Changing Sudbury is a heritage community project developed and led by Sudbury Neighbourhood Centre exploring the rich social and cultural history of Sudbury, Wembley, from the 1950s onwards through the memories of first generation arrivals and existing residents who saw, lived through, and contributed to its changes, shaping the diverse and multifaceted Sudbury we know today.
The project came into existence because Sudbury Neighbourhood Centre felt the need to capture the memories of its clients, who are growing elderly and increasingly frail, and the memories of the wider local community. A gap was identified in Brent Museum and Archives’ collections for the area of Sudbury and so, thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, who generously funded the project, Changing Sudbury came to life.
How has life in Sudbury and the surrounding area changed from the 1950s? What stories can individuals’ lives tell us about the wider changes in the fabric of a place and its community? More than 30 local residents have been interviewed and their memories recorded over the course of the project, which run from March 2019 to March 2020. Two exhibitions, a booklet, a website, a film, educational resources and guided walks were produced in order to share and enjoy these invaluable, and otherwise untold, stories.
These resources describe how Sudbury and nearby areas have changed through the time, looking at five themes: ‘Business and Shopping’, ‘Community and leisure time’, ‘Faiths, Beliefs’, ‘Behind doors: domestic life’, and ‘Getting around: transport links’. The main focus are the changes that followed immigration but this website offers an opportunities to read and hear a more extensive and miscellaneous collection of stories.
We hope you enjoy these memories as much as we did.
Sudbury Neighbourhood Centre
Sudbury Neighbourhood Centre is a friendly community-based charity running an adult day centre for older residents living in the Brent, Ealing and Harrow areas. Our main area of work is day-care, which we have been providing since we were established in 1979, and this is the main focus of what we do at the Centre. As part of this work, we also offer a wide range of activities and events suited to our day care users, and the general public, for older adults.
We’d like to thank…
We are incredibly grateful to all the people who, in various ways, have supported and engaged with the project, which would not have been possible without:
Interviewees, who have been incredibly generous with their time, memories and personal archives.
Volunteers, who gave their time and passion to interview local residents, thereby bringing their memories to the foreground, and engaging in many other forms, from researching archive material to taking photographs of the area and its changes, from editing audio-clips to supporting the filmmaking and much, much more.
Our partners, whose support has made Changing Sudbury possible in the first instance: Brent Museum and Archives, Dementia Carers Support Group, Elders Voice, National Lottery Heritage Fund, St George’s Catholic Church, St George’s Primary School, Sudbury Primary School, Sudbury Court Residents’ Association, Sudbury Town Residents’ Association, Wembley Family Church
All other people involved in various ways who have provided endless support to Changing Sudbury, including Sudbury Neighbourhood Centre’s Trustees, Friends, Staff and Volunteers, Barham Community Library, Through The Looking Glass.
