Restoration Village
The Villages and their Buildings
South East
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Massey's Folly, Upper Farringdon, Hampshire
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A symbol for the village, this enigmatic, Grade II listed folly was built at the end of the 19th century by the local vicar, the Reverend Thomas Massey, who had no acknowledged purpose for it.
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The same construction team was involved for more than 30 years,
demolishing and rebuilding parts of the gabled and turreted building -
an elaborate mix of Spanish Gothic and Romanesque - if they didn't meet
with Massey's approval.
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Now used as a day nursery and for evening courses,
it is hoped to raise funds to repair and restore the building to
extend its use as a local community centre.
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Watts Gallery, Compton, Surrey
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George Frederic Watts, one of Britain's leading portrait painters in the late 19th century, lived in Compton for the last 13 years of his life.
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This Grade II* listed gallery was built for him in the Arts & Crafts style by Watts and his second wife, Mary, who was linked to William Morris and other members of the Arts & Crafts
movement, to provide art for all in rural areas, a meeting place for the
local community and accommodation for apprentice potters working in Mary's
pottery.
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The only purpose-built, one-man gallery in Britain, it still
features Watts' paintings, sculpture and drawings, but damp is beginning
to destroy the fabric of this richly-decorated building. Villagers are
committed to saving this unique piece of British art history.
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Tollesbury Granary, Tollesbury, Essex
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Although appearing to be in a very poor condition, this Grade II listed building embodies the social and economic history of its village. Village life revolved around 'The Sail and the Plough' and this building was at the hub of local maritime society.
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Built as a granary and trading store in the mid-19th century,
it has been used as a sail loft and boat shed, for boat-building and net
repairs and, undoubtedly, as a meeting place for locals. At the edge of a
boatyard, it has marvellous views over the Blackwater Estuary and
Essex salt marshes.
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With help from the Mid Essex Historic Buildings Trust,
the 3,000-strong local community wants to raise it out of the spring
tides and rebuild it as a visitor centre, community space and field study
centre.
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South-West
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The Rope Walk, West Coker, Somerset
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Grade II* listed, this is the most complete surviving example of
a 19th century rural twine works. Nearly 100 yards long, the twine walk retains
virtually all the late 19th century machinery relating to the twisting and
finishing of twine.
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The intention is to turn the works into a living museum,
with the machinery operating and an area for visitors, especially children,
to try their hands at making twine and rope from a new locally regenerated
flax and hemp industry also producing hemp oil and cloth coloured using
local natural dyes.
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Welcombe Barton, Welcombe, Devon
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This Grade II listed slate and stone built farmhouse with outbuildings dates from the early 17th century, although parts are older.
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Believed to have originally been an outpost of Hartland Abbey
before the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it is now a centre for the local
community and the home of the Yarner Trust; set up to advance 'the understanding
and practice of sustainable and creative living'.
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Courses are run here
for local groups, including spinners, weavers and dyers. It is hoped
to repair the main building and to rebuild the barn to provide an educational
centre.
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Newlyn Trinity Methodist Chapel, Newlyn, West Cornwall
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This Grade II* building is one of the best and most complete early 19th century chapels in Cornwall. Built in 1835, it is an emblematic building as Methodism has played a key role in Cornish working and social life for more than 200 years.
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Used for religious worship until eight years ago, when serious
structural problems were identified, the chapel retains its horseshoe gallery,
original box pews and original pulpit incorporated into its present rostrum.
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Following structural repairs and weatherproofing, it is hoped
the chapel will find new life as an interpretive centre, celebrating the
village's religious, social, industrial and artistic heritage.
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It will
focus particularly on Newlyn's former copper-working and silk-making
industries and internationally important School of Painters.
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Midlands
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All Saints Church, Beckingham, Lincolnshire
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Like many parish churches, All Saints is a mixture of periods, with late Norman doorways, and 13th, 14th and 15th century elements, together with Victorian additions. Of particular interest are the church clocks.
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Grade I listed, this impressive church is structurally sound
but in need of considerable restoration. Local villagers, whatever their
faith, are keen to return the church to its rightful place at the heart
of their community.
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The chancel has already been made watertight for worship,
and the intention is to turn the nave into a centre for community
activities.
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Pennoyer's School, Pulham St Mary, Norfolk
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Pennoyer's School closed its doors to pupils for the last time in 1988 and since then the village has been trying to find a community use for the Grade II building.
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The tide of events has recently turned in their favour and
they are now working to make Pennoyer's into a village centre, combining
traditional village hall facilities with areas for educational and business
activities.
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Originally relocated from Pulham St Mary church in 1401,
the former guild chapel became the village school in 1670 thanks to William
Pennoyer, a wealthy puritan who also endowed Harvard University.
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The Victorians later extended the school. The walls, buttresses
and windows of the original building remain, and there is also a Gothic
arch doorway with carved Tudor roses, and Pevsner identifies 17th century
window tracery.
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Chedham's Yard, Wellesbourne, Warwickshire
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Dating from the early 19th century, the site includes a blacksmith's forge, a wheelwright's workshop and a drying shed.
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Of less architectural distinction than some of the featured
buildings, its interest lies in its unique time capsule state of preservation.
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When Bill Chedham, the seventh generation to own the site,
downed tools in the Seventies, he left behind all the accumulated contents
which have been catalogued by Oxford Archaeology.
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Local people are
eager to see the near-derelict buildings restored and the site returned
to use, preferably as an active heritage centre, with a working forge,
artefact exhibits, interactive displays and educational areas.
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