We’ve been awarded a Heritage Fund Grant
We are delighted to have been awarded a grant of £154,729 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, to look towards the future for Woodchester Mansion. This has been complemented by a further £30,000 award from Stroud District Council, owners of the Mansion. The project will progress conservation plans and secure the future of the Grade I listed historic Mansion. PRESS RELEASE.
The Woodchester Mansion Trust will be able to build capacity and understand the scale of the capital work required through a future project. The Trust’s future aim is to have the Mansion entirely conserved, with the chapel and roof repaired, fully accessible for enjoyment by the local community and supported by a thriving business by 2035. The study will be conducted in partnership with the National Trust, owners of the surrounding Woodchester Park, in order to explore how a more unified experience can be created for visitors. Both charities want more people, both locally and nationally, to enjoy the huge amount that the valley has to offer – the cultural experience of the unique unfinished Mansion and the tranquillity of nature in the surrounding landscape park.
L-R: SDC Property Manager Jill Fallows, SDC ward member Sarah Canning, Woodchester Mansion Trust Chair Rhiannon Wigzell, WMT Operations Manager Max Raven, NT Visitor Operations and Experience Manager, Cotswolds Countryside Max Biddlestone and NT General Manager for National Trust Cotswolds Countryside Jonny Loose. Photo: Simon Pizzey/Stroud District Council.
The scope of the project is broad. Outputs will include, from the conservation perspective, an update to our existing costed condition survey, and a costed plan and timeline for the work needed on the building. From the business perspective, a full business plan, funding appraisal and fundraising plan will be produced. A skills audit and access and spatial audits will be undertaken, the latter in conjunction with the National Trust. There will be a community engagement plan, building on developing our existing activities for everyone locally and introducing more people to the Mansion.
Work on the project has just started and it is due to be finished by end 2026. We then hope to move forward to apply for further grants to complete the conservation project.
The grant includes funds for a scoping study for the long-awaited and necessary repairs in the chapel – how can the vault be supported while allowing access for removal and replacement of the damaged springer stones?
Using money raised by National Lottery players, The National Lottery Heritage Fund supports projects that connect people and communities with the UK’s heritage. Securing the Future of Woodchester Mansion and Its Environment is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund.