (including Belle Vue Roadshow and Town Hall performances)  23 Belle Vue related events during the Manchester Histories Festival period  12 people were trained to collect oral histories prior to the exhibition, 7 from Gorton  14 volunteers were trained to collect oral histories during the exhibition

New audiences for heritage events and venues The Belle Vue project was very successful in attracting new audiences to heritage activities and events. A large proportion of the visitors were new audiences for heritage events and spaces; of those responding to the visitor survey.

 almost half (49%) were first-time attenders of a history/heritage event;  84% were new audiences to the Manchester Histories Festival;  97% were new visitors to the Flat Iron building, site of the exhibition;  75% of the Belle Vue Roadshow participants were new to MHF, 50% had never before attended a history/heritage event and over 60% were new to Gorton and Gorton Monastery.

This was a predominantly older, white, local audience:  over half (54%) of survey respondents were over 55 and 30% over 65 years;  however there were younger audiences – 19% under 35, 9% 16-25 years;  over half (53%) female, 47% male;  94% self-identified as ‘white’, with just 3% self-identifying as Black, Asian, Chinese, mixed or other ethnicity;  18% were staff and students at one of the three Universities in Manchester and Salford;  the majority of attendees who gave postcode information (80%) were from the Greater Manchester area;  12% came from Gorton and surrounding neighbourhoods, adjacent to the Belle Vue former site.

The remainder was from around the North West, notably Cheshire and Merseyside. Of visitors from the UK, people came from as far afield as Newcastle, Swansea and Milton Keynes. There were also visitors from Tennessee, United States and Hong Kong, China. Showground of the World events were stimulating and inspiring The SOTW events were extremely well received. Survey respondents rated the events they attended highly:

 88% gave the events they attend a 4 or 5 star rating.

They stimulated excited responses and further action:  97% of visitors stated that they will attend the next MHF;  80% of respondents indicated that by attending the exhibition or a Belle Vue- related event, they learnt something new;  67% of respondents said the event they attended inspired them to share their experience with friends;  43% want to research the subject further as a result.

Those who knew about Belle Vue and/or had visited the attracted told us how the exhibition recalled treasured memories.

When asked what their highlight of the Manchester Histories Festival experience was  36% mentioned ‘Belle Vue’,  15% mentioned ‘memories’,  8% mentioned the Speedway and  8% mentioned the video (footage shown at the exhibition)

A ‘tag cloud’ of the most popular responses when asked about their highlight

Qualitative responses reveal the more nuanced reactions from visitors:

“The exhibition brought back memories of day trips to the zoo as a child and in later years dancing at the Elizabethan where I met my husband”. “Seeing things first hand that my partner can remember as a small child & his mother can recall in detail & fondly” “Although history is in the past we can see it living in the memories today” “Memories of happy times at Belle Vue in my childhood and teenage years” “I love Manchester!”

Other comments included nostalgic statements, tinged with sadness:

“An excellent survey of one of the biggest Manchester mysteries - how could Belle Vue fade away like it did?!” “How sad to drive past where the entrance to Belle Vue was on Hyde Road and remember and to be aware that Belle Vue no longer exists” “I am so pleased that Belle Vue has been featured as people loved the place so much & very little information has been available until now.” “A real blast from the past, wish I could remember visiting as a child” “I now feel old”

There were some suggesting areas for improvement:

“I found the electric show (Miss electra) quite sexist. Although it's not personal, the performers were very professional.” “Billboard marketing (if budget allows) to raise awareness. Design of Belle Vue exhibition was a bit disappointing.” “I think overall the Belle Vue week is a fantastic idea. I'm sure the other venues will do the subject justice. Belle Vue was a vibrant place and deserves more than Dale St.”

Producing Legacy from Histories The legacy of Showground of the World will be developed by building on the positive impression made on visitors and organisers, and the renewed interest of locals and external audiences in this area of Manchester, in its rich social history and in preserving its legacy for future generations.

Key legacy activities include:  the development of a Steering Group that wants to continue working together and developing the Belle Vue legacy and the on-going recognition of the local skills, knowledge and experience already in the community;  the continuation of elements of the project in Gorton, for example the Gorton performers continuing to work together and forming a drama group; Gorton Local History Society continuing to conduct oral histories on the local area following the training they received;  the on-going development of the digital mapping project and links with Chetham’s Library’s digitisation of its own Belle Vue archive;  the commitment from Gorton Monastery to provide more access for the celebration of local histories each year;  the use of exhibition materials produced during the Gorton Carnival in September 2014 and at Gorton Monastery during community events.  wider recognition of Belle Vue, for example students from Manchester School of Art have since utilized the exhibition to inspire their final year project and they then produced a further exhibition at New Century House;  the addition of Belle Vue as a study element in local schools’ curriculums.

1. INTRODUCTION

From its inception, the Manchester Histories Festival (MHF) has sought to bring to life forgotten stories, private memories and unheard voices behind Greater Manchester’s official history. Its aim is to engage people from Greater Manchester and visitors to the City region with their rich heritage, offering an inclusive programme to a diverse range of participants, from habitual heritage visitors to brand new audiences. Through events and activities in historic and unusual venues, it attempts to challenge the perception that heritage is only about the past, and to link local histories clearly with the present day and the future. Furthermore the Festival recognises community histories, expertise, knowledge and collections which sit outside of established heritage organisations and academia, places them at the heart of its programming and promotes them to wider audiences.

Showground of the World (SOTW) was a major exemplar of this approach during the MHF 2014 festival. It was based on eight months of community consultation in Greater Manchester undertaken by Manchester Histories’ Director, to inform festival programming and project formation. During this time, one particular place stood out as a story that needed re-telling, a story powerful enough to capture the imagination of old and new audiences: Belle Vue and its many attractions.

Originally known as Belle Vue Zoological Gardens, this area of Gorton, Manchester provided people from across the North of England and Scotland with an unmatched offer of entertainment and leisure activities. At its largest the park covered 165 acres and included a zoo, circus, fairground, two boating lakes, gardens, speedway stadium, greyhound track, bowling alley, 3 hotels, 3 ballrooms, an outdoor dancing platform, a restaurant catering for thousands and the King's Hall exhibition space. During its peak years between the 1940s-60s, around two million people visited the site annually, reaching the record number of 220,000 visitors in one day. From its beginnings in 1836 until its final closure in 1980, Belle Vue was an important source of revenue and employment to Manchester. Perhaps more importantly it was also the place where for years families spent their days out, or where, as recalled by many, people met their future partners dancing the night away in the ballrooms.

The SOTW project was therefore born from these fond memories of days of fun, entertainment and romance at Belle Vue, and comprised five main components:  an exhibition about the histories and legacy of the showground bringing together archives and collections from a diverse range of partners including Chetham’s Library, the Gerald Iles Collection, the National Fairground Archive, North West Film Archive, private collectors and local community organisations. This was curated by the National Fairground Archive from the University of Sheffield;  the creation of a digital map of Belle Vue-related objects and stories;  the development of oral histories training and collection with local individuals and groups;  a walking tour around Gorton inspired by the histories and collected oral histories;  the Belle Vue Roadshow, an event which encouraged ‘show and tell’ of objects and memorabilia by the public.

This report examines the factors and issues connected with planning and implementation of the project as Manchester Histories’ key curated project for MHF 2014, with analysis of the challenges encountered during the preparatory phases and over the course of the exhibition and related events. The report documents the responses from participants, organisers and steering group members and it considers whether and how the programme of events devised around the history of Belle Vue met its initial objectives, benefited its targeted groups and produced new outputs.

Belle Vue Memorabilia, Photo by Drew Forsyth

2. PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

Developing SOTW presented four main challenges, identified during through consultation and community liaison.

• The histories of Belle Vue remain largely unofficial: although very much alive in the memories of those that lived, worked or enjoyed their free time there, the histories of Belle Vue are built on dispersed collections of archives, items and amateur publications. The most comprehensive collection is at Chetham’s Library in their own Belle Vue archive that primarily focuses on the Jennison years. • The need to (re)engage local communities: the histories of Belle Vue are deeply embedded within Gorton, with many of the people that worked at and visited the venue still living in the area. However this area’s predominant demographic profile is not one with high proportions of those likely to be frequent cultural attendees. • Younger generations are not aware of the histories of Belle Vue: young people from Gorton and other areas of the city have never had the chance to see and experience Belle Vue, so they are mostly unaware of its existence or of its importance to their local and social histories. • The low visibility of physical infrastructure of Belle Vue: the original site with its different components of the theme park is not clearly visible now in the local area, so a process of re-mapping and identification of these sites was required to provide the basis for interpretation.

These issues were addressed by a steering group, attended by the festival core staff, local authority representatives, private collectors and individuals and organisations committed to preserve the heritage of Belle Vue (See Appendix I). The Steering Group’s role was also to ensure that the aims and objective of the project were met and that it was promoted as widely as possible through their varied networks.

AIMS AND OUTCOMES OF THE PROJECT In response to consultation and project development conducted by Manchester Histories, seven core elements were defined as the aims of the project to meet the required objectives of the Heritage Lottery Fund, the primary supporter of the project, and to deliver a successful and meaningful project:

• HERITAGE WILL BE BETTER INTERPRETED AND EXPLAINED: for the first time and through a diverse range of initiatives the histories of Belle Vue will be told in a cohesive and immersive way by bringing together disparate collections from across the city. The memories and histories will also be presented as cohesive and easily accessible narratives through, for example, the walking tour or the Roadshow at Gorton Monastery. • HERITAGE WILL BE IDENTIFIED AND RECORDED: through oral histories recording, a call out for personal items related to Belle Vue to be exhibited and/or uploaded to the digital map and the development of a digital map that includes oral histories, items and the geographic impact of Belle Vue. • PEOPLE WILL HAVE DEVELOPED SKILLS: volunteers, young people and university students will have the opportunity to learn transferrable skills through

training in oral histories, drama training for involvement in the new walking tour and training as invigilators at the exhibition. • PEOPLE WILL HAVE LEARNT ABOUT HERITAGE: individuals and groups will be enabled to discover the histories and legacy of Belle Vue especially targeting people from Gorton through the Roadshow and young people who have no knowledge or personal experience of Belle Vue • PEOPLE WILL HAVE HAD AN ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE: reflecting the spirit of Belle Vue as a place of fun and enjoyable experiences, the elements planned were intended to reflect this and ensure that people learnt whilst also enjoying and interacting with the arts and cultural elements of the project • PEOPLE WILL HAVE VOLUNTEERED TIME: volunteers will bring added value to the project by sharing and committing their time, experiences and expertise. Importantly, it will demonstrate the skills and knowledge that already exist within the community about Belle Vue and its heritage. • MORE PEOPLE AND A WIDER RANGE OF PEOPLE WILL HAVE ENGAGED IN HERITAGE: the events will be directed and marketed to a diverse audience, including people new to heritage and from outside Greater Manchester.

TARGET AUDIENCES SOTW had key target audiences to reach during the project and the different elements of the project had been designed to help engage these audiences. For example, the Belle Vue Roadshow was specifically located in Gorton Monastery as many of the local community do not travel in to the city centre and would be reluctant to attend the exhibition in a city centre venue. The programming was also key as it was specifically placed at the start of the festival to introduce SOTW to a local audience, familiarise them with the project early during MHF and hopefully encourage them to try something else new during the festival.

SOTW aimed to benefit a range of different groups:

• local residents of Gorton and the nearby surrounding areas through the opportunity to demonstrate their skills and knowledge, and to participate in a heritage project. It was intended that SOTW would help to build a greater sense of pride of place and community cohesion; • local historians and collectors through the recognition of their contribution and importance to the preservation and learning about this area of social history. It would also introduce collaborative working between individuals and organisations who were currently not in partnerships, helping to remember and preserve the histories of Belle Vue; • drama students and local Gorton performers would have the opportunity to receive training from LipService Theatre and Manchester Guided Tours to enable their participation as performers in a new Belle Vue walking tour; • members of the SOTW Steering Group brought together for the first time to share their support for Belle Vue and its heritage with the aim of continuing to support each other and work together following the project;

• volunteers working on the project will experience working together as a team, learning new skills and increasing their knowledge about this important period of Manchester’s histories; • audiences who attend the project activities will benefit from an enjoyable experience, learn more about local histories and be able to share in reinterpreting and presenting Manchester’s histories.

The Belle Vue project has also produced new outputs whose value and significance will be discussed within the context of the festival and of its legacy.

• SOTW exhibition and exhibition materials • Belle Vue Roadshow • Belle Vue Walking Tour • Oral histories recordings • Belle Vue digital map & digital game • Performances (including interactive drama devised by The Larks theatre company) • Visual art workshop

In section 4 below we discuss the project’s outputs and outcomes in relation to their original aims and identified beneficiaries, and make recommendations based on the learning points for future activities related to Belle Vue, in Gorton in the work of Manchester Histories.

The Great Omi, Belle Vue Exhibition Opening Night, Photo by Sorrell Williams

3. EVALUATION METHODOLOGY

The festival evaluation has been carried out by Kate Campbell-Payne and Vittoria Caradonna, graduates from the MA in Arts Management, Policy and Practice, under the supervision of Dr Abigail Gilmore Director of the Institute for Cultural Practices at The University of Manchester.

The framework of methods we employed to collect data on various aspects of the Showground of the World project included:

• visitor survey (self-administered, print ); • volunteers feedback survey (self-administered, online only); • follow-up interviews with Director Claire Turner, Project Manager Ella Byford, the exhibition curators Professor Vanessa Toulmin, Jane Donaldson and Andrew Moore from the University of Sheffield, and digital game co-ordinator, Nichola Jacques; • focus group and online follow-up survey with the project’s steering group; • film and photos of events; • exhibition Visitor book; • social media and website analytics.

CAVEAT Throughout the report we refer to figures from the Visitor Surveys distributed at the exhibition and other SOTW events held over the ten days of the festival. 645 respondents completed questionnaires, and their responses have been analysed and used here. As there was no systematic attempt to undertake probability or randomised sampling, the responses from the survey cannot be assumed to be representative of any particular population, other than ‘people who came to the events and who agreed to fill in a survey.’ However, the large number of responses (23% of all total visits) presents a good indication of the opinions and experiences of audiences members, and their answers produce valuable data for formative and summative evaluation.

Visitors to the Belle Vue Exhibition, Photo by Drew Forsyth 4. FINDINGS

In this section, the findings of the evaluation research are set out in relation to the core objectives of the project and the different project strands and elements, with associated recommendations for future practice and programming.

A) HERITAGE WILL BE RECORDED AND IDENTIFIED: One of the primary objectives of the project was to bring together aspects and objects of the tangible and intangible heritage of Belle Vue into a coherent programme, including exhibition and display. For over a century Belle Vue had been instrumental in building a sense of place in Gorton, and its decline and disappearance has had an impact on this area of Manchester, both symbolically and economically. However although not much is left in the area that the park once occupied, Belle Vue is far from gone: treasured memories, family photos, a wealth of ephemerae and collectables are spread among both private collectors, individuals, archives and musuems. The histories of Belle Vue are as fascinating as it is difficult to circumscribe, and are both tangible and elusive, embedded in the local memory but physically dispersed. A key challenge for the project and its core programme was to bring together and connect these memories and artefacts into a coherent narrative. This included multiple voices, across generations, from both Gorton and further afield and which served to engage, educate and entertain.

Original posters of Belle Vue Zoo Park, Photo by Drew Forsyth THE SHOWGROUND OF THE WORLD EXHIBITION The Showground of the World exhibition took place between 21 – 30 March 2014 with an invited exhibition preview launch on Wednesday 19 March. It was located in Manchester city centre at the Flat Iron Building, one of the former cotton warehouses in Manchester’s well-known bohemian area, the Northern Quarter. The exhibition brought together items from the official collections, private collectors and memorabilia from residents of the city and beyond to display under themed headings.

A key issue for mounting the exhibition was that a comprehensive, unified Belle Vue collection simply does not exist. Several related items can be found among Manchester cultural venues: the Jennison Collection, an archive from the first owners of Belle Vue is preserved at Chetham's Library; Gorton Monastery holds collection of memorabilia collated by Gerald Isles whilst Zoo Director from 1933 – 1957; Manchester Museum houses the skeleton of the famous elephant Maharajah and other smaller items; some of the Belle Vue Speedway bikes are on exhibition in the city’s Museum of Science and Industry; and Manchester Art Gallery owns a number of artworks relating to Belle Vue. However a wide range of other existing memorabilia, particularly large scale physical items, are scattered among private collectors and individuals who sourced them over the years.

In order to rationalise and professionalise items of varied provenance, Professor Vanessa Toulmin, Director of the National Fairground Archive at the University of Sheffield was appointed as curator. With co-curators Jane Donaldson and Andrew Moore, the curatorial team provided professional expertise and developed the interpretative material for the exhibition.

The initial consultation activity, steering group support and good links with the archives at cultural institutions helped to secure items such as the speedway bikes and leathers donated by Belle Vue Aces and their riders, the Gerald Isles archive from Gorton Monastery, vintage film from the North West Film Archive, items from Chetham’s archive of the Jennison family, items from the Hallé orchestra’s years playing at Belle Vue, and a range of posters donated from the personal collections of Brian Selby, Frank Rhodes and Derek Adrian. Following the exhibition, new items have been identified such as a bear collar which has been donated to Chetham’s Library and a bench belonging to the Jennison family that has been given to one of the individual collectors.

Crowd-sourcing the exhibition One of the key aims of the exhibition was to encourage people with objects relating to Belle Vue to come forward, to help identify the extent of the collection held in private and community hands. At the start of the project, a call out via Manchester Evening News, BBC Radio Manchester and Manchester Histories’ social media resulted in a range of people contacting the festival with information on objects, some of which featured in the exhibition. While there were speedway leathers donated and included in the exhibition, the challenges with this form of ‘community’ collecting became apparent. These included:

 the size of some key objects – which demanded logistics and capacity for identifying and moving large items which the project could not financially meet;  the geographical spread of the collection - the popularity of Belle Vue across the country, meant that many items have left Manchester and a local call-out was not seen. Additionally, local call outs were not seen as people often miss items in the media and a number of items have been identified either during or since the project took place;  the need for brokerage of trust and amnesty regarding personal possessions;  the personal and potential commercial value of objects – a number of individuals wanted to charge for the inclusion of their items in the exhibition. Ironically, the ‘value’ of Belle Vue items appears to have increased since the project began with items being offered for sale that had been sitting in individual’s backyards or garages for years;  lack of consensus over curatorial models – the tension between a single curator for the exhibition and the desires of communities to author their own exhibition and display (which was revealed both through comments by the steering group and in visitor responses to the exhibition, who suggested other objects and themes they wish they had seen included or given greater visibility and interpretation).

Possibly one of the biggest challenges to the SOTW organisers was that some objects had been acquired through unofficial and informal means, so some were unwilling to donate because they were concerned they may be accused of stealing or even prosecuted. For example, one anecdote told of the ticket office now being used as a garden shed somewhere in Gorton. Some potential donors to the exhibition were worried about how their personal memories, their photographs and postcards might be used and had concerns about copyright and appropriate accreditation of photographs and films (despite advise and arrangements offered by MH). The difficulties in bringing objects and community collections together for a comprehensive exhibition were not considered by the exhibition’s curators to impede its quality however:

“The strength of the collections supplied was such that additional material was not really required. All the donors were excellent and contributed magnificently to making the choice of material as interesting as possible”(Professor Vanessa Toumlin, SOTW Exhibition Curator).

Some tensions were revealed by post-event discussion between what is ‘in’ the collection as expressed by the exhibition, and what is left out, plus the decision making process behind what goes on display. Whilst the curator was satisfied that objects supplied through identified donors and established and institutional collections, the desire of community collectors to become part of the exhibition grew as the trust and interest in the project developed, particularly after the exhibition opening. Some offered items for purchase to the exhibition as owners began to realize their value to the collection, but there was no budget in place to purchase them, plus there are acknowledged difficulties in valuing these kinds of collections.

A challenge now for Belle Vue’s growing community of interest is how to develop sustainable legacy and to satisfy the desire of the community to provide some kind of permanent record and display of Belle Vue’s objects and collections. Whilst the project aimed to support mechanisms for making visible the collections which are in private and public hands in Manchester and further afield, in part through digitization, there is still a strong demand for an exhibition within Gorton itself which has been in part engendered through SOTW. The momentum of the steering group members and the new skills gained through the project will be crucial in realizing any such proposal.

Objects associated with the Hallé Orchestra, Belle Vue Exhibition, Photo Joseph Price

THE BELLE VUE ROADSHOW Held at the Gorton Monastery on Sunday 23rd March, the Belle Vue Roadshow was developed to engage the local community with interactive events, talks, arts and crafts workshops, performances by Gorton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Monkey Business interactive game and a Belle Vue-themed Tea Dance.

The Roadshow was successful in engaging and reconnecting local people to the history of Belle Vue, with 645 people attending and 80 people participating in the walking tour, although numbers were lower for the Tea Dance (which was held at the end of the day).

The day was documented by volunteer photography students from the University of Salford, and gave local people the opportunity to meet, discuss and celebrate their connections to Belle Vue, to hear stories and view objects as well as contribute their own, in the stunning local venue of the Monastery. The Manchester Evening News also produced a photo feature story on the event, interviewing participants and detailing how the event had evoked their memories of the ‘glory days’ of Belle Vue (‘Fond memories of Belle Vue zoo and amusement park brought back to life’, Manchester Evening News, 24 March 2014)

Roadshow visitors Photo by Jack Hatton

Coach-loads of visitors came and packed out the talks, and extra talks had to be arranged as they were so popular. As a result, the Gorton Monastery has now proposed putting on a week-long local histories programme annually each year.

THE BELLE VUE WALKING TOUR Other activities in Gorton included the walking tour of the old Belle Vue site, which took place on the first and last Sunday of the festival. The tours included both indoor and outdoor spaces, such as the speedway stadium and the Vue cinema which is located by the original Belle Vue entrance. It was created specifically for the festival by Emma Fox from Manchester Guided Tours and LipService Theatre company.

8 local people were trained to perform in the tour by recreating characters from Belle Vue’s past such as ringmaster George Lockhart and World Speedway Champion Peter Craven, and performing small scenes to illustrate events and moments from the site’s past. They were primarily residents from Gorton and had a range of experience in performing. Some had never performed before and others were hoping to go to drama school. Their ages ranged from 19 to 83 and there were 5 women and 3 men. It had been planned that drama students would engage too but there was a lack of interest in the project.

Since the festival, the group has decided to form as an on-going drama group in the area as there is currently no amateur group in existence. Manchester City Council Regeneration Team in Gorton is working with Manchester Histories to support the group and develop it in the local area with a focus on developing performances based around local histories.

As shown by the survey respondents, the tour was extremely well received by participants that commented on the enthusiasm and talent of the actors, and their learning about Belle Vue.

Tour participants’ responses:

“We loved the sketches – it really brought it life!” “Very entertaining and informative” “My highlight was the walking tour, seeing the passion of the volunteers, their humour and acting”

In relation to their experience of the Belle Vue Walking Tour:

 80% of the respondents stated that they were going to share their experience with friends;  40% expressed their desire to start volunteering;  20% would like to research the subject further.

A performer ot the Belle Vue Road Show Walking Tour, Photo Sorrell Williams

ORAL HISTORIES

The time spent with people, listening to their stories and the stories of individuals who took part in the project was crucial for the development of the project and its legacy. For example, Pat Pearson, a trapeze artist who had lived on site, took on a huge role during all the project’s stages: she was involved in the walking tour, featured in a short promotional film before the festival, provided a public talk and has since been asked to give further talks about her life at Belle Vue.

7 Gorton residents, 5 individuals (including 2 students from Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), and 14 MHF volunteers were trained to collect oral histories before and during the project. The training was provided by Fiona Cosson from the Centre for Regional History, MMU and supported by Karen Gabay, an experienced TV producer and collector of oral histories.

The project was successful in several ways:

 revealing, preserving and providing access to these community histories, through oral history approaches;  the provision of training and technology within the local community that will enable the on-going usage of oral history as a mechanism for preserving local stories. Since SOTW ended, a recorder has been donated to Gorton Local History Society and also to St Richard’s School to continue oral histories work;  bringing new audiences to hear the stories at the exhibition, through the digital map and following the submission to North West Sound Archive. This will ensure that they remain in the public domain and are available to future generations.  it has produced a legacy of new skills in those trained and employed in the work: Lynn Ward was employed to transcribe the interviews ready for the North West Sound Archive; having enjoyed the project so much, she offered to complete the remaining interviews collected during the exhibition.

Over 60 stories were recorded, and 20 of these were used during the festival to guide visitors around the SOTW exhibition after being uploaded to handheld audio guides. These included stories from the magician and sideshow performer Stromboli about his time as a fire eater, and the day he broke a world record.

In addition to these personal memories, the festival’s staff was approached by local Gorton resident, Stella Moore who had discovered her aunt’s memoirs about her time living at Belle Vue. A recital by Stella of her aunt’s memoirs was recorded and became part of the exhibition. The entire collection will be submitted to the North West Sound Archive, and available online through the Belle Vue digital map and MHF website where they will be accessible by the wider public.

As part of the project’s collation of the oral histories, the MHF also linked with AID UK, a group which provides care and activities for people suffering from dementia. A member of the organisation approached the Festival team because several service users had talked about their vivid memories of Belle Vue. Audio recordings of five

22 group members’ stories were made, and the group also attended the exhibition preview to hear their memories being played as part of the exhibition.

At the exhibition, there were also opportunities for members of the public to be interviewed and have their stories recorded. These were conducted by MHF volunteers who received training in conducting interviews and enabled people to connect and contribute to the on-going collation of Belle Vue memories. DIGITAL MAPPING AND ENGAGEMENT The project included a strand of work which piloted the use of digital technologies and social media to reach out to audiences and collectors with a wider geographical spread, and to provide a platform for digital engagement, mapping and social interpretation.

Since many of the objects and participants from Belle Vue’s histories are scattered across the UK and beyond, this strand attempted to crowdsource the construction of a digital map which showed where these items and related stories are now located. It also identified key sites and locations of collections in Manchester for those wishing to visit and take their own digital tour

In total 73 digitised items/photographs were uploaded along with the personal stories related to them onto a bespoke website created for the project, and positioned on the map. By clicking on the various locations another window opens with the photo of the object, showing how far items have travelled from the site. The accompanying text refers both to Belle Vue’s official histories in relation to the item and to the personal anecdotes that behind the Showground’s collective narrative.

Included in the digital engagement strategy was the ‘Show and Tell’ game coordinated by Nichola Jacques which took place over the festival period. This participatory game was intended as a pilot to explore the use of Twitter and the

23 webpages to engage new audiences with a historical time period. It set ‘tasks’ for the participants to undertake each day during MHF, with the incentive of winning Belle Vue-themed prizes. The game aimed not only to encourage people to volunteer information to the website, but to generate a sense of ‘buzz’ and excitement by providing the means to talk with people in real-time through Twitter and to promote different aspects of the SOTW project. There were 21 players of the Show and Tell game (see Storify in Appendix II).

“Running a game on Twitter meant people could engage as much or as little as they wanted. This worked well. Asking people to tweet photos from the exhibition worked well to promote the game, the Showground project and MHF more broadly” (Nichola Jacques, Social Media Coordinator, SOTW Digital game).

However, Twitter is not so widely used by the profile of visitors to the Histories Festival as other social media. The existing use of Facebook events and pages to support communities of interest in Belle Vue by both MHF and Gorton residents is more prolific, and increased during the festival period in terms of participation, ‘likes’ and content added. In hindsight, engaging through existing online communities and content – through the Facebook pages – would have perhaps a better route into engaging with existing communities of interest in Belle Vue.

If Twitter was not the primary source of buzz, data from Google Analytics show that the festival in general and the Belle Vue-related pages managed to engage a large number of people: in the weeks coming up to the festival and over its course the Manchester Histories website had a total of 187,960 page views and 22,266 individual users, with over 60% new visitors. The sections about Showground of the World, the Belle Vue exhibition and the Roadshow attracted over 14.000 views. In comparison the first edition of the festival, reached 27,502 visits in total, 17,660 of which were unique visitors. In the same period the festival’s Facebook page steadily gained momentum, reaching over 8.000 people on the first day of MHF.

As shown in the pictures above from Google Analytics, in the weeks coming up to the festival and over its course the Manchester Histories website had a total of 187,960 page views and 22,266 individual users, with over 60% new visitors. The sections about Showground of the World, the Belle Vue exhibition and the Roadshow attracted over 14.000 views. In the same period the festival Facebook page steadily gained momentum, reaching over 8.000 people on the first day of the festival.

B) HERITAGE WILL BE BETTER EXPLAINED AND INTERPRETED:

Showground of the World project aimed to ensure that the interpretation and presentation of Belle Vue histories was steered and stewarded by local community stakeholders, whilst undergoing a process of professionalisation and improvement.

The exhibition was warmly received – as revealed by visitors’ qualitative responses when asked about their highlight of the MHF:

The steering group members were similarly overwhelming positive about their experience, but also able to reflect on how they would improve on this if they were to undertake similar activities again. These learning points concerned protocols for donation and loan of objects, and also input into and management of the exhibition and curatorial process.

One issue was that of the exhibition being in the city centre, where more new audiences were able to be reached as part of the MHF, but which was physically remote from the Belle Vue roadshow and the original site. During the months developing the project and the HLF bid, the team researched potential sites for the exhibition in Gorton but could not find a suitable venue. Ultimately the exhibition venue in the proximity of the busy intersection between Dale and Newton Street in the Northern Quarter was a compromise but one which worked well to attract many first time heritage visitors and many passers-by that would not have had this opportunity had it been set in Gorton.

Steering group members also voiced their concerns over the final design and configuration of the exhibition. They felt that the curatorial team had a certain degree of resistance towards community curating and collection crowd-sourcing. Since the display was of popular entertainment, which had both mass appeal and had been experienced by many of the exhibition visitors, there were understandably tensions over whose expertise should be foregrounded. This has been especially true for SOTW with so many people still remembering fondly and accurately their time at Belle Vue. So there was some dissatisfaction with some of the curatorial choices: the exhibition, it was felt, was informative, but possibly too clinical. Personal stories and private memories had been excluded from it; they argued, and the ‘social’ factor, vital to Belle Vue, was largely missing: the showground was not only about speed racing and diving tigers, but also about courtship, family time, memories made invaluable because shared with loved ones.

However the survey responses show that the ‘gaps’ in the exhibition were filled by the visitors themselves, who in their feedback talked about the memories it invoked

26 and the excitement they felt that the Belle Vue they remembered was being recognized and made visible. Their nostalgia was also at times tinged with sadness:

“An excellent survey of one of the biggest Manchester mysteries - how could Belle Vue fade away like it did?!” “How sad to drive past where the entrance to belle Vue was on Hyde Road and remember and to be aware that Belle Vue no longer exists” “I am so pleased that Belle Vue has been featured as people loved the place so much & very little information has been available until now.” “A real blast from the past, wish I could remember visiting as a child” “I now feel old”

Visitors also provided critical comments and suggested areas for improvement:

As mentioned above, there were also a number of logistical and resource restraints that factored into the collecting of private memorabilia that would have benefited from the clear protocols at the beginning which encouraged trust and transparency over curatorial decisions and collections management.

Feedback on the layout of the exhibition included the suggestion that if all three floors of the Flat Iron Building had been used then more objects could have been included in the display. This was the result of a number of factors. As noted above, there had been reluctance to donate items before the display took shape, and the protocols for donation, establishing provenance and use were not always understood by potential donors. Also the project had constraints in terms of the budget for mounting the exhibition throughout the Flat Iron building, and could only stretch to resourcing the main exhibition space.

An interesting development which was observed by the steering group and echoed by survey respondents, was about the increased demand for Belle Vue memorabilia and also for 'new' souvenirs as an after effect of the exhibition. The event raised the profile of the histories and heritage of Belle Vue, people who knew about the showground and those that were made aware of it requested new merchandise as memento of both the exhibition itself and/or their time there: the creation and sale of products would articulate the Belle Vue story and brand, creating further opportunities for consumption and engagement with the experience. It was also reported that the exhibition booklets went on the sale on eBay, and others expressed an interest in having a copy of the video footage shown at the exhibition.

There is an opportunity for developing legacy through exploring these potential revenue lines, and considering the complex copyright and IP issues attached to the ‘Belle Vue brand’ and its memorabilia and merchandise. This would be difficult to

27 achieve on a voluntary basis, and was outside the remit of Manchester Histories. However it suggests that the interpretation of Belle Vue heritage is not just of social and cultural interest, but potentially a commercial one, which could potentially be exploited to support income generation for a social enterprise if managed appropriately.

C) MORE PEOPLE AND A WIDER RANGE OF PEOPLE WILL HAVE ENGAGED IN HERITAGE: INCREASING AUDIENCE AND AWARENESS

Although the original project did not include target figures, the evaluation survey response and visitor estimates clearly show that Showground of the World achieved its objectives in increasing the audiences for and awareness of Belle Vue heritage and legacy.

Audiences and their response in numbers: 2100 visitors during Showground of the World 645 visitors during Belle Vue Roadshow in Gorton 630 survey respondents 80 attendees of the walking tour 73 stories uploaded to the digital map 60 oral histories recorded 21 ‘Show and Tell’ players

Audience profile:  over half (53%) female, 47% male  94% self-identified as ‘white’, with just 3% self-identifying as Black, Asian, Chinese, mixed or other ethnicity  18% were staff and students at one of the three Universities in Manchester and Salford  Majority older audience – 54% over 55 years of age  Mainly local – 80% Greater Manchester postcodes (of those provided)

Belle Vue Roadshow participants at Gorton Monastery, Photo by Jack Hatton

Evaluation from previous MHFs has demonstrated the event’s ability as an entry point for audiences new to histories and heritage.

This was again true for the Belle Vue project  Almost half (49%) were first-time attenders of a history/heritage event.  84% were new audiences to the Manchester Histories Festival  97% were new visitors to the Flat Iron building, site of the exhibition.  75% of the Belle Vue Roadshow participants were new to MHF, 50% had never before attended a history/heritage event and over 60% were new to Gorton and Gorton Monastery.

Since the exhibition venue, the Flat Iron building, had been a closed space for many years and only recently used in 2013 for Manchester Library Theatre’s production of Manchester Sound the Massacre it is unsurprising that first time visits were so high. However the opportunity to visit the building was clearly an important element to people’s experience (although a few comments criticised the coldness or general appearance of the Flat Iron building). One of the MHF volunteers even produced hand-outs that provided information on the history of the building and its previous usage. Manchester Histories was also approached by a number of organisations for details of the owners for potential use in future events.

From responses to the question “What do you think we could do to improve the Manchester Histories Festival?”, what distinctively emerged is desire for more: more photographs, more videos, more personal memories and memorabilia. At the same time several people clearly expressed their desire to have an annual festival, over a longer period of time. Most people felt that for various reasons they didn’t have enough time to attend all the events they planned to: a longer festival each year was presented as the solution to this.

As discussed above, there is a latent demand for Belle Vue-branded memorabilia, and during the exhibition several people wanted to purchase the short film montage that was being screened, or reproductions of the posters and banners on display. Donations for the specifically designed exhibition booklet resulted in £1200, confirming both the demand for mementoes of the experience and the public support for the festival.

Other critical comments on visiting experience both for the exhibition and other project elements concerned frustrations about marketing, signage and parking/travel information. This is however the most common complaint made against these types of events, and it reflects a generalised desire for increasingly personalised marketing.

Survey respondents were asked if they learnt something new and if so what. Most commented enthusiastically on learning about the history of Belle Vue, others were fascinated by the details:

“There were actually fleas in the flea circus, not mechanical!” “The tiger was pushed.” “Old zoos cost 5 pence to get in” “The Tattoo Man had 1 million pin pricks”

Other responses related their impressions more reflexively concerning heritage learning and Manchester:

“The size of enterprise in Belle Vue” “The significance of Belle Vue to Manchester” “The younger generation was just as interested as we are.”

This intergenerational impact was also suggested by observations of the visitors, as well as the age profile of the visitors.

One of the first set of visitors through the door were a family from Gorton and the grandmother had worked at Belle Vue so was taking her daughter with her and her daughter’s son – three generations who were all able to enjoy and re-live the history of Belle Vue in their own way (Ella Byford, SOTW project manager).

Young visitors to Gorton Monastery for the Roadshow & Walking Tour, Photo by Jack Hatton 30

DEMOGRAPHICS

A reasonable indication of the demographic profile of visitors to the Showground of the World project can be gained from analysis of the survey respondents. A total of 630 questionnaires were received from a total of 2825 attendances, suggested a response rate of around 22% (although this doesn’t take into account repeat visits and attendance by staff and volunteers).

To identify visitor origins, we asked for postcodes in the questionnaire survey.

245 individual postcodes were collected from survey respondents (9% of total number of visits)

The majority of these - 196 or 80% - are Greater Manchester postcodes, with the remainder being from around the North West, notably Cheshire and Merseyside. There were also visitors from Newcastle, Swansea and Milton Keynes, and even further afield from Hong Kong, China and from Nashville, Tennessee.

12% who gave postcodes were from Gorton and adjacent neighbourhoods – i.e. in the areas surrounding the former Belle Vue site.

Visitor origins from survey respondents

The age profile of the audience according to our survey response is shown in the chart below. This was an older audience, with over half (54%) over 55 and 30% over 65 years of age.

Age of survey respondents (base = 570)

The chart below show that attendees of SOTW were predominantly white (95%) with less than 3% self-identifying with other ethnic groups).

Ethnicity of survey respondents (base = 540)

MEDIA PROFILE AND COVERAGE The Showground to the World project benefited from the enhanced marketing and public relations power of the Manchester Histories Festival, and also reciprocated by providing a focal point for the Festival coverage with strong local character and interest. A breakdown of media channels featuring SOTW related stories is below:

Television Lancashire Magazine Quays TV Backtrack Magazine BBC North West Tonight Speedway Star Guardian Guide Radio City Life Extra BBC Radio Manchester All.FM Online NorthManchester.FM Belle Vue Aces Website BBC Radio Lancashire & BBC Radio Manchester Evening News Manchester About Manchester Manchester Wire Print Mancunian Matters Manchester Evening News Institute for Cultural Practices Discover Your History Magazine St Philip’s RC Primary School Blog

In the months preceding the festival and ahead of the launch of the exhibition Director Claire Turner and freelance PR Consultant Jennifer Dean secured good media coverage for the project across a range of local, regional and national media. The exhibition and related events in particular were featured in print and online publications.

A number of the media opportunities, whilst raising the profile of SOTW, also provided opportunities for people to share their memories of Belle Vue. For example the call in radio show on BBC Lancashire was repeated after the festival due to the demand from people wanting to call in and tell their stories. Additionally the festival staff attended local community meetings in the run up to the festival e.g. Gorton All Together and Gorton Events meetings to ensure that the community was kept informed of what was happening and the information could be spread by word of mouth as much as possible through the community networks. East Manchester Regeneration Team supported through the promotion too through their community publications across the Gorton ward.

The buzz stemmed both from media coverage and the previous months of community liaising which warranted an increase in visibility for Belle Vue. Reverend David Gray, steering group member and administrator of the Facebook Group “Bring Back Belle Vue” reported that almost 3,000 people joined in the run up to and during the March events and with an additional 80 - 100 members a week since.

D) PEOPLE WILL HAVE HAD AN ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE: INTERACTION WITH ARTS AND CULTURAL ELEMENT OF THE PROJECT

WORKSHOPS, TALKS AND PERFORMANCES

Showground of the World provided opportunities not just to be spectators of talks, performances and exhibitions but also to be participants in arts and cultural activities.

The programme included other activities over the festival period that provided both participants and audiences the opportunity to either demonstrate skills or to learn about and experience Belle Vue in different ways. The range of activities included:

 a series of public talks on Belle Vue histories by local historians, experts and people who had worked at the attraction. The subjects included Belle Vue’s relationship with the Hallé orchestra and Chetham’s Library, the Belle Vue Aces speedway, Pat Pearson who had previously been a highwire performer and lived on the site and the experience of private collectors, Brian Selby and Frank Rhodes;  a dramatic interpretation performed by the children from St. Richard's RC Primary School who had researched the zoological gardens as part of their involvement with English Heritage’s Heritage Schools project;  visual arts workshops were delivered by artist Ian McKay from Gorton Visual Arts at the exhibition site and also during the Roadshow at Gorton Monastery. They were targeted at families to encourage the sharing of histories between generations and the introduction of young people to Belle Vue memories;  “Monkey Business”, a new interactive game-based drama about Belle Vue was performed during the MHF Celebration Day in Manchester Town Hall and at the Belle Vue Roadshow in Gorton. This was funded by Arts Council England through leverage with the Heritage Lottery Fund support and produced by The Larks theatre company. This was targeted at families and young people;  Illusionist Michael Diamond and collector of Strombolli ephemora recreated Stromboli’s famous Electric Chair show performance at weekends during the Belle Vue exhibition. Stromboli was a local magician and sideshow performer who appeared at Belle Vue for many years and the original electric chair is in the Museum of Science & Industry. He attended the launch evening of SOTW.

This combination of talks, performances and workshops worked well as creative engagement processes to bring cross- and inter-generational audiences together to hear about the intangible heritage of Belle Vue, and to connect with its significance. Particularly, the performance engaged with younger audiences and helped to introduce the histories to a new audience.

“It was great to see so many young people engaging with the [Monkey Business] game, running around the monastery searching for the next clue and listening intently to the actors describing their characters’ lives at Belle Vue – from the zoo keeper to the circus ringmaster” (Ella Byford, Project Manager, SOTW).

The interactive aspects worked well to encourage people to engage and ask questions. This was particularly the case through the walking tour, the digital game and also the interactive immersive game put on by the Larks (at the Belle Vue Roadshow and the celebration weekend of the MHF). Also at the Roadshow there were opportunities to dance and to take part in arts and crafts, through the tea dance and visual arts workshop.

The Larks observed how their Monkey Business game participants connected with the actors over stories and memories by taking part. They report in a separate evaluation:

“Lots of people told their own stories in response to the stories they heard as part of the experience, either at the start point or talking to characters. There was a slower, steadier pace to the day than in the Town Hall, and the audiences were very local to Gorton and so many had a family connection to Belle Vue.”

 One man attended with his mother, started a conversation with one of our characters and showed a picture of his mother from the 1950s in Belle Vue, wearing a very similar dress. She then talked about her visits and evenings out.  Tommy Kelly, the man whose story was directly portrayed in the experience, visited with his family. His children recognised their family story and he thanked the actors for portraying it.  The author of the book “The Elephant who walked to Manchester”, David Barnaby, talked to the character portraying part of this story, discussing his alleged adventures and his costume

Monkey Business had the following numbers of participants at Gorton:

 75 first-hand participants (recorded)  25 fleeting participants (estimated)  40 incidental audience (estimated)

And at the MHF Celebration Day, Manchester Town Hall:

 76 first-hand participants (recorded)  20 fleeting participants (estimated)  40 incidental audience  (all quotes and figures from the Larks Monkey Business evaluation report).

The interactive activities not only helped to recall memories Belle Vue but also make new ones:

“One of the highlights of the fantastic Manchester Histories Festival 2014 was the Show and Tell interactive game. It was great fun to play through Twitter and really engaging. While I am on maternity leave I had been looking for things I could do with my twins and this was perfect. I especially liked the trip to Gorton Monastery, the Manchester

Museum and the Exhibition. I've done great photos for the twins album about their Show and Tell Belle Vue adventures.” (Lisa Murphy, SOTW Digital Game participant)

The survey respondents were also enthusiastic about the performance elements of the exhibition – in particular the electric chair show, which was selected by 20 respondents as the highlight of their Manchester Histories Festival experience.

The Electric Chair, Belle Vue Exhibition, Photo by Sorrell Williams

E) PEOPLE WILL HAVE LEARNT ABOUT HERITAGE: ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE AND INCREASING VISIBILITY The educational aspect of the project was directed toward the engagement of local schools and increasing the awareness of the existence and significance of the Showground among younger generations and Manchester wider population.

Pupils from Aspinal Primary School, St Francis Primary School, Old Hall Drive Primary School, Chapel Street Primary School and St Richard's R.C. Primary School, 180 in total visited the exhibition. St Richard’s Primary School was also engaged as part of English Heritage’s Heritage School programme. They selected Belle Vue as their school’s chosen subject and linked in with the festival and the SOTW project. The festival built on their planned activity and they produced and performed a performance by the pupils at the SOTW exhibition about what they had learnt about Belle Vue. One of the oral histories recording kits has also been donated to St Richards to enable the school children to record family members and members of the community as part of their annual Belle Vue project.

Additionally buses were made available for schools on the final Friday of the exhibition to enable local Gorton schools to visit the venue. The steering group expressed the desire of a deeper involvement of local schools whilst recognising that the main factor that prevented this to happen was the festival’s time-limited nature. Additionally, the funding to enable the provision of the bus service was only secured the week before the festival through additional support from Manchester City Council’s East Manchester Regeneration Team. However the visibility afforded by the festival could be used to build strong relationships between schools, families and key stakeholders, as it will be discussed in the conclusion. Since the festival, MH is in contact with All Saints Primary School on Belle Vue Street who have an ambition to adapt their curriculum to include a local history project about Belle Vue. MH is currently exploring how the SOTW project can support their aims.

Furthermore, SOTW audiences were inspired and enthused by their experience and wanted to learn more. Of the survey respondents who visited the exhibition, 45% wanted to research the topic further and 67% to share their experience with others.

F) PEOPLE WILL HAVE VOLUNTEERED TIME: VOLUNTEERS EXPERIENCE

Key MHF volunteer figures:

 44 MHF volunteers  93% would volunteer again for the festival  890 hours spent volunteering (approximately, including prep time at home, extra shifts, travel)

The range of Belle Vue related events offered many volunteering opportunities to a diverse group of people: from the steering group, to local historians, to Gorton residents to University students. The different opportunities for volunteering as part of the SOTW project included:

 steering group members Frank Rhodes and Brian Selby, other local historians and previous Belle Vue employees supported the exhibition through the use of their private collections and donated time and knowledge during meetings and afterwards by talks at the exhibition and roadshow;  Gorton residents participated as actors during the walking tour, one of the most successful and enjoyable events of this year's event in terms of audience engagement;  students from the University of Salford took photos of several events; volunteers from Gorton Monastery gave talks and the Gorton Philharmonic Orchestra performed during the Belle Vue Roadshow;  students from MMU and members of Gorton Local History society volunteered as oral historians  MHF volunteers were invigilators and oral historians at the exhibition.

They reported a rich and rewarding experience:

What was the highlight of your experience volunteering? “Listening to three sisters remembering the highlights of their time working at Belle Vue” “The opening night at the Exhibition/Flat Iron building was a great night full of excitement” “Meeting other volunteers from various backgrounds and sharing their interests and knowledge” “Seeing all the hard work come together and pay off, creating an incredible experience for all” “Being able to conduct the oral history interviews”.

The comments exemplify the many reasons why volunteering for the Belle Vue project has been an extremely varied and enjoyable experience. In particular, a volunteer that returned to work for the festival expressed satisfaction particularly with the social dimension of SOTW:

“I always enjoy volunteering at this event as it enables me to meet a lot of interesting people. This was especially so at the event I was allocated to

(Belle Vue Exhibition). Most visitors I spoke to had an interesting story to relate and were very enthusiastic about re-living Belle Vue, as I was.”

There were some suggestions for improvement particularly around organisation of volunteering. Many felt in the future volunteers should be involved and trained earlier; some of them suggested either to cover travel expenses or arrange free parking pass.

There was also the desire to widen the profile of volunteers and get more ‘longer term’ Manchester residents involved.

Most stated that due to the concentration of events in a short period of time and so many working shifts made it difficult to attend as many events as they had hoped to. Echoing the suggestions of most visitors, volunteers also made the case for more publicity, a better signage for the entrance of the exhibition, and for a longer festival, in order to spread out events over the course to several weeks or a month.

Stromboli magician (left), Opening Night of the Exhibition, Photo by Sorrell Williams

G) PEOPLE WILL HAVE DEVELOPED SKILLS: VOLUNTEERS AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES

Throughout the festival people had the chance to demonstrate existing skills and/or to learn new ones. The National Fairground Archive (NFA) curatorial team provided training for the volunteers assigned to the exhibitions as senior invigilators. They were chosen for this task because they manifested an interest either in Belle Vue or in entering the museum/cultural sector; and were trained in fire marshalling, invigilating, health and safety regulations, customer relations, and on how to present and discuss local histories.

The NFA also provided advice for private collectors on how to care for collections and knowledge on access requirements for individuals to undertake further research, and put on further exhibitions on various areas of Belle Vue. One of the volunteers commented enthusiastically about the experience: “being able to assist The Fairground Archive with the creation and production of the Belle Vue Exhibition. Learning from experts about how to put together an exhibition space was fantastic.” This volunteer is now continuing to work with Manchester Histories and is involved in developing the digital map further.

As previously mentioned, 21 individuals were trained by MMU’s Fiona Cosson to conduct oral histories interviews. A number of individuals are continuing using these skills to record oral histories and also became involved in a further MHF project on Stockport’s Strawberry Studios helping to collect interviews with the local community for a new project with Stockport Council. MH is also promoting any new oral histories opportunities to these individuals as they arise and for further MH’s projects. For example, volunteers will be required to support young people conducting oral histories in a project working with young working class men in partnership with MMU, and the previously trained volunteers will be approached to see if they are interested in participating.

The individuals trained as part of the walking tour are also continuing together as a new drama group in Gorton supported by East Manchester Regeneration Team and MH. They are also still in contact with LipService Theatre Company and Emma Fox from Manchester Guided Tours.

The project helped identify and strengthen core skills already present within the local communities. For instance, thanks to the interest demonstrated by people during the events they held throughout the festival, collectors Frank Rhodes and Brian Selby are now motivated to keep delivering together talks and presentations about Belle Vue. Most importantly, during the focus group, it appeared that the constitution of the steering group has been particularly significant in facilitating ideas exchange among members towards the development of future projects. In our findings we will discuss whether and how the group could evolve into a social enterprise, along with which long-term outputs have been produced by the festival and how will they be used to the benefit of the local community.

5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This final section of the report will summarise the successes and the learning points drawn from the evaluation process and as articulated by follow-up interviews about the organisers’ experience of SOTW, focus group with steering group members and feedback forms from visitors and volunteers. It will also discuss how the project legacy will be utilised by the local community. Finally it will be examined whether the newly acquired skills, knowledge and set of relationship have benefited the community and whether or not shows potential for a social enterprise.

Showground of the World was highly successful project which met, and exceeded, its aims and objectives. The enthusiasm, nostalgia and wonder it inspired is clear in the words of the evaluation survey respondents, which virtually ‘sing off’ the questionnaire survey forms. This was in part because of the raw materials which the histories of Belle Vue provide – spanning a century of popular entertainment, celebrity, excitement and romance and supporting family days out, childhood memory making, social networks and local economies. It was also because of the careful planning and consultation which went into the project to ensure that there was a programme of activities which would attract audiences and provide chances to contribute and volunteer in different ways.

Its successes can be summarised:

SUCCESSES

 The activities were responsible for new collections and objects related to Belle Vue being identified and recorded, and encouraged discussion of their value to communities and individuals  The exhibition, talks, performances and roadshow events provided good platforms in the city centre and in Gorton for heritage interpretation and explanation  The events attracted new audiences for heritage events and venues. A large proportion of the visitors were new audiences for heritage events and to the spaces and venues;  Showground of the World events were stimulating, enjoyable and inspiring; they were very well received and gained warm and enthusiastic responses. They also encourage further action, such as sharing with others and researching related topics.  Audiences learned from attending – 80% said they learned something new from the exhibition.  The opportunities for volunteering and the training given provided new skills and laid the basis and momentum for further activity to promote the histories and legacy of Belle Vue, in the local area, in schools and education and through wider promotion of videos, books and other cultural artefacts.

LEARNING POINTS

The project produced useful learning points, which can be summarised as below. (Note: these remarks are primarily targeted at those who wish to continue legacy activities, not necessarily to be taken up by Manchester Histories).

• More marketing/better signage: several comments from visitors to the exhibition and other events indicated the need for more notice and more marketing before the festival week to better plan their attendance. In particular, many commented on the difficulty of finding the Flat Iron Building due to poor signage/directions (it was mentioned that the entrance to the exhibition was in fact on Newton Street and not on Dale Street as stated on the programme and the website). • Drafting a protocol for donations/loans of objects: ownership of objects, memorabilia and the Belle Vue ‘brand’ needs to carefully explored and negotiated within local communities in Gorton. The steering group suggested more focussed work with experts to provide the protocols for use, display and reproduction to clarify issues of intellectual property and ownership, particularly for new products using old footage and photographs. • More items on display: the concern of the steering group with the single source curatorial approach was echoed by several comments that wished the exhibition would have been fuller and more focussed on personal stories. However, these comments should be understood in the context of the complexities of community curating, and also recognition of an increased knowledge and understanding of curatorial practice, which bodes well for future projects managed by the community. • Make available Belle Vue video, posters and merchandise for purchase: the demand for new material was expressed by both visitors during the exhibition and by the group. They emphasised the fact that controlling the production and sale of such items could present the community with opportunities for income generation to be reinvested in social enterprise initiatives as an outcome from the project • More involvement with schools, starting earlier: the group also made the case for involving more schools and from the beginning. They are aware that this has not been possible the due to the festival’s time constraints and limited resources, therefore they are looking into alternative ways to coordinate future work about Belle Vue in local schools. • Earlier training for volunteers: feedback from volunteers signalled some issues with communication between them and hosting organisations that could have perhaps been avoided by involving and training the volunteers at an earlier date. Some also recommended covering travelling expenses in the future. The steering group also suggested establishing a volunteers bank, facilitating its use by smaller organisations and other partners, which could continue outside of the Manchester Histories Festival. • Better communication around digital projects: the pilot digital map and Show and Tell game revealed some difficulties experienced both by users and volunteers in understanding how to participate. Better use of existing social media content and communities, such as Facebook, could be used in future projects.

LEGACY

• Raised profile of Belle Vue and its histories: a basis for further activities, for example, future collaboration between private and official collections to improve the public’s accessibility to the histories surrounding Belle Vue. • Desire for permanent display and/or marker of Belle Vue within Gorton: accordingly both the group and several visitors expressed their desire to preserve the history of Belle Vue in a permanent exhibition. The success of the SOTW takes this closer to becoming a reality, for example, Elaine Griffiths, Chief Executive of the Gorton Monastery suggested the use of its new front wing when completed as a space for permanent display. • Oral histories training: recording kits were donate to St Richards Primary School and Gorton Local History Society. Since their involvement with Showground of the World, a number of the volunteers have worked on another project as part of Manchester Histories Festival which looks at the histories of Strawberry Studios in Stockport. Volunteers have conducted oral histories interviews with a number of participants and will continue to work on the project. • Drama group: the Emma Fox/LipService production was so well received that the Manchester City Council Regeneration Team in East Manchester has agreed to continue funding the drama group formed for the walking tour. • The exhibition materials will be used during the Gorton Carnival in September 2014 and for activities at Gorton Monastery. • A nascent mechanism and structure for taking Belle Vue legacies forward – Since the Festival, Manchester City Council’s East Manchester Regeneration Team has offered assisting the steering group’s development and some administrative support for applying for further funding. This is an extremely positive development and an opportunity for the Belle Vue group to take forward legacy in an autonomous fashion, built on the foundations provided by the Manchester Histories project.

Speedway costume and bike, Belle Vue Exhibition, Photo Sorrel Williams

APPENDIX I Steering group members

John Boydell Secretary - Gorton Philharmonic Orchestra Ella Byford Project Manager - Showground of the World Steve Casey Presentation Manager - Belle Vue Aces Heath Cole Regeneration Ward Officer - Manchester City Council (East Manchester Neighbourhood Regeneration Team) Jane Donaldson Curator/Researcher – The University Of Sheffield, National Fairground Archive Stephen Downey East Neighbourhood Manager - Gorton North and South Reverend David Gray, Community Activist & former Belle Vue Ape Keeper Elaine Griffiths Chief Executive - The Monastery Andrew Moore Exhibitions Curator – The University Of Sheffield Michael Powell Librarian - Chetham’s Library Eleanor Roberts – Individual Giving and Legacy Manager, Hallé Frank Rhodes Belle Vue Collector/Gorton Local History Society Brian Selby Belle Vue Collector Mike Swift Teacher – Oasis Academy Aspinal Professor Vanessa Toulmin Curator – The University Of Sheffield, National Fairground Archive Claire Turner Director - Manchester Histories Janet Wallwork Archives and Records Centre - The University of Manchester Library John Williams Board Member - Manchester Histories Zoe Willock Volunteer Festival Co-ordinator – Manchester Histories Terry Wyke - Senior Lecturer in History, Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU)

APPENDIX II

Sample of the interactions with Belle Vue Show and Tell’s Twitter

APPENDIX III

Belle Vue Walking Tour

Total number of performers: 8 Male x 3 Female x 5 Age: 19, 21, 38, 42, 53, 58, 75, 83

Experience:

Kyle Rowe, Levenshulme: Currently studying acting at College, hoping to go to university/drama school to continue his studies. His parents went to Belle Vue and often recall their memories to him which is why he was interested in being part of the project

Althea Burney, Gorton: Graduated with a degree in musical theatre, moving to London to study drama full time. Her parents met at Belle Vue so often talk about their memories, she also knows about Belle Vue and its history from her time growing up in Gorton and learning about it at school

Amanda Crompton, Levenshulme: Studied drama as a youngster and looking to get back in to it, also has fond memories of Belle Vue as a child and was interested in the project for this reason

Gary Mullins, Salford: He was accepted in to drama school as youngster but was encouraged to join the navy and never achieved his ambition to be an actor. The tour was a way of him finding his confidence again and he is also a keen historian interested in the histories of Belle Vue

Brian Selby, Levenshulme: Member of the steering group who was interested in taking part and trying something new

Pat Pearson, Wythenshawe: Used to work at Belle Vue and performed as an acrobat in the ‘Globe of Death’ shows as well as at the circus. She wanted to take part and tell her story through acting in the tour

Joyce Hopkins, Gorton: Loved Belle Vue and has many memories and stories of her visits. She wanted to be involved in the project in any way she could and was interested in the walking tour as it was a way for her to share her memories, meet new people and try out new things