Anniversary celebrations as Beacon keeps shining

A community centre is making final preparations to celebrate its 70th birthday with a series of events including the laying of a new commemorative stone and updating the original time capsule.

The original laying of the foundation stone of the new Beacon Youth Club, Market Drayton, on April 29, 1948. The house in the background is Farcroft Lodge, home of Mr Parker Bowles. Third from left is Eustace Parker Bowles, who donated the land. Fifth from left holding a pipe is Mr Llewelyn Roberts, who was a local headmaster and founder of the club.

Beacon Community Centre at Market Drayton continues to flourish and Friday sees the beginning of a four-day programme to mark its anniversary, with the climax being on Sunday, with a thanksgiving service followed by the blessing of the new stone.

For logistical reasons, the stone will have been cemented in place a few days earlier.

The service and blessing will be 70 years to the day after the original foundation stones – there are several – were laid on April 29, 1948, at what was at the time the Beacon Youth Club.

Part of the anniversary preparations included extracting the original 1948 time capsule.

"We weren't sure what was in there. Of course, most of the people who were involved have passed away," said Mrs June Edwards, secretary of the centre.

The contents proved to be 59 buy-a-brick cards from contributors to raise funds for the project. The time capsule is being updated with the addition of various items, including a list of groups which use the centre and their members, a set of decimal coins, and a small town guide. It is then being put back in the wall.

All events in the anniversary programme are being held at the centre in Longslow Road, starting with the regular Valor jujitsu class on Friday from 6pm to 10pm, with people invited to go along and watch, with free entry.

Saturday is a memorabilia day, from 11am to 4pm, where people can follow the history of the Beacon in photos, letters, accounts and so on. User groups will have displays of their activities.

Sunday sees the thanksgiving service at 2pm for 2.30pm, taken by James Thornbury, with Fauls Choir also in action, followed by afternoon tea and another chance to see the Beacon memorabilia.

"We are going to ask James Thornbury to bless the stone," said Mrs Edwards, whose husband George is chairman of the Beacon.

"It is not being relaid on the day, it will be done a few days before the weekend because of the logistics of cementing it in."

The inscription on the brand new stone reads: "Laid by Mr George T Edwards, chairman of the Beacon, April 2018."

Among those attending are expected to be the daughters of Mr Llewelyn Roberts, a founder of the Beacon in 1948, along with their families. They are Mrs Gwen Lowman of Surrey, and Mrs Dona Merrick of Heswall.

Rounding off the 70th anniversary programme is an exhibition of the work of members of Market Drayton Art Club from 10am to noon on Monday, April 30. The club meets at the centre every Monday morning.