Nearly 200 members and guests celebrated the launch of The Heritage of Rutland Water on Sunday 25th November at Rutland Sailing Club. Amongst the guests were most of the twenty authors and many local people who had taken part in or contributed to the project over the past three years.
The Society’s President, Edward Baines, welcomed everyone and thanked the Sailing Club for enabling the launch to be held so appropriately by the shore of Rutland Water and introduced Robert Ovens and Sheila Sleath, the main compilers and editors of the book.
Robert explained the inception of the project, a grant of £25,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Local Heritage Initiative, and the way that the project had been organised. He thanked all those who had made the final outcome possible.
Special mention was made of the many people who had made their photographs available for inclusion in the book or in the associated archive which will be held by the Society. Sheila outlined each author’s contribution and described how the recording of personal memories had also been an integral part of the project, leading to the formation of an important oral history archive for the Rutland Water area.
