'There's nothing better than hearing children laugh': Ten years for Winckley Square Community Champions

When Patricia Harrison first bought a house near a city centre park, she never could have guessed it would lead to her running an award-winning community group for a decade.

The former teacher had always had a keen interest in history and geography, and had previously worked for the Schools Examination and Assessment Council, where she wrote - and sometimes rewrote - SATS exams and school textbooks.

“I wouldn’t go so far as saying [the teachers] would’ve shot me if they’d had a gun,” she told the Post, “but if they’d had tomatoes, they would have thrown them at me.

“We had to do national conferences each year to tell the teachers what was going to be in the following exams. I used to say, ‘Look, I’m the messenger, and I’m doing the best I can. Without me, there’d be a lot worse!’.

“[Before then], I’d was working in London for quite a while as a publishing director. My first publication was in 1984 - a geography series for Key Stage Two - and that got the National Geographical Association’s Silver Award.

“Between me and my husband, we’ve written hundreds of books. I loved every minute of it all.”

It was her shared interest in history with her husband Steve that would eventually lead the pair to buy a house near Winckley Square, Preston, in 2010.

Back in the 1800s, each house around the park owned their own section of land to be used as their own gardens.

Then in the late 1900s, the council bought two-thirds of the plots from their owners to be brought into public use.

At the time Patricia moved in, she described Winckley Square as being “in a terrible state, all overgrown, with loads of trees and drug-dealing taking place”.

As a result, Preston City Council sought Heritage Lottery Funding to clear up the park and make it into a public space.

They sought permission from local landowners - including Patricia and Steve - to secure the grant, but there was one setback: to get the money to regenerate the park, the National Lottery said there would need to be a group of volunteers to protect it into the future.

“It was reported to the National Lottery that it wasn’t possible, because most of the buildings were businesses and there were no residents,” Patricia said.

“I said, ‘I don’t believe that, that can’t happen. I’ll do it’.”

Little did she know that after weeks of door-knocking and more than three years of construction, Patricia’s initial group of three volunteers would quickly spiral to more than 40.

Ten years later, the Friends of Winckley Square volunteers now put on events around Preston year-round, including The Big Lunch and the Winckley Square Christmas Concert.

Alongside the Preston Historical Society - run by Steve - it also publishes a bi-monthly magazine focussed on local heritage, history, and the community events held by the group.

“We’re the only voluntary association that run completely free events,” Patricia said. “And we’ve kept that as our mantra for ten years.

“Each year we have the free Summer Festival, which is massive. We have circus acts, all sorts of magicians, Punch and Judy - it’s just a family event with all sorts of entertainment for the children.

“There’s nothing better than hearing a huge group of children laughing. One woman came up to me a couple of years ago with three children, and she said, ‘This is the first time they’ve all had their faces painted together, because I’ve never been able to afford to pay for the three of them’.

“That really, really got to me. That sums up what we do.”

The Friends of Winckley Square are now celebrating their tenth anniversary together - just two weeks after Patricia was presented with the Community Champion trophy at the Preston High Street Heroes Awards.

“I don’t know if we were the only non-profit organisation, but there was nothing else like us there,” Patricia said. “It really is an accolade for all of our volunteers.

“We are completely reliant on our really dedicated volunteers who five up their time. I would really like to stress that without them, none of this could happen.

“There isn’t a category for a voluntary or community organisation, it’s just for the individual, so I see this as a vote for the Friends of Winckley Square.”

Now looking ahead, the group are now preparing for their next big venture - the annual Christmas Concert held in the park in December.

It promises a packed schedule of performances and attractions, including musicians, fireworks, and an LED performance by drummer band Spark, who this year lit up the Blackpool Illuminations.

“Hundreds of people come each year,” Patricia said. “We have a ukulele band who come every year, a bagpiper who plays us in and plays us out. We try to appeal to different audiences so they can all come. It’s a real Preston tradition.

“It gives me great pleasure to think that I’m making a difference,” she said. “I love organising community events, I love living here. There’s nothing better than watching people enjoying themselves.”