Following a historic season for Barnsley FC an exciting new project will involve supporters and the wider community in exploring and telling the story of Barnsley FC and its home ground, Oakwell.

2017 will mark 130 years since Barnsley Football Club was formed in 1887, as well as marking 20 years since the club’s historic promotion to the Premier League in 1997. The upcoming anniversaries of the club’s formation and its historic promotion to the Premier League present a unique opportunity for the rich heritage of the club to be highlighted, explored and shared.

Reds in the Community, a registered charity delivering community and charitable activities on behalf of Barnsley Football Club, has received £74,900 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and £4,575 from the South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust for its upcoming ‘Our Club, Our Ground, Our Past, Our Future’ project.

Thanks to National Lottery players the project will develop new heritage displays for Oakwell which will focus on key events in Barnsley FC’s history from 1887 to the present day to enrich visitors’ understanding of the heritage of Barnsley FC and its Oakwell Stadium.

Local people and supporters have highlighted the ‘living’ nature of the heritage of the football club and have told Reds in the Community staff that they would like the story of the club to be told through players’, managers’ and supporters’ stories.

Reds in the Community will be inviting supporters and the wider community to get involved in the ‘Our Club, Our Ground, Our Past, Our Future’ project over the coming months either as a volunteer or by sharing their memories and experiences of supporting Barnsley FC.

To get things underway, a group of young volunteers who have been participating in the National Citizen Service programme with Reds in the Community are seeking to involve supporters and the wider community in shaping the developing heritage displays for Oakwell here at Barnsley FC’s annual Open Day on Sunday 31^st July.

Anyone interested in getting involved in the ‘Our Club, Our Ground, Our Past, Our Future’ project can find out more at the Open Day on Sunday or can contact Sarah Hughes, Heritage Officer at Reds in the Community, on 01226 211333 or via email at [email protected].