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Open days weekend success

Posted onPosted on 5th Oct

The Old Meeting House Unitarian Chapel and the Rev Maria Pap, a newly-appointed minister, welcomed many visitors during three action-packed days as part of the National Open Days Heritage Weekend.

Opened by Kate Allsop, the first female mayor of Mansfield who gave an insight into her role, the theme of Women Firsts proved to be an interesting topic to commemorate the centenary of women gaining the right to vote.

The Rev Derek Smith gave a series of short talks about six important female firsts, including local education pioneer, Ethel Wainwright.

She was the first female to gain a Freedom of the Borough award nationally. A silver casket containing her citation, loaned by Mansfield Museum, was alongside displays, including one that also gave an insight into the local suffragette/suffragist movements.

Neil Fisher explained the story of the 300-year-old Grade II listed building.

Age Concern, which uses the separate schoolrooms each week, welcomed Ben Bradley, Mansfield MP, to its coffee morning and chapel members showed him around the exhibitions.

They included photographs for Within A Mile Of Mansfield OMH, which had many visitors puzzling over the location of some of the places around town, and a wide range of paintings and artwork showing a variety of local talent.

The free Sunday concert, given by The Singers (above), directed by Meryl Chambers, attracted a capacity audience to the chapel.