FORMER residents of old workers’ cottages in Thornton have had their memories turned into an audio-visual tour of the village.

Echoes of Thornton combines stories collected from people who lived at South Square with images from the Thornton Antiquarians archive of key buildings now and then. Local artists Lucy Barker and Lucy Courtney-Clegg have turned the images and memories into a series of nostalgic videos and vignettes.

The 19th century Grade II listed houses at South Square were saved from demolition in the 1980s and are now home to an arts and heritage centre. South Square Centre - one of the region’s last surviving examples of a U-shaped building with courtyard - has traditionally worked with the local community and throughout the pandemic it has delivered online classes and entertained care home residents from their gardens.

Echos of Thornton is aimed at gently encouraging people outside, ahead of the arts centre re-opening in June. Funded by National Heritage Lottery Fund & Arts Council, it is part of South Square’s three-year programme of heritage activities highlighting Thornton’s industrial heritage, Bronte birthplace and the arts centre’s place as a grassroots cultural venue.

Project manager Alice Withers said: “We already had some stories thanks to the archives, but we put a call out for former residents of South Square cottages and found several, including Mary Lou Jones who now lives in Australia. Her family, the Jennings, lived at South Square from 1911. She was full of stories that made the final piece and she shared some wonderful photos. We also met Derek who lived here as a child in the late 1960s; he’s given us an 8mm cine footage film of him in the garden, his birthdays, and a visit from Father Christmas! It’s been a fascinating process.”

Discovery maps guide visitors around key sites in the village, highlighting properties in the past and present, including the birthplace of the four youngest Bronte siblings, Anne, Emily, Branwell and Charlotte, on Market Street, where they lived before moving to Haworth in 1820. Memories, stories and information about the village and its dwellings can be shared via visitors’ smartphones.

“Echoes is not only of interest to our community, but to West Yorkshire as a whole,” said Alice. “It’s such an important part of the region’s heritage, we’re really looking forward to welcoming visitors from further afield.”

South Square’s vegetarian cafe, Plenty, and bar, The Watchmaker, are now open. The arts centre re-opens on June 4 with exhibitions including Thornton Threads; artwork by Bradford College students inspired by Antiquarian archive images.

* The discovery maps are available from outside South Square Centre. A smartphone is needed and headphones are recommended. To view an online version go to southsquarecentre.co.uk