Coultershaw Heritage Site given funding for recovery

Coultershaw Heritage Site has been awarded £36,200 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to help with Covid recovery.
The visitor centre at Coultershaw Heritage SiteThe visitor centre at Coultershaw Heritage Site
The visitor centre at Coultershaw Heritage Site

The pandemic has seen a reduction in income as no visitors have been allowed on site and the project has seen a decrease in volunteers, who help to carry out essential maintenance and restoration.

The project said it will enhance its offering to schools, creating curriculum activities to rebuild links with the schools and encourage more student groups to visit.

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It will also form a local history group to meet regularly and explore the history of Petworth, the surrounding farms and the important part that Coultershaw, and the River Rother, played in rural life in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

And it has recently adopted the strapline ‘Big little Coultershaw – so much to see and explore’, to point to the size of the site – with its number of buildings and exhibits which tell the story of the Mills, the Rother Navigation and transport.

Tony Sneller, the project manager, said: “This funding will allow us to engage a part time community engagement and research worker to support our team.

“It is just what we need to help us recover from the impact of Covid. They will help us to rebuild our relationship with our communities and reconnect with the schools in the area.

“It will also help us to strengthen our volunteer team.”

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In July, the project will be celebrating a belated 40th anniversary of the restoration of the Beam Pump. This should have been in 2020 but was cancelled due to Covid.

The 2021 season begins on Saturday, May 22, where there will be a display of classic and vintage cars from 1pm to 4.30pm.

On Sunday, May 23, the site will open from 11am to 4.30pm with a Tree Detectives Trail.

“Volunteers allowing, we aim to open on the first and third weekend of each month, plus bank holidays, until the end of September,” a spokesperson said.

To find out more about the site, and planned events, visit: {http://coultershaw.co.uk|coultershaw.co.uk