This summer the Porch Museum is brimming with new films, display boards and projects, all gathered together for the people of Godmanchester to enjoy and of course anybody else who visits this lovely town.

There is an exciting new project which we hope will  involve many people in our local community. We have been extremely lucky to receive a wonderful set of rare photographs from old St. Ann’s School in St Ann’s Lane.  brought to us by a well wisher who put them in the charge of Mrs. Shirley Brown at Godmanchester’s Community School, these charming photographs show children at the old school during the 1920s, 30s and through to the 1960s when the old school finally closed.

They are not just class pictures, but also some lovely informal snaps of the children in the playground, in class and celebrating Christmases long past.  Teachers are there as well.  The children are dressed for their time, all with beautiful faces and happy smiles. 

These are invaluable photographs from our immediate past history and we are hoping that Godmanchester people will come in to the Porch Museum and try to help us identify their playmates, family members and the children and teachers they met with each day.  Already we have identified members of the George, Lewcock, Thompson and the Clark families as well as the headmistress Mrs Thackray.

So this will be fun and a trip down memory lane.  We very much need as many local people to come in and help us at the museum to pull together this wonderful piece of Godmanchester’s social and family history, for all future generations to enjoy.

We also have a splendid new set of display boards all about Roman Godmanchester and for the first time, a fascinating map which shows the buildings in the Roman town carefully positioned on today’s contemporary map. This has been produced by Tiffany Kirby, museum committee member and David Stokes Chairman of the Friends of Queen Elizabeth School which is responsible for the Porch Museum. Now you can walk up Pinfold Lane and see approximately where the Roman mansio and bathhouse lay, and how the Roman road, Ermine Street crossed the Roman town on its way north.

You can imagine Roman soldiers buying their loaves of bread in the bakery, near St Ann’s School, and Roman wives of important officials staying at the mansio, out shopping in the market not far from the mansio. Two new films have been added to our film programme which includes the successful Godmanchester Remembered with Neville Markham, and Godmanchester Children which includes a Pathe Pictorial film shot in the town in 1934. We have a stunning film about the making of the Chinese Bridge and a beautiful Memories of Godmanchester film containing marvellous old Godmanchester pictures.