News July 2024
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31st July 2024
There was a wonderful visit to the cottage today from committee members of The Felpham Conservation Society. The Society will help our Trust make a success of the September 19th Public Meeting and take our project forward. Doug Nicholls, Blake Cottage Trust chairperson commented: “It was a real privilege to hear the passion and commitment of the committee members for all aspects of their community including our plans to work collaboratively to make Blake’s Cottage an internationally renowned attraction.”
26th July 2024
Susan Wightman director of Libanus press, authority on book typography and design, and producer of the Tate catalogue of its collection of Blake’s works visited the cottage.
25th July 2024
25th July
Our Chair Doug Nicholls and Ambassador Steve Connor had a very useful and informative meeting with the Director of Tate Britain, Alex Farquharson and Alice Isley, Tate Britain Curator of British Art c. 1730-1850. They discussed the Blake Cottage restoration project and national Blake collections held in London.
A Blake Cottage Trust Restoration Steering Group was established to drive the restoration work forward. The sub-committee of the board is composed of one external advisor and 3 Trustees and an Ambassador. Its role is to progress all building works both for the initial restoration and in the longer terms the creation of the Blake Centre.
24th July 2024
Bognor Regis Arts and Cultural Heritage partnership takes initial photographs for local profiling project
Kevin Short of K4K Films commences filming the restoration and revival of the cottage. This will provide a permanent record and documentary of the transformation.
22nd July 2024
The "tin hat" is now up and protecting the cottage roof from the worst of the weather. The team got the scaffolding up and the protective covering in place above and around the cottage in less than a week. Now that the rain can't penetrate the old thatch we hope that dip in the roof that had been getting progressively worse over the last few months will be stabilised and it will give us breathing space to raise the funds - possibly as much as £250,00 - that we need to repair the roof beams and rafters and cover the building in new, weatherproof thatch. Our Chair Doug Nicholls said: "We want do this as quickly as possible and it will give us the starting point for the major restoration work to follow."
5th July 2024
The leading art critic and arts television presenter Andrew Graham-Dixon has visited Blake's Cottage with our Chair Doug Nicholls. He said he was excited to see a building that has an important place in English cultural history. Speaking about the Blake Cottage Trust's plans to restore the building and create a Blake centre he said: “I can’t think of a building anywhere in this country that I want more to see something done with and to see it really thriving and prospering and to have something made of it.”