Blanchland Community Development Organisation is thrilled to acknowledge a National Hewritage Fund Grant grant of £98,900 towards the second stage of The Blanchland Abbey Project, the ‘6 As of Blanchland’. Together with a generous £20,000 from the Lord Crewe Charity to mark their tercentenary, this means that the project will be able to begin work on its ambitious and exciting programme next month.
Blanchland, Northumberland, within the AONB North Pennines, is the only village in the country to preserve the complete footprint of a medieval abbey.
Made possible thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, this project seeks to enable the whole community to participate actively in a heritage-led regeneration of their village.
The 6 A’s are: archaeology, acoustics, artefacts, archives, audiences and, not least, the abbey itself.The project will include:
• Archaeological investigation of intriguing anomalies revealed by ground penetrating radar, including what appear to be incredibly rare early medieval acoustic chambers.
• A new exhibition in the Abbey featuring newly restored medieval glass and other artefacts.
• Recording and analysis of an exceptionally rich heritage of graffiti in and around the abbey – Blanchland’s social history.
• An innovative 4D acoustic survey of the abbey to help explain why its acoustic is so special and to help us plan and adapt the building to accommodate a wide variety of events.
• A richly varied programme of arts events to test out the possibilities offered by the building and to attract new audiences.
The project will secure continuing funding for a Project Manager and the addition of a Community and Events Officer to help achieve our vision and objectives.
Alice Ellison, Project Treasurer and long-term resident of Blanchland said, ‘this is totally exciting news. I’m really looking forward to it. It’ll make a huge difference to the abbey and the whole village. It’s a go-ahead project, all looking to the future.’
For further information please contact:
Revd Dr Helen Savage
01434 676852
helensavage1@gmail.com