News May 2024
29th May 2024
Doug Nicholls, chairperson of the Blake Cottage Trust and fellow trustee Richard Clemmow met Cllr. Roger Nash, Deputy Leader of Arun District Council and Chair of the Economic Development Committee at the cottage. They showed Cllr. Nash the Cottage and garden and discussed how the Trust's plans to preserve the Cottage, returning it to a state which would be familiar to William and Catherine Blake, and to create a new Blake Centre celebrating his life and work, could form part of the council's arts and cultural vision for greater Bognor Regis. The council is currently working on a detailed plan with financial support from the Arts Council and have invited the Trust to collaborate.
Doug Nicholls with Cllr. Roger Nash
24th May 2024
The Trust is pleased to announce that Arun District Council has granted Listed Building Consent for the proposed roof works at Blake’s Cottage. This is an important step forward in our work to save the Cottage. The Listed building consent covers "the repair or replacement of structural roof timbers and the carrying out of rethatching of the roof including making good and redecoration of internal finishes affected by the works".
13th May 2024
The Blake Cottage Trust is delighted to announce that Bruce Dickinson has agreed to become the first patron of the charity. The Iron Maiden frontman has been a life-long devotee of the visionary, artist and poet, and has frequently referenced Blake’s works within his own creative output.
With the Cottage in desperate need of repair and plans to build a centre celebrating the life and work of William and Catherine Blake, Bruce will be at the vanguard of the fund-raising campaign and will soon be launching an auction of memorabilia from both Iron Maiden and his solo career, through the Iron Maiden Fanclub, including the William Blake gravestone as seen in the video for his latest single Rain on the Graves. Bruce also intends to play a fund-raising concert, details of which will be announced in due course.
Bruce said, “William Blake has given me so much over the years and I want to repay the debt by helping to restore the Cottage. Despite his impact on the world, there is no centre for Blake, nowhere people can visit to see the place where he actually lived and worked during a key part of his life. I want to change this.”
Doug Nicholls, Chair of The Blake Cottage Trust, said, “We are delighted to welcome Bruce as our Patron. Blake’s Cottage provides an important physical link to an artist and poet whose work helped shape Britain. With Bruce’s active support I am sure that we will be able to achieve our aim of restoring it for future generations.”
Details of Bruce Dickinson’s seventh solo album The Mandrake Project, and the associated worldwide tour can be found here: https://www.themandrakeproject.com/