AN exhibition celebrating the life and work of one Bolton's most successful literary sons will open at the Market Place next month.

Iconic letters and manuscripts penned by Bill Naughton, the playwright behind Alfie, Spring and Port Wine and The Family Way will be on display along with other rare material.

The Bill Naughton Information Centre will illustrate the story of Bolton’s industrial and working class heritage focusing on how people lived their lives in the 1930s, using films and photos, text, maps and artwork as well as comments from the people themselves.

Most of the material is drawn from two collections unique to Bolton, the Bill Naughton Collection and the Mass Observation Collection both of which are in the Bolton History Centre in the Central Library.

The Bill Naughton Collection is a huge cache of manuscripts and letters from Bolton’s most prolific author.

Having lived in Bolton between 1914 until 1940, his life in the town inspired his work — he used his experiences as a child, young adult and married man to craft his writing.

He wrote hundreds of short stories, scores of radio plays, at least six novels and around twenty stage plays.

The Mass Observation Collection consists of the records of scores of volunteer observers, who went out and about listening to people, watching them and seeing what they did.

These record the town’s public life and annual events in the 1930s, as well as the specifics of ordinary people’s lives.

The collection is described as being of immense importance, both locally and nationally, as it conveys the complex heritage of northern working class culture.

These two collections are unique in showing how the town and local people lived their lives 80 years ago.

The Bill Naughton Information Centre will also stage events at the Information Centre including talks and discussions, creative workshops and displays of local contemporary art relating to the town, to which people are invited to.

Market Place Shopping Centre is hoping the people of Bolton will visit to learn about their heritage.

Nikki Wilson-Cook, Centre Manager of Market Place said:"We’re so excited to invite the public into the world of Bill Naughton.

"He is a truly iconic writer and a national treasure to the people of Bolton. We pride ourselves on supporting and promoting local talent and are thrilled to invite the Bill Naughton Information Centre to Market Place to give our shoppers an insight into Bolton’s heritage."

The exhibition has been organised by the cultural and heritage organisation Live from Worktown, a cultural and heritage organisation.

Dave Morgan. from Live From Worktown, said: "This is to give people a taste of Bill Naughton and Mass Observation archive.

"This is part of Bolton's heritage and quite an asset to the town, but so often archives are hidden away.

The centre will open March 2 to June 30 every Thursday to Sunday between 10am – 4pm, and will be located in Unit 27b, upstairs near the entrance to Debenhams.

A full programme of events will be made available from March 1.