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Celebrating 100 years of Mansbridge

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Published: 9/15/2025
Categories: Community

On Saturday 6 September, Abri proudly hosted the Mansbridge 100-Year Celebration at Mansbridge Primary School in Southampton. The event marked a century since the first homes were built in Mansbridge in 1925 by Swaythling Housing Society (now Abri) and welcomed around 400 visitors from across the community.

The day was packed with activities, performances and opportunities to connect with the local history of Mansbridge.

At the event, guests enjoyed:

  • A heritage exhibition created in partnership with the University of Southampton.
  • A live performance from Southampton Ukulele Jam.
  • Information and support from over 15 local partners who were in attendance, including The University of Southampton, Southampton City Council and Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust.
  • Free family activities including a bouncy castle, a circus skills workshop, a silent disco, face painting and much more.
  • A street food van, along with cakes, sausage rolls, and cold drinks provided by the Round About Café.

Feedback from the day was extremely positive, with visitors praising the welcoming atmosphere, the variety of activities, and the chance to reconnect with neighbours and old friends. More than a third of attendees were Mansbridge residents or Abri customers, proving that strong community connections that remain at the heart of the neighbourhood.

Here are a few of the comments we received on the day:

  • “A great few hours of entertainment, thoroughly enjoyed it – great show for community spirit.”
  • “What a wonderful event, something for everyone. I bumped into old friends and it brought back wonderful memories for me.”
  • “I really enjoyed the event and met up with lots of friends from my Mansbridge days. Thank you Abri.”
  • “A great community day – you could see the spirit of Mansbridge.”
Mansbridge 100 event 2
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Cara Headon, Community Development Officer at Abri, said: “It was fantastic to see so many people come together to celebrate Mansbridge’s 100-year milestone. The high turnout and positive feedback from customers and visitors alike show the strength of community spirit here.

“Events like this are so important – they give us the chance to celebrate our heritage, reconnect with one another, and build pride in our communities and the places we call home.”

Dr Joseph Owen, Research Fellow at the University of Southampton and Co-investigator on the Mansbridge Heritage Project, added:

“The Mansbridge 100 event marked the culmination of the University of Southampton’s research collaboration with Abri. I was very pleased to see that the Mansbridge Heritage Project exhibition appealed to and inspired visitors who were seeking to know more about their place.”

“The event provided important evidence and learnings about how heritage can connect communities and develop residents' pride in place. I look forward to demonstrating how the outcomes, including the social housing toolkit we are working on, will help Abri to engage with and improve relationships with the communities they serve.”

As well as customers and Abri colleagues, several local stakeholders joined us to celebrate Mansbridge, including MP Caroline Nokes, Councillor James Baillie, Lord Mayor of Southampton, Councillor Lorna Fielker, Councillor Matthew Bunday and Councillor Thomas Gravatt.

Thank you to everyone who attended and made the Mansbridge 100 celebrations so special. With the 100th birthday of Mansbridge officially occurring in November this year, we still have plenty of other things coming up to commemorate it, including:

  • Installing a commemorative mosaic in the memorial garden on Mansbridge Road to recognise the centenary and Herbert Collins’ legacy.
  • Adding more images and memories to the memory book which will be on sale by the end of October.
  • Sharing findings from the University of Southampton’s research project, with the final report and toolkit for community engagement due to be published in January 2026.

We will also be exploring opportunities to replicate similar heritage-based engagement and projects in some of our other communities, so watch this space for other exciting events and announcements.

As part of the event, we showcased a celebration video that collected the voices of the community. You can watch this here:

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