Margaret Hubbard - published author
Innellan Public Hall was opened in 1903, and has been central to the village community ever since. To mark its hundredth birthday, I was asked to put together an archive of the building. It began with the year 1898 when the initial plans for the hall began to take shape, and ended in 1921, when the War Memorial was unveiled. A number of the names on the memorial are of men, who had been the village children watching the hall being built.
Innellan Public Hall exhibition
At the end of the exhibition, in response to demand, the Trustees decided that the material should be turned into book form, rather than consigned to a box. The result was ‘From Scenes Like These, Innellan 1898-1921’, which was published in November 2010.
In the course of preparing the first exhibition, and its accompanying book, the amount of enthusiasm in the community for the project took those involved in it by surprise. Many, many people offered pictures and stories of their own. It was clear that the story of Innellan was of great interest, not only to those who live here, but to people scattered all over the globe, who have a strong connection with our village.
The Innellan Archive Project
Thus the Innellan Archive Project, as it has come to be called, continued. In 2011 the exhibition and book of the period 1921- 1960 were launched, and in 2012 the publication brought the story of the village up to 1992. 2013 was a semi- rest year as it could be spent in more leisurely research. The exhibition and book for 2014 is a ‘prequel’ and ends where the first volume began with the year 1898.
I launched the exhibitions and wrote the books as a labour of love; all the proceeds from this book go to hall funds.
When I was asked to put together the first exhibition I had no idea I was starting what became a five year project. It was a wonderful experience, worth every minute of the hours of hard work. People have told me stories, dug pictures out of attics and produced all sorts of treasures from their homes.
Every village has stories like these
It was an honour to work on this project, and to commit the stories to written history. It’s fascinating to think that every village has at least one book in it.
If you’re interested in getting to know the history of your own village - perhaps for a centenary or another community project, get in touch with me and I’ll work with you to reveal the hidden history of your own village or town.