Anthony and Gillian Sykes both attended Edge Hill University in the 1990s, where they lived in the E.M Butterworth block, affectionately known as EMB.
With all of the Back Halls buildings being slated for demolition very soon, their daughter Lucinda, who studies BA (Hons) Creative Writing at Edge Hill, got in touch with the accommodation team to see if they could visit for a tour of the campus.
Edge Hill were more than happy to help and invited Gillian and Anthony to campus for a look round the old halls buildings providing a chance to reminisce about their time as students.
Anthony and Gillian’s daughter Lucinda said: “When I learned that Back Halls was soon to be demolished, to make way for a new edition to Edge Hill’s campus, I knew I couldn’t let it go without my parents seeing it one last time. Even before I even entertained the idea of attending Edge Hill, stories of their university days had entertained me since I was very young.”
On the tour the family met up with Tina Hanson, and cleaners Lynn Hawkes, Sue Darbyshire and Janet Forrest. Janet retired two years ago, but worked at Edge Hill for 30 years, and joined the tour to swap stories of University life with Lucinda’s parents.
After heading to EMB for a final look round Anthony said: ”I loved the visit and I’m very thankful to Facilities Management and on-site services for making it happen. It was brilliant to spend time on campus and see how drastically it has changed. I had the time of my life there, and this has brought back so many wonderful memories, ranging from hard work on a dissertation at 3am, to punch parties in the common room. Studying at Edge Hill allowed me to have a teaching career of twenty five years, that I otherwise wouldn’t have had. The campus is so state-of the art now, and it’s really looking great. I’m excited to see what they will build where back halls once stood.”
Gillian said: “It was a lovely trip down memory lane. I forgot how big and light my room was and it brought back so many memories. With having a daughter now at Edge Hill, the buildings of EMB and the other Back Halls are just not modern enough sadly.”
Site Services Manager Tina Hanson said: “The E.M Butterworth halls will be demolished very soon, to make way for new facilities on the Edge Hill Campus but the memories created by the thousands of alumni who lived there will live on forever. We wanted to give Anthony a very real piece of Edge Hill to take away with him, but all our alumni are welcome to come and visit us for a tour of campus and a chance to reminisce.”
Edge Hill Alumni can book a tour anytime, just email [email protected].
If you’d like to make your own memories on our award-winning campus visit our course pages and discover a degree course to suit you.
May 5, 2022
