Further Research into Charles Worth (Winter 2024/25)

Me & Michael - mid interview

Next, the team and I went over to Wake House to talk to Adele Read (with the Charle’s Worth crochet puppet also sitting in for the interviews!) Through this, we learned more about the crucial importance of the Worth Celebrations to Bourne as a community, and the impact of Worth’s legacy on the centre and the town. Wake House, the birthplace of Worth, is now used as a community hub- running all sorts of workshops and classes. Inside the building there are numerous pictures of Charles, Bourne as it was in his era and Paris, along with a small display with replicas of his sketches and a perfume bottle from his Fashion House in the 1950s. Through these interviews, we learned more about Wake House’s efforts to teach more people in and around Bourne about Worth, and the importance his legacy has on the community. All three volunteers were very interested in uncovering this area of local history to use Charle’s rags to riches story as a way to uplift local people; especially focusing on sharing his legacy with the young people in Bourne. Coming from Boston and often having struggled to find inspiring historical figures from my area, this really resonated with me. Therefore, it was great to hear and see the effort the volunteers at Wake House were putting into educating the people of Bourne about their heritage. 

We then met with Alison Ray and Alison Carr from the Aveland History Group at Red Hall in Bourne. This is the location planned to hold the catwalk in October; the pinnacle of the year long celebrations. Red Hall is a grade II listed Elizabethan building with an incredibly rich history. In the Hall’s over 400 years, it has been used as a private school, the booking office of a train station, and most recently as a function venue. We had the privilege of looking round the building and seeing which rooms the group plans to use in October. Both Alison’s were incredibly passionate about sharing the Aveland History Group’s planning of the celebrations, including a number of craft workshops in Bourne and the surrounding villages to both make fashion pieces to display in October and to bring the community together. I then interviewed Nick Legge from Bourne United Charities, and we discussed his organisation’s impact on the town, and their involvement in the Worth celebrations by using their buildings to host the events. 

By Charlie White.