Pennoyer's Buildings Preservation Trust

Hon Secretary Mrs Z Clarke,
1 The Cottages, Bank Street , Pulham Market, Diss, Norfolk IP21 4TG
Telephone 01379 676515

Report 1997­98

The activities of the Trust during the past year can best be described as significant forward movement during the first part of the year and consolidation of the position that it had reached during the second part.

The school was inspected by Stephen Heywood, Historic Buildings Conservation Officer with Norfolk County Council and a recognised expert on medieval buildings. His report was received in late May. Two quotes from this will illustrate the importance which the experts attach to the school:

The former village school of Pulham St Mary has a remarkable history which is rendered exceptional by the survival of a medieval chapel of considerable distinction at its core.

And, after discussing parallels with the Chapel of the Guild of Merchant Venturers at York ­ a building acknowledged as being of national importance:

Whether or not it served as hall and chapel, it remains an extremely rare and valuable witness of a local medieval guild.

Stephen Heywood addressed the Trust's AGM on the architectural and historical importance of the school, later in the year.

The feasibility study was completed in the middle of the year. The then Chairman (John Colby Clarke), the then Hon Secretary (Hilary Clutten) and John Halliday visited the Warwickshire Rural Enterprise Network (who did the feasibility study) at Stoneleigh in May, to discuss the draft. The final version was received in June.

Copies of the feasibility study have been reviewed by a range of individuals and organisations including the MP, South Norfolk Council, bodies that had funded the study and potential new Directors of the Trust.

The Directors held useful meetings with officers of South Norfolk Council (representing functions related to Leisure Services, Tourism and Business Development who are supportive of the general proposals that the Trust has for the future and who represent routes to sources of funding); with South Norfolk's Conservation Architect, and with John Macgregor MP, who has offered assistance with obtaining lottery funding.

Representatives of the Trust's Directors met and discussed possible options concerning future ownership of the building with the Trustees (Rector and Churchwardens) and subsequently met at Hingham for conjoint discussions with David Wheeler of the Rural Community Council. I believe that both sides found this meeting useful and as a result have a clearer idea of future direction.

Thanks to the efforts of the then Chairman, The Preservation Trust received a grant from Mrs LD Rope's Charitable Trust of £1000 towards the cost and repairs for the School and a promise of a further £2500 when purchase takes place. Further social and fundraising activities have included a sherry party at the Herschel-Shorlands, the Hog Roast and raffle of a painting by Kay Ohsten ­ which raised about £200 ­ and the fete at Hill House ­ which raised over £400.

Two of the Directors have undertaken repairs to the roof to prevent the further ingress of water.

Useful contacts have been established with the Airship Heritage Trust who possess many of the records from the Pulham Airship Station.

With the loss of key members of the organisation during the year ­ in particular the Hon Secretary and, at the AGM, the Chairman ­ forward momentum has not been as rapid as many of us would have liked to have seen. We have now added two new Directors one of whom has taken over as Hon Secretary. Nevertheless, it will take a little while before they are both fully au fait with the activities of the Trust.

We believe that the Trust is now poised to move forward significantly in the course of the next six months or so. The immediate tasks as we see them are:

• to determine a value for the building and site
• to negotiate the potential purchase of the building and site with the present Trustees
• to consult with the public regarding purchase
• to decide whether to undertake the project in two separate stages (ie purchase of site and building as one stage and refurbishment and conversion as the second stage)
• to investigate alternative options to those considered in the original feasibility study
• to publish another newsletter to members, parishioners and interested bodies and individuals to present the findings of the feasibility study (or studies)
• to hold a public meeting in the village to discuss options for the future use of the building
• to finalise the project's direction and objectives
• to submit applications for grant aid to, for example, South Norfolk Council, Heritage Lottery Foundation, Pulham St Mary Parish Council, other charities and the new environmental trusts.

The Directors would like to take this opportunity of expressing their appreciation for all of the hard work put into the Trust by Hilary Clutten and John Colby Clarke.

John Halliday
12 June 1998
on behalf of the Directors

Directors of Pennoyer's Buildings Preservation Trust

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