You may have noticed that the disused BT telephone box near Tattingstone White Horse has had a makeover in the last few weeks with a new coat of bright red paint and newly re-glazed glass panels. This is the first stage of its transformation into a unique heritage centre to showcase the hidden history of Alton Water both visually and orally.
Over the coming weeks (and probably months!), work will continue to kit it out with a telephone for visitors to dial up a story or memory about Alton Water before and during the creation of the reservoir. Recordings have already been made of local people talking about the effect the coming of the reservoir had on their lives and homes and most famously includes one by Griff Rhys Jones narrating an article from the 1894 edition of the East Anglian Daily Times.
This is the lasting legacy of the Land and Shore heritage and creative arts project to rediscover lost communities that is being run by Suffolk Archives under the banner of Sharing Suffolk Stories. Over the last 18 months local volunteers working with professionals have meticulously researched archive records like maps, diaries, photographs and even songs. So together with the interviews, a picture of life in the Alton valley before it was flooded has been pieced together. Funding is from Suffolk County Council, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and our County Councillor’s locality fund - not to mention Tattingstone Parish Council’s loan of their telephone kiosk.