St. Antony's Centre is a community based Centre serving the industrial, business and faith community of Trafford Park and the surrounding areas. Alongside this, we are home to the Trafford Park Heritage Centre and archive and are the only Centre that celebrates the Heritage and Cultural aspects of industrial life in the Park.
The Heritage Centre was developed as part of the Centre's contribution to understanding the history of the people who worked and lived within the industrial estate where the main Centre is located. The Heritage archives began as the residential community began to leave the Park in the early 1980s. The Director of the Centre, Kevin Flanagan, started to collect and record the history of the people who had stories to tell about living or working in the Park and as a result, we are now able to relive the history of the area and tell the story of the Park when it had been at its height.
As part of the heritage project, the Centre retains a permanent display of photographs, artefacts and memorabilia in its reception and corridor area. This is made up by donations from current and former workers as well as former residents of the former Trafford Park village. The Centre continues to record the on-going history of Trafford Park with the help of the Trafford Park Heritage Committee and the launch of our Park Life Project. The Committee is made up of former residents and representatives of local history societies who work to maintain the social and industrial legacy of Trafford Park and the surrounding areas. We rely heavily on loans and donations from members of the public and are always looking to expand our collection of items relating to the history of Trafford Park.
Currently due to the launch of our Park Life Project, the archive of photographs is currently undergoing a digitalisation process and therefore is not fully available to view, however requests for information can be made by letter or email. A small charge is made for reproducing documents and for research and all proceeds go towards supporting the Trafford Park Heritage Project.
The Heritage Centre has staged some major exhibitions over the years including the Ship Canal Centenary, the Trafford Park Centenary and more recently, the Ford Centenary. A number of exhibitions are held each year and the theme always covers the history of Trafford Park.
St. Antony's Centre carries a stock of Heritage publications and other Trafford Park memorabilia which can be purchased over the counter or via post. Cheques should be made payable to St. Antony's Centre and postage costs will be additional