A SPECIAL celebration is being held to celebrate the life of benefactor Sir John Brunner who gave Winsford one of its finest historic buildings.

The event to mark the 100th anniversary of his death will be held at the Brunner Guildhall from 10am to 4pm on Saturday, July 20.

Free activities will be available for children.

Sir John remains an important figure in the history of the area due to his world-famous business – Brunner Mond & Co.- and due to his philanthropy.

He donated £3,000 (around £340,000 in today’s money) to build the Guildhall on High Street which opened in November 1899.

Visitors will be able to read information on Sir John and aspects of his life as well as demonstrations of the science behind Brunner Mond.

Music music from the era of his life (1842-1919) will be played and refreshments will be availabble.

Winsford Town Council has vowed to bring the grade II listed building back into public use.

Sir Hugo Brunner, whose great-grandfather Sir John Brunner came to Winsford last year to find out how the council is planning to restore it.

The event has been sponsored by a range of local companies including Innovas, Tata Chemicals, Technoprint, Weaver Vale Housing and and Deepstore Records Management.

Winsford mayor Cllr Ailsa Gaskill-Jones said: "We are so delighted to be able to host this event in honour of Sir John and everything he did for this area.

"I recently attended a get-together of the Brunner family at Sir John Deane’s College and it was a fabulous afternoon, led by Sir John’s great-grandson Sir Hugo Brunner.

“Sir Hugo and his family – notably Georgina Dunlop and James Blyth – has been a great support for us in organising this event.

"Sir Hugo has provided artefacts from his own collection which we will be putting on display in Winsford for the first time in decades.

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“As one of my themes this year is heritage, I am very excited that we are remembering the history of Winsford as well as Sir John – I hope as many people attend as possible and I thank our sponsors from the bottom of my heart”.

In addition to help from the Brunner family, the event has also been supported by the Catalyst Science Discovery Centre in Widnes who will be attending to provide information on Brunner Mond and the Winsford people who worked there.