Plymouth Hebrew Congregation and Ripple Theatre Co Call Out for Memories of Plymouth

10th December 2020

Plymouth Hebrew Congregation and Ripple Theatre Co are looking for Plymouth people who have memories of once well-known places in the city that can feature in a new historical audio trail of the city.

Part of the Mayflower 400 Community Sparks - a partnership project between Mayflower 400, Plymouth Culture, Plymouth City Council, The Box and Vital Sparks – the project started by talking to people with relatives buried in the Jewish Gifford Park Cemetery to collect memories.

From these ancestral family conversations, Plymouth Hebrew Congregation and Ripple Theatre Co identified some key re-occurring historical places within the city that many other people will likely share memories of too. The project then evolved and is now looking to incorporate more memories of these much-loved places which can be included within their new audio trail.

Some of the key places mentioned in people’s memories include West Hoe Skating rink; the first Drakes jewellers; Jack Cohen's magic shop known as Jack's Jokes; Solly’s Warehouse hardware store and Robin’s Nest in the Pannier market.

Image Courtesy of Drakes Jewellers: The first Drakes address was 39 Old Town Street, Drake Circus

Derek Frood and Ruth Mitchell of Ripple Theatre Co previously created the very successful cemetery audio trail at the Old Jewish cemetery in Lambhay Hill and for the last four years the Synagogue have opened the door to the cemetery during the Plymouth History Festival.

They are now making a new audio trail and are looking for people who may have memories of the above places, no matter how small.

For those wanting to submit their memories, simply contact Ripple Theatre Co via their website here or rippletheatreco@gmail.com.Previous trails can also be accessed on their website.