The North East Lincolnshire Watkin Society members would like to invite you to the first celebration of the amazing achievements of the man they called "Mr. Grimsby and Mr. Cleethorpes". Over the 18th & 19th July a series of events will be held to bring back to life the remarkable work of Sir Edwad Watkin. See poster below for details and how you can get involved. All events, apart from the £1 entrance fee for the Quiz night, are free.

We start next Sunday 16th April at 2pm with a walk from Rose Hill to the Watkin Graves at St Wilfrids. –(Free).
Meet at the railings in front of historic Rose Hill, Bronington Close off Longley Lane, opposite Harper Road, the former Watkin family home. After a short walk in the beautiful woods we’ll go to St Wilfrid’s church, where Absalom and Edward Watkin are buried with a short non-denominational commemoration service at the gravesides.

19th – Station South Heritage Evening, 7pm; ‘Station South’, on the A6, was built by Edward Watkin. The railway closed in 1968 and the building is now a thriving café bar. Illustrated presentation (Free) in side room by Geoff Scargill, chair of The Watkin Society on ‘The Man who built the Station – and More’, followed by a relaxing drink in the bar. Easy parking in Crayfield Road next to Station South.

20th – Northenden Players Theatre Company, 2pm & 7.30pm; (Free) Drama event in the Little Theatre, Church Road, Northenden. Children from local schools, members of The Watkin Society and the Northenden Players will present a specially-written One-Act play about Edward’s creation of the first ‘Parks for the People’ in the hell-hole of industrial Manchester. Refreshments, also free.  To book for the Northenden Players event use this link:
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/northenden-players-theatre-club/northenden-theatre-presents-parks-for-people-edward-watkins-legacy/e-gelbpo?fbclid=IwAR0DsXjfVpaaaKeeM6EVFZv0dt-aCrIEnHBUhTJTZdbVAcLQ7HmsYfKfU3c

22nd – Crown Inn Quiz Night, 8pm; (Admission charge) Special Quiz Night (questions not just on the Watkins!) in the Crown Inn, next to St Wilfrid’s Church.

23rd – Open Day at St Wilfrid’s Church. Guided tours of the beautiful building, featuring stained-glass windows commissioned by Edward Watkin, a chance to view the unique church archives and – if you want – to discover some tips on how to do research. Free refreshments.

24th – Illustrated public lecture ‘The Amazing Watkins – Manchester’s Forgotten Stars’, given by the chair of the Watkin Society in the Performance Space of Manchester’s Central Library. Free refreshments.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/612307607537
 

The Watkin Society archiving workshops at Central Library commence in late January with a further two in February. We will be adding materials to the Archive and learning archiving and research techniques with the team at Archives+. Beginners to Experts welcome! Happy to see students there too.
To book, either send us a private message on Facebook, contact [email protected] or head to Eventbrite and book a FREE ticket there too! (link below)
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/511512296047

The Watkin Society has identified areas throughout Britain where Edward Watkin had a significant impact in his lifetime. These include his great tower in London, which became Wembley Stadium, the thriving remains near Leicester of his Great Central Railway from Manchester to London, and his Channel Tunnel near Dover.

Building on our continuing work locally in Manchester, we have now established strong links with  Grimsby and Cleethorpes. (Watkin virtually created Grimsby to become the biggest fishing port in the world and turned Cleethorpes from a little village into a national holiday resort.)

The local paper has heard about the Society and asked us to write an article for their weekend supplement. 

Read the Grimsby Telegraph article here >