Heritage gallery offers the public a chance to become part of Newcastle's history

New Maxims Memories workshop dates announced to take place 30 August and 9 September.

Belong, which is developing a new care village in Newcastle-under-Lyme, on the site which used to be home to the historic Maxims nightclub, is offering members of the public the chance to cement their place in the town’s heritage.

As part of the development, Belong is creating the Belong Heritage Gallery in the grade II listed building, with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund. A focal element in the run-up to the gallery’s opening is a project with the New Vic Theatre called ‘Maxims Live’, which aims to collect and recount people’s memories of Maxims and of the building in its former guises including The Placemate, Sammi Belles and Old Pomona Inn.

Belong and the New Vic are collecting memories from members of the public through community workshops and the memories will be turned into a drama production that will be performed at the New Vic theatre, and also in the Belong heritage gallery itself.

Anyone interested in sharing their stories or taking part in the community drama can come along to a memories workshop on Saturday 9th September 11am - 3pm, at St Giles Parish Church, Church Road, Newcastle ST5 1QS. In addition, information about the new village and Maxims Live project will also be available to the public at the village’s open day on Wednesday 30th August at 2 - 4pm, also at St Giles Parish Church.

Tracy Paine, Deputy Chief Executive of Belong, said: “The memories appeal has so far unearthed a selection of wonderful stories from the Maxims era – the biggest surprise came from Brian Parry who revealed that he was born on the third floor of the historic property in September 1938 when it was still The Old Pomona Inn. We’ve also met Elizabeth Vincent, one of Newcastle’s first female club DJs who used to play at Maxims, as well as members of the bar staff and bouncers. We look forward to hearing more interesting stories in our upcoming community workshops.”