Image: Artist's impression of restored cottage (Blake Cottage Trust)
Funding has been secured for the restoration project at the poet and painters former home
A museum inside the cottage formerly occupied by poet and painter William Blake is a step closer to reality as new funding for the project is secured.
World Monuments Fund Britain, Foyle Foundation and Foulterton Charitable Trust have provided advice and funding to the Blake Cottage Trust, the charity leading the restoration project.
The cottage, in Sussex, is where Blake and his wife lived for three years that included the writing of the much loved unofficial national anthem Jerusalem.
Initially the charity hopes to restore the cottage to a state Blake would recognise, including removing later extensions to the cottage. It then hopes to build a new multifunctional centre, space for resident artists, before more widely opening access to the space on open days.
World Monuments Fund Britain said their support is given “in recognition of Blake Cottage as a building and a site of literary memory, of national and international significance.
Trust Chairperson Doug Nicholls added: “This is a very welcome endorsement from a leading international historic building conservation organisations. The emergency protection work now allows us to move forward with phase one of our plans.
“The next, costing over £175,000 is to replace the rotting timber rafters and thatch and open wider community engagement and consultation to ensure that future plans meet the needs of the locality and area.”
