As we come into the harvest season, there is plenty to look back on and be grateful for. Middleport Pottery has achieved great success and recognition since it opened in June, and several of the projects we work with have been awarded funding. It has also been wonderful to see our new BRICK education programme take off with workshops around the country.

At the heart of all we do is a desire to see the UK’s heritage working to benefi t deprived communities by creating a sense of local pride and providing new opportunities. Many of our projects require a long-term commitment, but each milestone brings us and the people we work with closer to achieving our goals. When we see somewhere like Middleport Pottery fully open, we are reminded of how worthwhile these projects are. Thank you for your support.

Ros Kerslake Chief Executive

A season of fruitfulness

newsletter Autumn 2014

Bright new future for Middleport Pottery

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After a three year restoration project, Middleport Pottery was offi cially opened with much celebration on 24 June by HRH The Prince of Wales. Arriving by canal boat he was received by a brass band of local students, donors and dignitaries including the Lord Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent.

The Prince was given a tour of the new visitor experience at the Pottery, including the Victorian offi ces displaying ceramics made over the years. He also stepped inside the industrial bottle kiln with projections and sounds from the Pottery’s past and viewed the mould store with the largest mould collection in Europe. He then met donors and supporters at a champagne reception in the new café. Burleigh pottery workers also presented The Prince with a teapot made from the same mould fi rst used to create a gift for his great-

grandmother, HRH Queen Mary, in 1913.

During his visit, The Prince said, ‘My Trust has been working tirelessly to conserve and regenerate Middleport Pottery so that traditional pottery production can continue, new craft businesses can be given

an opportunity to grow, and, importantly, an education and visitor attraction can be created so that local people and those from much further afi eld can learn about our wonderful British ceramics industry… I am absolutely thrilled that this Pottery is alive and breathing once again.’

The Pottery offi cially opened to the public on 1 July. Visit www.middleportpottery.co.uk for more information or www.youtube.com/PrincesRegen for footage from the opening.

@PrincesRegen /princesregeneration

Photos: Christopher Huthwaite

Busy fi rst year for the BRICK programme BRICK is our new education programme for community groups working on heritage regeneration projects. In the UK more and more of these groups are being made responsible for heritage assets as public bodies continue to face budget cuts and commercial fi nance remains diffi cult to secure. Although they have great enthusiasm, a lack of experience and relevant skills can mean community groups struggle to secure funding and deliver successful projects. We already work with community groups in most of our projects, but BRICK is allowing us to make our expertise available on a much wider scale to those that most need it.

Since April we have held BRICK workshops in Norwich, Plymouth, Edinburgh and Yorkshire, offering expert training from our staff and partner organisations. The workshops have been very successful with an average rating from attendees of between 4 and 5 out of 5.

On Tuesday 23 September we are also excited to be holding

our very fi rst annual BRICK conference – ‘Investment, Creativity and Partnerships: The Future of Heritage Regeneration Projects’ – at The Carriageworks in Leeds. With high profi le speakers including The Heritage Lottery Fund, Igloo, Locality, RBS and Google, it will cover topics from social investment loans to publicising projects. The conference will be an opportunity to debate key issues in the sector and celebrate success.

It will also launch major new resources including BRICKwork, a new online networking site. The site is the fi rst of its kind and will allow community groups to communicate, share contacts, skills and resources (www.brick-work.org).

To fi nd out more about the BRICK programme and to book conference tickets, visit www.princes-regeneration.org/resources/brick

The Montagu Monuments are 18th century memorial sculptures of national importance in St Edmund’s Church, Warkton, Northamptonshire. We have been working with St Edmund’s Parochial Church Council and the Buccleuch Living Heritage Trust to help craft their conservation management plan, activity plan and project plans.

Work to conserve the four Monuments is coming along

extremely well and is set to be completed before November. The work has included cleaning the marble with poultice and replacing some of the core of corroded ironwork. The work will also recast lost details such as the hand of the monument to Elizabeth, Duchess of Buccleuch.

Rather than restoring the monuments behind closed doors, project staff have been holding Thursday guided open days, which will continue throughout September, allowing visitors to see this fascinating work. Conservation specialists are on hand to talk about the processes and so far around 175 people have visited. For those too far away to visit, Marian Crenshaw Austin, who is on a conservation work placement there, is writing a detailed blog on the restoration: www.stedmundwarktonworkplacement.wordpress.com

See the restoration of Montagu Monuments this month

t. 020 3262 0560 e. info@princes-regeneration.org www.princes-regeneration.org

Main picture: Hugh Rolo from Locality speaking at a workshop Photos: Peter Byrne

Middleport Pottery has received two wonderful pieces of news. First it was selected as ‘Community Champions’ winner at the Heritage Open Days Awards, for working so closely with the local community to promote the project.

Now it has been shortlisted for a prestigious English Heritage Angel Award, for the Best Rescue of an Industrial Building or Site. It was selected for its historic signifi cance, the success of the restoration project and its involvement of local young people. There is also a chance for it to win a further people’s choice English Heritage award – to nominate please visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VJSGRJ8

t. 020 3262 0560 e. info@princes-regeneration.org www.princes-regeneration.org

Middleport Pottery recognised in national awards

Wonderful news for Worksop Priory Gatehouse

The Wedgwood Institute is an 1865 Grade II* listed building in the centre of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent. It was built with public donations to hold courses for working men on science, business and the arts. The front wall is covered with fascinating mosaics, but structural problems forced the owners, Stoke-on-Trent Council, to close the site in 2009.

We have been interested in fi nding a solution for Wedgwood for many years. In June there was a huge step forward when the council decided to offer us a long term lease for minimal rent to restore it. The council has also given funding of £250k. In

Moving forward with the Wedgwood Institute

addition, we discovered we were successful in our English Heritage application, which has provided a further £200k for the fi rst phase of work. We have now appointed the architects Purcell UK, and can begin urgent works before the end of the year.

Our long-term aim is to use the building to provide space for 20-25 businesses, creating 100-150 jobs, and space for business meetings, professional training and mentoring. The site will hopefully soon become a huge boost for the community and the area.

Built in 1103, Worksop Priory was one of the largest Augustinian Monasteries. Its Grade I listed gatehouse dates from the early 14th century and is on English Heritage’s Heritage at Risk Register. The gatehouse is stunning, with a highly-decorated chapel on the fi rst fl oor, which can be reached through a spectacular fan vaulted ‘entrance’.

We are supporting the Worksop Priory Gatehouse Community Trust, whose aim is to bring the Gatehouse back to its former glory and to reinstate its hospitality and educational role. In August we were thrilled to discover that, with our help, the Trust secured all the funding

necessary (c.£120k) to deliver the fi rst phase of the project. We are now in the process of appointing a conservation architect that will oversee the important work, starting in November 2014, to protect the building from further deterioration and loss of historic detail.

We would like to thank English Heritage, WREN, Nottingham County Council and Nottinghamshire Historic Churches Trust for funding the project – and all the project’s supporters for their help and enthusiasm.

Photo: Rahil Ahmad

Top: details from inside the gatehouse chapel Photos: Vitanee Oliver

Writing a will is an opportunity to make sure the things you care most about in life are still provided for. It’s never too early to write or update your will. Doing so can bring wonderful peace of mind for you and your loved ones that your wishes will be honoured. You may also choose to give a gift to charity, leaving a legacy that will live on through one of your favourite causes.

Next week is Remember a Charity in your Will Week (www.rememberacharity.org.uk) which raises awareness of how important legacy gifts are. Many charities survive only because of this vital level of support. However, while many people state a desire to leave a charitable legacy, only 6% of us in the UK actually manage to. This year Remember a Charity is inviting people to become ‘living legends’ by making this commitment in their wills.

The Telegraph will also be publishing a special supplement this Saturday 6 September. Do have a read if you have time.

If you have left us a gift in your will we would love to know. For more information, please contact Colette Craddock on 020 3262 0560 orcolette.craddock@princes-regeneration.org

Remember a Charity in your Will Week 8-14 September

The Cleveland Pools Trust is delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has awarded it a fi rst round pass for £4.1m of grant funding. This is a giant step forward for the Trust in realising its dream of restoring and reopening the Grade II* listed Georgian outdoor swimming pool. We have been supporting the Trust since 2007 and provided it with advice and guidance on making its HLF application.

Cleveland Pools in Bath gets HLF backing

The Trust will now receive the fi rst £366,200 for the fi rst phase of the project. This includes appointing a design team of architects, engineers and surveyors, and developing an activity plan on how they will involve the local community.

Ann Dunlop, Chairman of the Trust, said: ‘The Trust and its many supporters will be over the moon... The success of our bid is all the more remarkable given that we are all volunteers with no paid staff.’

14 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0QP t. 020 3262 0560 e. info@princes-regeneration.org www.princes-regeneration.org

@PrincesRegen /princesregeneration

The community of New Abbey in Dumfries and Galloway has told us that it wants to be part of an exciting new future for Shambellie House, the Scots Baronial house that used to be the National Museum of Costume.

We have already done some work for the Scottish Government looking at options for the site. From our discussions with local residents and stakeholders two possibilities have arisen:

1) using the building as a catering or outdoor education facility

New Abbey residents back Shambellie House plans

The Trust celebrates at the Pools

2) combining upmarket residential holiday lets on the upper fl oors with a community use on the ground fl oor

We recently spent a day looking at these plans in more detail and were delighted to fi nd enthusiasm in the community to take on responsibility for the building and these projects.

We are looking to support the work as part of our BRICK mentoring programme, and hope to work with the community to develop their skills in fundraising, project management and promotion.