We are overjoyed to hear that we have been awarded a £10,000 start-up grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), following our application in September 2015. Our successful application will be the beginning of a new lease of life for Whitehurst Gardens.
The grant will be used to fund initial surveys of the site, raise awareness and provide for community consultation, as well as enabling the Friends of Whitehurst Gardens to develop skills for future fundraising and management of the site.
Commenting on the award, Vice-Chairman of FWG and Head Gardener of Chirk Castle, Mr David Lock, said, “We are delighted and very much excited by the start up grant. It will enable us to find out what survives of the garden structure under the years of neglect and what our priorities are for the next stage. It also will let us find out what the local people want from us and the garden, and it will inform gardeners and historians a little more of what we have here – an existing 17th century walled garden with some unique features in a lovely part of the world. I’d like to thank the Heritage Lottery Fund for giving us the opportunity to begin our project, and Wrexham County Borough Council, who own the site, for supporting our group with this project and its longer term restoration aims.”
Explaining the importance of the HLF support, the head of the HLF in Wales, Richard Bellamy explains, “The Start-up Grants fund has been designed to support new ventures such as these, giving organisations the skills and knowledge to preserve and share our unique heritage. HLF are pleased to support this community group in Wrexham to learn how to successfully preserve and restore this historically important site for the benefit of the community.”
The grant will be used to fund initial surveys of the site, raise awareness and provide for community consultation, as well as enabling the Friends of Whitehurst Gardens to develop skills for future fundraising and management of the site.
Commenting on the award, Vice-Chairman of FWG and Head Gardener of Chirk Castle, Mr David Lock, said, “We are delighted and very much excited by the start up grant. It will enable us to find out what survives of the garden structure under the years of neglect and what our priorities are for the next stage. It also will let us find out what the local people want from us and the garden, and it will inform gardeners and historians a little more of what we have here – an existing 17th century walled garden with some unique features in a lovely part of the world. I’d like to thank the Heritage Lottery Fund for giving us the opportunity to begin our project, and Wrexham County Borough Council, who own the site, for supporting our group with this project and its longer term restoration aims.”
Explaining the importance of the HLF support, the head of the HLF in Wales, Richard Bellamy explains, “The Start-up Grants fund has been designed to support new ventures such as these, giving organisations the skills and knowledge to preserve and share our unique heritage. HLF are pleased to support this community group in Wrexham to learn how to successfully preserve and restore this historically important site for the benefit of the community.”
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