Follow the brown signs

The Brown Sign Torch Relay Day 38: The answer always lies in education and engagement. Always.

Day 38 sees the Olympic torch heading across from Leeds to Sheffield and I’ve chosen a rather hidden and more unusual type of brown signed destination today (but no less important, far from it I’d say). Featherstone is a town just off down the road from Pontefract in Wakefield and has been around since the Doomsday Day Book days (1085). The town had a strong mining history and grew up around the mines that were opened here during the 17 and 1800s. More recently through the town has seen a strong decline in living standards which has been put down to the decline of the mining industry from the 1980s onwards and poor education and housing provision.

The 2000s saw a regeneration programme put in place for the town and big plans to increase the living standards in the area and Featherstone has seen some significant changes. One of those changes is indicated by a brown tourist sign and it points the way to The Chesney Centre. This is a new £2.5m building which houses a host of adult education classes, apprenticeships schemes and craft afternoons. The push for getting people into education and engaging people together in the community is something I absolutely love, it’s the only way to get people in urban areas to like each other and nip anti-social behaviour and social problems in the bud I think. So hip hip hooray for The Chesney Centre and all who work and learn in her 🙂