COMMUNITY hubs across the Forest of Bowland have received commemorative plaques recognising projects funded through the Champion Bowland charity and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The first tranche of plaques was presented to four education, heritage and community projects by Champion Bowland chair Mike Pugh in a presentation at Browsholme Hall, near Clitheroe, – one of the beneficiaries of Champion Bowland’s small grants scheme.
The small grants scheme awards accessible grants of up to £750 for local projects which benefit the environment, local communities and visitors, and of the first four to benefit, one is a farm near Bentham, and the other a historical archive in Slaidburn.
After suspending the fund during the pandemic, Champion Bowland now has a series of new funding projects in the pipeline and is actively seeking applications for further grants in the future.
Keasden Head Farm, Keasden, situated high on the northern slope of the Bowland Fells above Bentham, received a grant.
Sheila Mason has welcomed hundreds of visitors to her working farm to learn about life on a remote upland hill farm. Champion Bowland has helped fund a viewing screen in the farm’s education room enabling disabled visitors to safely engage with the learning experiences at Keasden Head.
Slaidburn Archive, Slaidburn, also received a grant. The small grants scheme part-funded the printing of book ‘Old Bashall Eaves: a rural village through the Centuries’, chronicling the history of the hamlet in words and pictures from the 16th to the 20th centuries.
The plaques themselves are hand-crafted in native ash wood from sustainable sources by Hellion Toys – an artisan family business based in the village of Waddington – one of the principal visitor gateways into the Forest of Bowland.
Chairman of Champion Bowland Mike Pugh said: “We are delighted to be able to highlight excellent projects in the Forest of Bowland which we have been glad to support. The grant we received from the National Lottery Heritage Fund has enabled us to step up our celebration of these.”
The other beneficiaries were: Old Thornley School, Thornley with Wheatley, which is being transformed by volunteers into a community space for local people, visitors, tourists and the wider Forest of Bowland area.
The Cart Shed at Browsholme Hall, Bashall Eaves: Browsholme Hall is Lancashire’s oldest family home. A grant from Champion Bowland helped pay for the conversion of a disused cart shed into a cafe and meeting space – creating jobs for local residents.
Find out more at: http://www.championbowland.org/
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here