£1.75m grant to help save Tudor house from ruin

A derelict historic Tudor house built in the early 1600s is to be restored after its trustees secured a £1.75 million grant to save the building from ruin.

The Walronds Preservation Trust, whose trustees have worked tirelessly for more than a decade to secure funding for the project, will now be able to transform the crumbling Grade II listed building in Cullompton, Devon.

Jane Campbell, chairman of trustees, said almost all the money was now in place to conserve and offer high-quality accommodation from the 17th century property in Fore Street.

The ground floor will be fully restored and the garden opened to the wider community.

The funds will pay for structural repairs and restoration of the original internal plasterwork ceilings and overmantels.

There are also plans for a community kitchen to provide cooking skills to students with learning difficulties from Petroc, formerly East Devon College, Tiverton. Holiday accommodation on the second and third floor will help fund future maintenance of the property.

Mrs Campbell said the property would also promote conservation education, adding: "We have around 90 per cent of the money and expect to start work in early 2011, with completion in the winter of 2012. It will uplift the general street scene because the house is so dilapidated at the moment and it will look absolutely stunning when the windows are repaired and the plastering complete.

"The garden will be available to people wanting a quiet place to have lunch, and there will be high quality self-catering holiday accommodation run by the Vivat Trust, which is getting interest from all over the world."

She said trustees had been working for 13 years on the project, which turned into a full-time operation once they inherited the property four years ago. Once the contract with the Heritage Lottery Fund is signed, the trustees will prepare specifications for conservation work and will start the tendering process.

Funding has also come from English Heritage, Devon County, Mid Devon District and Cullompton Town Councils, the Guild of Leathersellers, the Architectural Heritage Fund, the John Paul Getty Junior Trust, the Wolfson Foundation and individuals.

Mrs Campbell thanked volunteers and the community for their support and said: "We are sure the previous owner, June Severn, whose sole ambition was to see the house restored and in frequent use by the public, would be delighted with this announcement."

The Walronds will host a celebration party in the grounds later this year.

Nerys Watts, head of the Heritage Lottery Fund South West, said: "It has been at the heart of the town for more than 400 years. Local volunteers have worked tirelessly to ensure its survival."