To commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Newton Aycliffe evolving from little more than a building site to the mature town of today, the exhibition of displays featuring personal memories and photographs of these 75 years launched in Aycliffe Town Centre last Saturday.
The ‘Life in a New Town’ exhibition was officially opened by the Mayor of Great Aycliffe, Councillor John Clark, on Beveridge Way and was organised by Great Aycliffe Town Council.
The event was supported by street entertainers Bell & Bullock’s Time Machine and The Bubble Whisperer plus performances on stage from the Shine Choir, The Lake Poets with Jamagotchi, The Sleeze Sisters Glam Rock Tribute band and the Revolutionaires. A display of classic cars plus a vintage double decker and single decker buses provided great interest amongst the many visitors on the day.
A commemorative 64 page book, ‘Newton Aycliffe: Life and Times of a New Town’, was also available to the visitors to the town centre free of charge and evoked many memories from recipients. The book, printed by Newton Press, celebrates the 75 years since the new town of Newton Aycliffe began. Great Aycliffe Town Council, funded by Durham County Council, has traced the growth of the town and looked back on events and memories through the stories and photographs of residents who witnessed the New Town develop throughout the decades, since the first spadeful of earth was dug in 1948.
The exhibition of stories and photographs is on display in Beveridge Way, Aycliffe Town Centre, until January and is a compilation of the town’s heritage not to be missed.
Photo: The book, Newton Aycliffe: Life and Times of a New Town and Vintage buses, on display on Beveridge Way.
