The Trust’s Activities in 2024
Our Chair, John Potter, shares a brief rundown of the Trust’s activities in 2024.
Events
Both Singing Round the Tree – in December 2023 – and the Wassail were well attended, and the new members’ cheese and wine party was good fun and something that looks like becoming a regular event. We are keen to add more events to our social calendar, and would welcome any suggestions and – even better – offers of help. Our new Hon Sec, Gillian Livingstone, organised a trip to Sir Edward Heath’s house, Arundells in The Close at Salisbury – a great choice as it was a really interesting afternoon spent in remarkable surroundings.
Arundells in The Close at Salisbury
Building repairs
A number of buildings have been repaired over the past 12 months, including the impressive front door of the Priory Barn. The heavy sliding doors of the Little Barn café have had some very careful restoration by master craftsman Charlie Caffyn, and – very good news in all the wet weather – the gutters and drainage at the West Barn have been repaired, and we’ve suffered no more flooding. Huge thanks to Mike Burbidge for all that. In addition, the frontage of the bike shop at the top of Market Street has at last been repainted by the tenant.
The pillbox by the river in Barton Farm had all the encroaching vegetation cleared back and a new gravel surface added. The Trust contributed towards the cost of extensive roof repairs at the Mount Pleasant Social Club. We have also offered a contribution to the cost of work on the cottage at St Mary Tory and wish Christopher Tanfield good luck with the fundraising there.
Ghost Signs
Following on from the 2023 AGM we now have a pretty comprehensive photographic record of all the town’s ‘ghost signs’ and old painted street names, but unfortunately no-one has expressed interest in joining a working party to look at the future recording and management of these signs.
The Swan Hotel
The Landscape Group
The landscape group continues to work in Hens’ Orchard with lots of maintenance and pruning carried out this year, and a new tree has been planted: it’s a cider apple tree in memory of Dave Northeast, much-missed landlord of the Rising Sun. The bench dedicated to Simon Relph has been repaired after suffering some damage.
The new wildflower area opposite the Tithe Barn is thriving and we look forward to another lovely display this spring and summer.
Railway Station Footbridge Canopy
We are helping the railway station footbridge canopy project with their website, which we will be hosting.
Station in 1920 with canopy
Talks
The talks programme is picking up: we had a very interesting time with architect Klas Hyllen, who showed us some of his inspiring local projects. John Salvat gave a very informative and often amusing account of the National Gallery and some of its artists.
More recently, I have had a jolly good chat with Bradford on Avon Museum trustee Julian Orbach and we hope to work together to arrange a really excellent programme of lectures over the coming year.
Membership and Trustees
Trust membership now stands at 367, up from 349 last year; we now have 133 life members – up from 125 in 2023.
Sadly, we have said goodbye to two trustees: Paige Balas has been drawn to the bright lights of Manchester and Kate Larard has resigned after 10 years of valuable service.
We thank them both for everything they have done for the Trust. On a brighter note we have a new trustee and Council of Management member, Patrick Douglas; we welcome him on board – an appropriate term in his case as he has recently retired from the Royal Navy.
Nothing is perfect
Alongside the positives, we have had a few failures: as always, nothing is perfect. The floods washed away every last bit of gravel by the pillbox and our musical arranger, Felicity Courage, wasn’t available to arrange Singing Round the Tree at Christmas. However, the carol singing at the Christmas Tree Festival in Holy Trinity Church was a huge success.
Apple Day didn’t happen in 2024, sadly: too many people were just not available – but Gillian is hoping to arrange a 2025 event sometime in September.
Cleaning the town bus stops was hampered by the appalling weather earlier in the year. By the time we could have begun, the mobile water tank was in use for the town’s hanging baskets and flower displays.
As it is still, just about, the new year and we think about making resolutions, I will share with you that I am giving up two things. I have long realised that most news isn’t really news. And it certainly isn’t news that a horrible person in a powerful position has said or done something horrible. What would be news is if they said or did something good or helpful. So I am giving up receiving ‘news’. And that is going a long way towards helping me in my second resolution: to give up worrying.
Good news
I will leave you with a bit of good news . On the day of the AGM I had an appointment at the Bristol Eye Hospital – which, if you are ever near the bus station in Bristol, is well worth a visit. Just across the road from St James, one of the oldest buildings in the city, you are faced with an absolutely astonishing work of art: The Creation by Walter Ritchie. It consists of five panels, each 5ft 7ins x 12ft, in carved Ibstock red marl brick . It depicts the creation of the earth, from the Big Bang through the arrival of plants, animals and finally humankind, represented by a mother and child. When it was installed on the frontage of the hospital in 1986 it was the largest non-reinforced brick reliefs ever carved and was widely regarded as one of the finest public works of art in the country.
Inside the building all is calmly quiet and efficient. A nurse goes through all the problems of my left eye with lots of struggles with ever smaller lettering, bright lights, photographs and all the rest of it. At the end she took me to the appointments office. A kindly woman with a big file looked through the long lists. Having heard about hospitals I imagined I would be looking to have an operation in March or April or later. She looked up and told me that I could have it done that day at 5pm. I really wasn’t prepared but I had the perfect get out: I had to be back in Bradford to chair an important meeting. She wasn’t at all put out and offered me the next morning at 7.30am. In the end, we agreed on the middle of the following week. I have had the procedure and it’s all working out well!
So it’s not all bad out there: don’t believe everything you read or hear and have a very jolly 2025!
John Potter
Chair, Bradford on Avon Preservation Trust
