Celebrating Hounslow’s Heritage

Exploring attitudes towards shared community heritage in the London Borough of Hounslow, 2019.

How engaged is the local community with Hounslow’s heritage?
What aspects of Hounslow’s heritage interests the local community the most?
What could make people engage with Hounslow’s heritage more?

Art Reach hosted a public consultation to answer these questions and establish how the local community felt about Hounslow and its heritage, and what were the shared heritage interests.

From exploring interests in the different communities that have shaped the modern Borough – to the rich aviation history, the origins of Hounslow’s green spaces, to the bustle of the town centre’s architectural gems – this report provides a summary of the responses gathered through this consultation and takes a view on the aspects of Borough’s heritage that could spark interest and lead to increased engagement with community heritage offers, both temporary and permanent.

Using stories and experiences from families who migrated to Hounslow in the 60s and 70s, the project unearthed and shared the moments and memories that help turned the Borough into one of the most diverse communities in the country.

Interviews from this project have been passed to London Borough of Hounslow local archive and fill an important gap in the department’s material.

In response to the interviews, local pupils from Reach Academy and Beavers Community Primary School, worked with renowned comic illustrator, Kev F Sutherland, to reimagine some of the stories and create their very own Hounslow Histories comic.

We would like to thank the National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Lottery Players for supporting the project.