A lottery “win” has sparked major celebrations in Golcar.
For the Colne Valley Museum has received a confirmed grant of £719,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for their “Sustaining the Dream” project.
Delighted volunteers who run the museum can now press ahead with ambitious plans and admitted: “It’s a dream come true”.
The community heritage project is run entirely by its volunteer members and the intention is to renovate and refurbish the four weavers’ cottages which house the Museum and create a period bedroom, so that an entire 19th century weavers’ cottage, with a living kitchen, wash cellar and a loom chamber, can be explored by visitors to this hidden gem.
A new meeting room is also planned for the use of local groups, as well as better facilities for visitors and schools. A Community Heritage Resource Centre will be created to enable greater access to the museum’s collection, especially for those tracing their family history.
The project will also enable many of the Museum’s documents and photographic material to be digitised, allowing public access to the collection for the first time, and volunteers will be given training to carry on with this work in the future.
The Museum is housed in a row of four weavers’ cottages built in the 1840s, known as Spring Rock, and an earlier grant from the HLF enabled the members to incorporate the end cottage and former Cliffe Ash Fisheries into the building and create a new entrance, shop and Spring Rock Tea Rooms, which has proved a popular meeting place for locals as well as visitors.
Here are some pictures from the opening of the extension
Trustee Janet Jobber said: “We are delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has given us this grant.
“Our dedicated team of volunteer members have kept the Museum running for almost 45 years and it has always been our dream to have the whole row of Spring Rock back under single ownership once more.
“The grant will enable us to fulfil that dream and preserve our buildings and traditions for future generations.
“This is an exciting time for us but we still have hard work to do in delivering the project. One of the conditions of the grant is that we raise 5% of the funding ourselves which is £36,000. We have made a good start but need to find more so we have set up an on-line donation opportunity at www.totalgiving.co.uk/charity/colne-valley-museum .”
Fiona Spiers, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund Yorkshire and The Humber, said: “We are delighted to support the plans by the community volunteers who manage this fascinating museum so they can continue to preserve and display the traditional skills and heritage of their valley for the enjoyment of visitors now and in the future.”
