Friends of Goostrey Station are delighted that Goostrey Art Studio, the restored Victorian station building located on Platform 1, has been home to the ambitious Platinum Plaque Project this summer.

In Spring 2022, Goostrey Art Studio were awarded a grant from the Arts Council England Let’s Create Jubilee Fund. Cheshire Community Foundation provided the funds from the National Lottery, encouraging communities to reflect on the last 70 years and to look forward to the future. In Goostrey, the money has been used for the Platinum Plaque Project, the theme of which was ‘celebrate the jubilee year’.

Work on the project began in May, when older residents were invited to talk to pupils at Goostrey Community Primary School about their memories of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation and her previous jubilees. The children then used what they had learned to design the plaques in sessions led by professional artists Debbie Goldsmith and Fiona Forster.

The clay pieces were sent to mosaic artist Tracey Cartledge, who restores architectural mosaics and creates bespoke works of art to commission for both public spaces and private property. Tracey is currently developing a composite of the individual plaques created by the children, and will add bursts of colour and lettering to bring it all together. In the autumn, with the help of Northern, the artwork will be installed at Goostrey Station.

In July, Debbie and Fiona ran another hands-on workshop at Goostrey Art Studio. The families of those who had been involved in the project were invited to make and decorate clay coins. The adults and children pressed in stencils of positive words and created imprints of natural materials collected from the station gardens.

All the coins have been sent to the Manchester Community Clay Studio for glazing and firing and, when they come back to the studio, they will serve as Jubilee keepsakes for the 35 people who made them.

Student volunteers from Holmes Chapel Sixth Form College also had the opportunity to help with the project, from planning right through to delivery. They even travelled by train to and from the Art Studio.

Artist Debbie Goldsmith said: “It was a wonderful day and brilliant to see the studio being used by the community. It’s a taster of what’s possible when a variety of people work together. I’m very proud that the project has been made possible by The Arts Council England.”

Each stage of the project has been recorded and the film will soon be available via the Friends of Goostrey Station website.