SEARCH FOR A MASHAM HERITAGE CENTRE
Background
Over the past five years MoM has been able to develop a strong base of work with pupils from local schools and older people from sheltered housing, church groups, and across the community. Different groups of participants have worked with HLF, Nidderdale AONB, Heritage Schools, and Harrogate Borough Council. We have set up a website and social media presence, which are developing a large online audience, with conversation involving people with Mashamshire links from all over the world.
Our volunteers have produced and delivered talks and displays on a range of topics and produced a number of booklets. We are working with the County Records Office, local history groups, schools, businesses and individuals to catalogue local sources.
MoM has two significant archival collections: one of 25,000+ Masham legal documents from 1770 to 1950; and the other of over 2,000 photographs by George Hare, a local farmer, preacher and newspaper correspondent active from the 1950s-1990s. We also hold a collection of objects of interest, oral interviews, photographs and maps.
The need for premises
The overwhelming barrier to MoM’s development is that we currently operate with no office or public space. Our papers and artefacts are in storage, and we have no regular or direct way to meet and share our activities and archives with local people or visitors. For six months in 2013 MoM was donated by a local family business the use of an empty shop, and this physical centre made a massive impact on delivering our aims to protect, explore and celebrate Masham’s heritage.
This premises enabled us to:
Masham currently has neither a town museum nor an archive; nowhere for local people and visitors alike to find out about the area’s history, culture, businesses and families. This is a significant omission for a town of such unique heritage, historical importance, and growing visitor profile. Heritage education is the primary strand of MoM activities as we aim to showcase the long social and environmental heritage of Masham, and how Masham has survived and remained sustainable when other comparable rural market towns have not.
A heritage centre would enable MoM to reinstate all of the work mentioned above, with an expanded focus on learning and sharing opportunities. We are especially keen to provide a venue that is comfortable for older residents, enabling them to share their memories in comfort, and in the knowledge that their lives will be of interest to people far afield and those not yet even born.
THE BAKEHOUSE
We have found what could be the ideal venue at The Bakehouse.
The space is currently used for shop storage and is in need of refurbishment. MoM seeks to secure and repair this historic space, conserve the cast-iron ovens and associated baking equipment, and establish a permanent heritage archive, workshop, training, research and exhibition facility for Mashamshire.
Our market research has shown a strong commitment to a permanent facility from all areas of the local area – businesses, charities, tourism providers, and local individuals and families. The Bakehouse would have a major impact on the education partnerships we would be able to make, create increased visitor learning opportunities, and enable work with local people of all ages to develop and strengthen their appreciation and respect for our history, landscape and architecture.
Current status
Over the course of the last three years we have consulted widely with local stakeholders, including a recent survey (paper and online) of potential users. The findings of these consultations have fed into the venue options analysis, the consequent selection of The Bakehouse as a venue, and future activity plans.
The concept is approved wholeheartedly by local stakeholders including businesses, Harrogate Borough Council, the Community Office / tourist information centre, and Masham Parish Council. The Bakehouse has only recently become available as a possibility, but the owners are enthusiastic about the potential of the project to secure their building, increase their business footfall, and offer the town a facility which it has previously lacked.
Do to the sad and unexpected passing of Mr Lilley we had put on hold our plans for The Bakehouse. We are now exploring options for use of the entire site.
We had successfully progressed to the Full Application stage for Yorkshire Dales LEADER under their SP1_01 Tourism Development Scheme as well as support from the Heritage Lottery Fund. We are now concentrating on securing partners and funding as we develop Business and Marketing Plans and carry out further market research and feasibility studies, as well as undertaking the detailed survey and design work for the space. A Rapid Heritage Assessment and building survey have already taken place.
The project will create a new service for the people of Mashamshire as a heritage and educational facility, as a source of education, training and skills development, and as an opportunity for personal and community development through volunteering.
Support and development of heritage crafts and building skills
The repair and renovation process will employ local construction and heritage skills professionals. There will also be significant opportunities for apprentices to work on the project, and to work with MoM going forward under our long-term partnership with the Heritage Craft Alliance, a training company based four miles away. Once The Bakehouse is open, our activity programme will encourage local small and micro businesses to hold workshops supported by our partnership with local art and craft training provider ArtisOn. We currently work with ArtisOn, a Masham-based Community Interest Company, on building their community activities, using arts and crafts to build social inclusion and for reminiscence work.
Business Impact
In addition to the apprenticeship opportunities we will be supporting, once operational The Bakehouse will provide a resource for a number of the micro and small businesses based in and around Mashamshire. The accessible workshop space will be available for events, workshops and training led by local businesses to promote their products. For example, a small business might develop their customer base through cooking workshops in a light, airy workspace that makes the direct connection with our food heritage and land.
The Bakehouse will have a significant impact on the Masham tourism offer. Building from our strong partnership with the Community Office we will engage visitors in our heritage stories – increasing dwell time in town and their recommendations and returns. Our events and workshop programme will build the family activities available in town.
We have rapidly increasing numbers of visitors wanting to research their own family links with the area and The Bakehouse will provide not only historical sources but space and expertise to help with studies. It is our experience that visitors will stay in local accommodation to research.
Environmental heritage
The Bakehouse is centrally located within the Masham conservation area and is a prime example of a vernacular working building at the rear of our Georgian facades. It will be the host and first reference point for MoM workshops and walks that help people to understand, appreciate and maintain older properties. The historic role of a town bakery will be a key component of the heritage story we will be sharing and its original ovens and baking equipment will be secured.
MoM’s workshops and programmes at The Bakehouse will help people deepen their appreciation of, and develop their care for, the local Dales landscape. People of all ages will learn how the nearby moors and dales, rivers and streams have provided and still provide wool, water, coal, light and wildlife; and how these in turn formed and sustain our local industries of brewing, sheep farming, mining, art, tourism and trade.
Social impact
MoM has been driven since its foundation by a desire to engage and involve local people. We are committed to our organisational aims of protecting, exploring and celebrating the unique history of our area. Sadly over recent years we have seen the deaths of many key Mashamshire characters with strong memories of the town and surroundings, and we think it vital to take time to cherish and hear the stories of those still with us. The 20th century was a time of great change in Mashamshire as a traditional market town adapted, welcomed, and worked alongside light industry, tourism and a cultural life. Many older people remember the Masham that had been unchanged for centuries, and have fascinating experiences of living through these changes. The working pattern of farmers’ lives means many come to live in town in later years, where they can be isolated from all they once knew. MoM provides an important social link for these and other potentially isolated older folk; a space where their experience, skills and memories are valued.
Setting up The Bakehouse will enable MoM to significantly increase the day-to-day relationship we can build with vulnerable and isolated residents. We will also be able to build on the successful and popular intergenerational activities we deliver, where elders and schoolchildren are able to learn from each other.
Having a space in 2013-14 demonstrated how valuable it is for all people within a locality to be able to connect and feel part of an active community and a heritage story. MoM’s volunteer rate soared with resulting impact on local skills, social inclusion, confidence and mental wellbeing. Heritage has become a key employment option, and at The Bakehouse we will be able to develop academic research skills that will support people into further education and employment. MoM works to ensure the inclusion of all; The Bakehouse’s central position within Masham, and good disabled access, mean we will have no barriers to volunteering or learning.
As with many rural communities, Masham struggles with youth employment. The renovation project and subsequent workshop programme will provide access for local young people to apprenticeships, skills development and aspiration within the built heritage profession. In addition, opportunities to develop workshop programmes will enable isolated micro entrepreneurs to link into support within and amongst our providers and partners.
Background
Over the past five years MoM has been able to develop a strong base of work with pupils from local schools and older people from sheltered housing, church groups, and across the community. Different groups of participants have worked with HLF, Nidderdale AONB, Heritage Schools, and Harrogate Borough Council. We have set up a website and social media presence, which are developing a large online audience, with conversation involving people with Mashamshire links from all over the world.
Our volunteers have produced and delivered talks and displays on a range of topics and produced a number of booklets. We are working with the County Records Office, local history groups, schools, businesses and individuals to catalogue local sources.
MoM has two significant archival collections: one of 25,000+ Masham legal documents from 1770 to 1950; and the other of over 2,000 photographs by George Hare, a local farmer, preacher and newspaper correspondent active from the 1950s-1990s. We also hold a collection of objects of interest, oral interviews, photographs and maps.
The need for premises
The overwhelming barrier to MoM’s development is that we currently operate with no office or public space. Our papers and artefacts are in storage, and we have no regular or direct way to meet and share our activities and archives with local people or visitors. For six months in 2013 MoM was donated by a local family business the use of an empty shop, and this physical centre made a massive impact on delivering our aims to protect, explore and celebrate Masham’s heritage.
This premises enabled us to:
- set up learning workshops and displays;
- build ongoing relationships with older, isolated local people;
- recruit a number of volunteers for archiving and project delivery (many of whom would work with us again if there were space for them do so so)
- offer a safe, clean space to focus on our original documents.
Masham currently has neither a town museum nor an archive; nowhere for local people and visitors alike to find out about the area’s history, culture, businesses and families. This is a significant omission for a town of such unique heritage, historical importance, and growing visitor profile. Heritage education is the primary strand of MoM activities as we aim to showcase the long social and environmental heritage of Masham, and how Masham has survived and remained sustainable when other comparable rural market towns have not.
A heritage centre would enable MoM to reinstate all of the work mentioned above, with an expanded focus on learning and sharing opportunities. We are especially keen to provide a venue that is comfortable for older residents, enabling them to share their memories in comfort, and in the knowledge that their lives will be of interest to people far afield and those not yet even born.
THE BAKEHOUSE
We have found what could be the ideal venue at The Bakehouse.
The space is currently used for shop storage and is in need of refurbishment. MoM seeks to secure and repair this historic space, conserve the cast-iron ovens and associated baking equipment, and establish a permanent heritage archive, workshop, training, research and exhibition facility for Mashamshire.
Our market research has shown a strong commitment to a permanent facility from all areas of the local area – businesses, charities, tourism providers, and local individuals and families. The Bakehouse would have a major impact on the education partnerships we would be able to make, create increased visitor learning opportunities, and enable work with local people of all ages to develop and strengthen their appreciation and respect for our history, landscape and architecture.
Current status
Over the course of the last three years we have consulted widely with local stakeholders, including a recent survey (paper and online) of potential users. The findings of these consultations have fed into the venue options analysis, the consequent selection of The Bakehouse as a venue, and future activity plans.
The concept is approved wholeheartedly by local stakeholders including businesses, Harrogate Borough Council, the Community Office / tourist information centre, and Masham Parish Council. The Bakehouse has only recently become available as a possibility, but the owners are enthusiastic about the potential of the project to secure their building, increase their business footfall, and offer the town a facility which it has previously lacked.
Do to the sad and unexpected passing of Mr Lilley we had put on hold our plans for The Bakehouse. We are now exploring options for use of the entire site.
We had successfully progressed to the Full Application stage for Yorkshire Dales LEADER under their SP1_01 Tourism Development Scheme as well as support from the Heritage Lottery Fund. We are now concentrating on securing partners and funding as we develop Business and Marketing Plans and carry out further market research and feasibility studies, as well as undertaking the detailed survey and design work for the space. A Rapid Heritage Assessment and building survey have already taken place.
The project will create a new service for the people of Mashamshire as a heritage and educational facility, as a source of education, training and skills development, and as an opportunity for personal and community development through volunteering.
Support and development of heritage crafts and building skills
The repair and renovation process will employ local construction and heritage skills professionals. There will also be significant opportunities for apprentices to work on the project, and to work with MoM going forward under our long-term partnership with the Heritage Craft Alliance, a training company based four miles away. Once The Bakehouse is open, our activity programme will encourage local small and micro businesses to hold workshops supported by our partnership with local art and craft training provider ArtisOn. We currently work with ArtisOn, a Masham-based Community Interest Company, on building their community activities, using arts and crafts to build social inclusion and for reminiscence work.
Business Impact
In addition to the apprenticeship opportunities we will be supporting, once operational The Bakehouse will provide a resource for a number of the micro and small businesses based in and around Mashamshire. The accessible workshop space will be available for events, workshops and training led by local businesses to promote their products. For example, a small business might develop their customer base through cooking workshops in a light, airy workspace that makes the direct connection with our food heritage and land.
The Bakehouse will have a significant impact on the Masham tourism offer. Building from our strong partnership with the Community Office we will engage visitors in our heritage stories – increasing dwell time in town and their recommendations and returns. Our events and workshop programme will build the family activities available in town.
We have rapidly increasing numbers of visitors wanting to research their own family links with the area and The Bakehouse will provide not only historical sources but space and expertise to help with studies. It is our experience that visitors will stay in local accommodation to research.
Environmental heritage
The Bakehouse is centrally located within the Masham conservation area and is a prime example of a vernacular working building at the rear of our Georgian facades. It will be the host and first reference point for MoM workshops and walks that help people to understand, appreciate and maintain older properties. The historic role of a town bakery will be a key component of the heritage story we will be sharing and its original ovens and baking equipment will be secured.
MoM’s workshops and programmes at The Bakehouse will help people deepen their appreciation of, and develop their care for, the local Dales landscape. People of all ages will learn how the nearby moors and dales, rivers and streams have provided and still provide wool, water, coal, light and wildlife; and how these in turn formed and sustain our local industries of brewing, sheep farming, mining, art, tourism and trade.
Social impact
MoM has been driven since its foundation by a desire to engage and involve local people. We are committed to our organisational aims of protecting, exploring and celebrating the unique history of our area. Sadly over recent years we have seen the deaths of many key Mashamshire characters with strong memories of the town and surroundings, and we think it vital to take time to cherish and hear the stories of those still with us. The 20th century was a time of great change in Mashamshire as a traditional market town adapted, welcomed, and worked alongside light industry, tourism and a cultural life. Many older people remember the Masham that had been unchanged for centuries, and have fascinating experiences of living through these changes. The working pattern of farmers’ lives means many come to live in town in later years, where they can be isolated from all they once knew. MoM provides an important social link for these and other potentially isolated older folk; a space where their experience, skills and memories are valued.
Setting up The Bakehouse will enable MoM to significantly increase the day-to-day relationship we can build with vulnerable and isolated residents. We will also be able to build on the successful and popular intergenerational activities we deliver, where elders and schoolchildren are able to learn from each other.
Having a space in 2013-14 demonstrated how valuable it is for all people within a locality to be able to connect and feel part of an active community and a heritage story. MoM’s volunteer rate soared with resulting impact on local skills, social inclusion, confidence and mental wellbeing. Heritage has become a key employment option, and at The Bakehouse we will be able to develop academic research skills that will support people into further education and employment. MoM works to ensure the inclusion of all; The Bakehouse’s central position within Masham, and good disabled access, mean we will have no barriers to volunteering or learning.
As with many rural communities, Masham struggles with youth employment. The renovation project and subsequent workshop programme will provide access for local young people to apprenticeships, skills development and aspiration within the built heritage profession. In addition, opportunities to develop workshop programmes will enable isolated micro entrepreneurs to link into support within and amongst our providers and partners.