Profile - Janet Ridler

I was Born in Sheffield and educated at Sheffield University, I am passionate about our city’s rich and diverse history and heritage. A former head of department in a secondary school, I now work in heritage education and interpretation and have successfully engaged new audiences with the history and heritage of some of Sheffield’s most significant historic sites and buildings, such as Sheffield Cathedral and Sheffield General Cemetery. 

I am a trustee of Sheffield Civic Trust and co-ordinate Sheffield’s city-wide programme of Heritage Open Days as part of the national festival. I have organised and delivered several large-scale public engagement heritage events in the city. I am also a trustee of the Castlegate Preservation Society and a Director of the Gardeners Rest, a community-owned pub in Neepsend.

During the time our two children were at Dore Primary School I was a parent governor and also chair of the Dore Parents’ Association for several years. In 2002 I directed one of the trio of Dore Millennium Plays ‘Ecgbert and Beyond’, an ambitious and very successful creative project which involved working with many adults and children from our local community.

I was co-opted to the DVS committee in 2018 to take over curating the archives and my aim is to develop a wider awareness in our community of our rich history and heritage. If elected to the committee this year I will continue to develop a wide range of heritage-themed public events and activities for all ages to educate, inform and connect Dore residents more closely with the place where they live.