Great Torrington Town Hall
- under threat
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Great Torrington Town Hall - under threat
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The Trust achieved the essential legal status necessary to enable it to carry out its work as the first major task following its formation and was registered in 2003. Under the guidance of the Architectural Heritage Fund and Association of Preservation Trusts an initial feasibility study was undertaken and presented at a public meeting in June 2004. The lead professional for this was Giles Vallis of NVB Architects of Frome, Somerset. We are delighted that some 4 years later he and his firm are still working closely with us. This appointment was made after painstaking interviews of 4 firms from Devon and beyond. The chosen partnership has experience of similar work in the restoration of the Rook Lane Chapel in Frome and other projects. Giles was supported by firms of Quantity Surveyors and Structural Engineers who all contributed to the final report. The study was funded by a £5000 grant from the Architectural Heritage Fund and further support from the ‘Town Trust’. After its publication discussions took place with numerous funding bodies and in the light of these and feedback from the community a modification of the study to reduce the overall cost was undertaken. This was again supported financially by the AHF and ‘Town Trust’. The revised study was published July 2006. In parallel with this a detailed market research programme was undertaken in April 2006 as a key feature of a formal business plan and as a public information exercise. This research was professionally monitored and collated but much of the fieldwork was carried out by local volunteers and students. In all 250 people of all age groups were interviewed on the streets and in their homes over a period of 3 weeks by a group of 30 volunteer helpers and students from North Devon College. 70% of those interviewed were well satisfied with the proposals for the future development and usage of the Town Hall. As a general principle throughout the project we intend to involve the community, in particular young people, as much as possible in the work and provide opportunities to learn new skills and widen experience. This research programme was a good example of that principle being put into practise and was an excellent opportunity to inform the public of our intentions. Armed with these new reports and in the absence of any encouragement from the Heritage Lottery Fund the BPT decided to approach the Community Building Fund of the Big Lottery for a maximum grant of £500,000 whilst continuing to seek funding from other sources. What we thought was a convincing and well argued application was submitted on 28.8.06 only to be rejected after a number of unexplained delays on 28. 2.07. This was a huge disappointment and we cannot re-apply to that particular fund. However we do have a grant of £200,000 from the ‘Town Trust’ plus a series of smaller grants from other bodies totalling approximately £250,000. In addition, as always, the Architectural Heritage Fund has continued to be very supportive with advice, mentoring and project development costs. The Project Organiser Grant from them has recently been renewed enabling us to continue to employ Mr David Pinney as our Project Organiser. In addition, the award of a Capacity Building Grant of up to £3000 from the same source has enabled us to engage Mr Martin Davidson of Hannah Reynolds Associates to assist with the preparation of a business plan and short term action plan. We are extremely grateful to all funders for this support and encouragement. We continue to seek funding from other sources. The revised Feasibility Study showed that it might be possible to divide the project into 2 stages. The ground floor development and lift installation being stage 1; the new toilet block and other building works at the rear of the Town Hall and the refurbishment and equipment of the first floor being stage 2. For practical reasons this scheme has now been abandoned. It has been realised that the whole project has to be completed in one operation to enable the building to be brought back into community and social use fairly quickly in order to become financially sustainable. It has now been decided that the glass enclosed undercroft will not now be used as office space but instead will become a welcoming reception area for the whole building. It will be well lit with under-floor heating and used for small gatherings, display of art and craft work and house some teaching aids for visiting groups of adults and children. The difficulty in acquiring funding has led the ‘Town Trust’ to offer some of the portraits for sale. Three works are being offered. (See the Portrait Collection section for more details.) By this means it is hoped eventually to acquire a further £450,000 making a total of £650,000 available for the building work. Detailed costings by Richard James of Bare, Leaning & Bare, Quantity Surveyors of Exeter, show that this sum would enable us to proceed with all the works outlined above. The successful sale of the three portraits is essential to the project and, as reported elsewhere, one has now been sold adding £285,000 to the available funds. Negotiations for the other sales proceed slowly. We are, however, still in discussion with and the Devon County Council and the Torridge Leader 4 project for further funding to complete the project. We will be launching separate appeals to fund furniture and equipment. Our thanks go to Cllr Mrs Margaret Brown who, with the approval of Torridge District Council, has donated £1000 from her Community Grant allocation to purchase place settings for banquets and other social and community functions. We are also grateful for recent grants from the Viscount Amory Trust and the Garfield Weston Foundation of £1000 and £5000 respectively. Very promising partnerships with local schools and The Plough Arts Centre as future users of the new facility are being developed. This will greatly enhance its value to the community. .
The Great Torrington Collection of Portraits will be integral to the interior refurbishment of the Town Hall. When restored the portraits, which at present can be viewed in the museum, will be hung on the walls of the assembly room and gallery. They will give the room a sense of splendour, fitting for important functions and local events. One of the first interior considerations for the Buildings Preservation Trust, was an appraisal of The Portrait Collection guided by Mrs Cilla Bangay. Sotheby’s was asked to view the pictures and give their opinion on the quality of the paintings and background knowledge of the artists and subjects. The specialist was most interested in the collection as a whole, commenting that it is rare to see such a collection in a small town. She noted the beautiful frames on several of the portraits and the representation of artists with links to the West Country. One painting in particular took her attention, the portrait of John Rolle Walter, attributed to the School of Pompeo Batoni, a well known Italian portrait artist of the 18th Century. A torch was called for and a close inspection made of the brushwork, particularly on the fur collar. There was a frisson of excitement that a discovery was being made. Sotheby’s decided they needed authentication, but felt that this was a painting by Pompeo Batoni himself, not merely a copy. A photograph was sent to the United States for the opinion of Dr. Edgar Peters Bowron, the international Batoni expert. A few weeks later we were delighted to find that we were in the possession of an original work by Pompeo Batoni, which had hung in a dark corner of the museum for almost a century. Moreover a sketch of the head is exhibited in The Statens Museum in Copenhagen, titled ‘Portrait of a Gentleman’. This was an important discovery for Sotheby’s and Dr. Edgar Peters Bowron, not only to find a ‘lost’ Batoni but to be able to identify the unknown gentleman. We were thrilled to know we have this picture in the Torrington Collection. The Town and Alms Lands Trustees (‘Town Trust’), who are custodians of the picture collection, have since sent the portrait to Bristol for restoration. The photograph shows work on the painting 50% complete. The portrait was afterwards displayed at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery until December 2007.
Click here to see all the Portraits
In 2007 the whole collection was reviewed and valued by experts from Christies who confirm their authenticity and importance. The ‘Town Trust’ has now agreed that 3 of the portraits can be sold to provide additional funding for the Town Hall Project. The Batoni portrait was put up for auction at Christies in London on 6.12.08 with a reserve of £300,000. However, at the very last moment it was withdrawn to allow the Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery (RAMM) of Exeter to raise money to purchase it by private treaty. This was achieved in October with the aid of The Art Fund, the Heritage Lottery Fund and from their own resources. The purchase price was recently paid to the ‘Town Trust’ and is now available for the Town Hall Project. A very significant boost to our funding. The portraits of Denys Rolle (1720-1797) by Sir Thomas Hudson and his son Lord John Rolle (1750-1842) by Sir Thomas Lawrence PRA are also being offered for private sale. Recently there has been some encouraging progress on this. All will be replaced by full scale photographic facsimiles to preserve the integrity of the collection. Arrangements are in hand to replace the Batoni fairly soon when a suitable frame can be found.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
The gift of the building The offer of a £200K grant Secretarial and administrative help
For advice, encouragement and generous financial support
For financial help and support
For many hours of administrative help
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