Our Heritage Project

Centre 404 is celebrating its history! We were founded 70 years ago in 1951 by a group of parents of children with learning disabilities. They met to offer mutual support and to campaign to end the use of long-stay institutions.

In 1965 we founded the Beacon Nursery for young children with learning disabilities. At the time, many nurseries did not accept children with learning disabilities and the Beacon Nursery was a lifeline to many parents.

In the 1970s and ‘80s we established a series of ground breaking housing projects including Leigh Road, St Paul’s Road and Witherington Road. These housing projects were part of a movement away from long-stay institutions and marked the origins of our Independent Living service.

Centre 404 is at the beginning of a heritage project to mark this history. Remembering these stories shows us how far we as a society have come – and how valuable support services are to our local communities.

We celebrated this in an exhibition at our Annual General Meeting in July 2022 called Our Heart’s Centre: 70 Years of Centre 404.

Please see our wonderful Easy Read Exhibition Guide and Exhibition Guide below:

Easy Read Exhibition Guide

Exhibition Guide: