The story of how one small site in Swaythling, Southampton has made a big contribution to the transport, aviation and motor manufacturing industries of Great Britain.
The Transition Project engaged with the local community to explore the rich industrial heritage of the former Ford site at Wide Lane.
For one week only, three shipping containers at the Ford Vehicle Repair Centre housed an exhibition that welcomed over 1,200 people. Container 1 served as a cinema for the film shown here. Container 2 was packed with interactive displays, more films, oral history extracts and photographs from the Ford era, and Container 3 hosted a photography gallery and insights into the site’s future with Mountpark.
Listen to (or read) first hand experiences of what it was like to work at the Wide Lane site. Find out how working conditions changed over time, what it was like for women in manufacturing and how the closure of Ford affected its employees.
Trace the rich industrial history of one of Southampton’s key manufacturing sites at Wide Lane, Swaythling. From WWII aircraft to Transit vans, and now a modern business park, the site has been pivotal to the city’s business success for over 80 years.
Key Stage 2 teachers from Southampton schools can download a set of resources which use the Ford site as a case study to explore the effects of changing local land uses. Key Stage 3 History teachers may use our selected stories and their themes as learning resources for lessons focusing on the challenges of social, cultural and technological change in post-war British society.
Read the feedback from some of the talented volunteers who contributed to the project – what they did, what they learned and how the Transition Project has helped them.
Find out about what the Transition Project has achieved since February 2017 and the many ways in which it engaged with the local community. From memory sharing sessions to a school dance workshop and a week-long pop-up museum, the Transition Project reached hundreds of people in and around Swaythling, Southampton.
