A Short History of Earl Shilton Camera Club
In the late 1960's and early 1970's Neville Jackson ran a photography class at the Cedars Community Centre Barwell which was well supported by local amateur photography enthusiasts.
When the education Authorities decided in 1975 to no longer fund the class, Neville Jackson invited the class members to form a club and continue meeting on the same night at the Cedars as the school were happy to hire out the room.
In 1978 Neville left the club temporarily to take up an evening teaching appointment elsewhere and by coincidence the school had decided to close the Cedars in the evenings and we were not notified that if we wished to continue a room could be made available at what is now the main college building in Heath Lane.
A meeting was held at the school in September 1978 and it was decided to run the club on a slightly more formal basis with a chairman and secretary / treasurer being appointed and a full programme organised for the school term.
The club continued successfully and quickley built up the membership to 30 but unfortunately through personality clashes in 1982 the club divided into two with one half decamping to the "Stute" at Earl Shilton and the original club remaining with the college but returning to our ancestral home at the Cedars. (For the record the breakaway group lasted 18 months)
For the next 20 years the membership ebbed and flowed around a core of loyal stalwarts never peaking much beyond a total of 15 souls.
However by the dawn of the new millennium the Local Authority had decided to sell the Cedars to make way for a housing estate and the club moved back again in September 2002 to the main school buildings in Heath Lane now known as the William Bradford College.
In July 2003 when the membership had reached a low base of 8 it was decided that unless new members could be recruited and retained the club was no longer viable.
Forunately, possibly through the increasing popularity of digital photography, new members arrived and a healthy atendance of 20 to 30 people at most meetings ensures an interesting programme is maintained and the Club's finances remain stable.