Members of the public will have the chance to make their memories a part of local history when a unique ‘pop-up museum’ of local heritage is created at The Atkinson, on Lord Street in Southport, on 24 April.

State-of-the-art care village operator, Belong, is working with the arts venue to gather people’s memories and stories of Birkdale of yesteryear, including the Dunesville area, where construction of a new Belong care village is underway. Organisers are asking people to bring along items of local and personal significance, such as old photographs of Birkdale or memorabilia to help to create an instant exhibition of local social history made from people’s memories and personal treasures.

Staff and volunteers from The Atkinson will be on hand from 11am to 4pm on 24 April to talk about objects from the collection, including original rarely seen postcards, photographs and objects from the local area.

Commenting on the project, Belong deputy chief executive Tracy Paine said: “Every Belong village community is deeply rooted in its surroundings, and Belong Birkdale will be no different. This is the beginning of links being forged with the local community, so we’re hoping for a great response from the public. Perhaps people remember the Oxford Road site when it was a school or orphanage? They may have seen Red Rum being walked down to the beach, or have other sporting memories of Royal Birkdale or Lancashire playing cricket at the Trafalgar Road Ground. If so, we’d love to hear from them.”

The public’s contributions will help with the creation of a timeline of Birkdale memories, which will be displayed in the Belong village when it opens later this year.

Anyone unable to visit The Atkinson on 24 April can share their memories by contacting Melanie Saywell on 01704 614101 or emailing:enquiries@belong.org.uk