The Walronds given £1.7m grant (From Mid Devon Star)

The Walronds given £1.7m grant

6:40am Friday 30th July 2010

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THE Walronds in Cullompton, one of Devon’s most significant historic buildings, has received a grant of £1.7m from the Lottery Heritage Fund to help with its repair and regeneration.

Site owners Walronds Preservation Trust will put the money towards a £2.4m project to refurbish the 16th Century town house.

Chair of the trustees, Cllr Jane Campbell, said: “This is wonderful news and will guarantee the future of the building.

“The fundraising continues but none of this without the hard work of all the volunteers and the support of the community.”

The Walronds, a Tudor house from the early 1600s, has been put on English Heritage’s ‘At Risk’ Register over concerns about its deteriorating condition.

It is a rare intact example of an early town house and provides a unique snapshot of 17th-century living. The project will enable full restoration of the house and ensure the ground floor and gardens are available to the public daily.

The upper floors will be converted into holiday accommodation to provide essential income for the site’s long-term future.

There will be an extensive education programme for people of all ages to learn about the property and acquire conservation and volunteering skills.

The community kitchen will be the focus of a social enterprise partnership in catering for students with learning disabilities from Tiverton’s Petroc College.

Work is expected to start this winter.

The money for The Walronds is one of four grants announced by the HLF this week.

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