Memory Keepers
In the historical grounds of RHS Bridgewater stands a magnificent sweet chestnut tree, estimated to be 300 years old. If trees are memory keepers, what recollections from the past three centuries might this tree hold?
Yan Wang Preston, between 2025 and 2026, embarked on a memory gathering process in response to the tree at RHS Bridgewater. Examples of the memories collected so far can be found here.
300 stories were submitted by the public and collected by Yan to be used in the development of her much anticipated exhibition to be displayed at Salford Museum and Art Gallery alongside works by Liz Lock and her community groups.
The exhibition will launch 22nd October and all participants will be encouraged to attend. The exhibition will then run from the 24th October onwards.
Submission Examples:
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1851
Sweet Chestnut, Castanea sativa if you don’t mind. It’s October 1851 and welcome to my wood, since 1725 this is where I’ve stood. It’s only now I sense changes like I never thought I would. The Ellesmere’s, have carved a garden inside my very wood, fortunately, I wasn’t in the way because of where I stood. To the East chimneys…
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1850
When asked to donate a ‘memory’ for this lovely and imaginative project, I chose to highlight 1850 and the formation of Pendleton Mechanics’ Institute. Its purpose was to help shape the workforce of the future, as new industrial skills were in demand. Traditional jobs were changing and the population needed to respond quickly. Times were exciting from an industrial perspective,…
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1995
What still remains We marched beneath your shining leaves once With others now we barely know And stories, kicked in dirt, they made us. Cratered drops on earth below Busy, making fire from benches Throwing knives between our legs We didn’t care to see your branches Or stop to know your furrowed twigs But still we came, and drank from…
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1838
I’ve chosen the year 1838 inspired by my favourite tree on the University of Salford’s Peel Park Campus, the willow (Salix sp). The willow tree has long been used as a natural remedy – Hippocrates himself advocated for the use of willow tree bark to reduce fever and relieve pain. It wasn’t until 1838 when Raffaele Piria managed to isolate…
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1928
In January, heavy snow in the Cotswolds melted into seasonal springs in Coates and Kemble. On 7 January the thaw culminated in the disastrous Thames flood that made 4000 Londoners homeless, and killed 14 people, some drowning in their basement homes in Hammersmith and Fulham. February was full of rain and bluster and occasional midnight frost. By mid-March the land…
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1952
1952, I was 10. I lived in the Bothy with my mother, father and elder brother John. My father was the manager of Worsley Hall Nursery, now the walled garden area of RHS Garden Bridgewater. It was a beautiful summer, but then it always was when I was a child, or is that just the rose-coloured spectacles. I spent my…
By agreeing to participate, you agree to have your story shared online, in print, and in any and all future publications in perpetuity. The content may be used and shared by the artist, commissioner and partner organisations. Authors will remain anonymous in the final artwork, but will be listed as contributors. Please let us know if you wish for your name to NOT be included in the contributors list. For any queries about the project, reach us at artcollection@salford.ac.uk