National Civic Day

What do we really know about Rotherham?

Many people who have lived in their home town all their life or recently moved to the area may not realise or be aware of the town’s history regarding its people, places or events that have shaped it over the years. Perhaps we have become too busy to notice the beauty that surrounds us, or stop to ponder how streets and places were named? Or if Rotherham has been a significant contributor to National and World events?

"I must admit to having not stopped to consider such questions in the past," stated David Wadkin, the Rotherham District Civic Society Events Organiser to the very first celebration of “Discovering World Class Rotherham”. This National event will be celebrated at Clifton Park Museum on Saturday 15th June 2024 (10.00am-4.00pm) with a day of activities supported with a free entry to the exhibition.

We have a lot to be proud of and our very own Yorkshire poet, Ian McMillan was delighted to dedicate a specially written Civic Poem for our event. Ian was given access to the wealth of materials used to create the exhibition. The poem, “Rotherham Flowing” will be launched at the exhibition.

Since 2011, events have been held all over the country enabling communities and individuals to collaborate and interact with the place they live in. Rotherham District Civic Society decided it was time that they hosted a day of celebration to enable everyone to say, “I am proud of where I live”.

Free guided Town walking tours will run throughout the day. Our first group of volunteer walking guides have been out to finalise a dedicated 1.5 mile route to “Discover” Rotherham Town Centre.

The Society has unveiled over 30 Blue Plaques since 2012 dedicated to the people, places and events of Rotherham around the wider borough (all visitors will receive a complimentary copy). There are also 16 Grade I Listed sites to explore. Our dedicated “Discovering Rotherham” map identifies these places supported with an audio and visual guide. The route map will enable people to “Discover and Explore”, virtually using their smart phone, by foot, bike or car. We want to reach as many people as possible in order to make this experience fully inclusive.

To compliment the work of the Council’s new Cycle ways we thought it would be a great idea to invite one of Yorkshires oldest cycling clubs (that just happens to be located in the heart of Rotherham) to create a Civic Cycling Trail to visit as many of the listed building and Blue Plaques around the wider Borough as possible.

They were delighted to be asked and as a result, have created a 54 mile route they will launch on the day. We hope people will watch out for them and give them a cheer as they pass by. This could even be the start of a “Tour de Rotherham” trend with the subtle difference that it is not a race!

We will also have on site a vintage “red bus” that will be taking short rides with one of our dedicated Rotherham story tellers.

As a family event we have a dedicated artist running children’s art workshops through the day exploring the theme of “I am proud of where I live”. There will be competitions for all age groups to write a story or a poem with the winning entries receiving a cash prize and having their work published. Ian McMillan will be one of the judges who will provide feedback on the top entries.

We will have our resident expert on the Rotherham “Walker” family who will be on hand to talk through the latest research and findings and will be revealing if there are bodies still in the Walker Mausoleum!

There will be a lot to see, do and experience through the day. We hope to get feedback from visitors. We want to encourage people to come and visit Rotherham and to promote tourism and travel. We have a lot to offer!

David concluded by stating, “If the first celebration of “Civic Day” is a success then we will look at developing the theme in forthcoming years”. We are aware that there are organisations wanting to work collaboratively with us.

Rotherham has certainly a lot of opportunities and good news stories to be told!