In December 1896 Stratford Congregational Church in The Grove arranged a "bazaar" to raise £600 in aid of the renovation of the church and school building.  It took an historical theme and the five day event had a number of stalls, exhibits and musical arrangements.  One interesting event was a daily showing of "This Year's Wonderful Invention - The Animatoscope, or Moving Photographs - Startling scenes taken instantaneously from life, The Sea, The River, Fast Trains, Marching of Troops, most entertaining and instructive." The programme also contains a lengthy description of the history of Stratford and a shorter one of Stratford as it would have appeared in the ealier 19th century- much of which reflects the bustle of the area and places familiar to older residents, even today. (see attachment)

The programme carries numerous advertisements for local businesses and products. Produced in booklet form it is hard-bound in a red cloth-covered board with gold tooling, with 53 pages and measures 5½ x 8½ inches (14.5 x 21 cms)