What
Grange Court is a Grade II*-listed timber-framed market hall in Leominster, North Herefordshire. It was built by John Abel in 1633 and originally stood in the centre of Leominster, housing the weekly butter market.
In the mid-19th century, the building had become a traffic hazard in the centre of town so it was dismantled and lay in pieces in a builder’s yard.
It was later rebuilt on the park known as the Grange. In 2013 the LARC Development Trust bought it from Herefordshire Council and turned it into a community space for education and enterprise.
Opened
July 2013.
Collection
The history of the house itself is the main attraction. Visitors use tablets to tap into each room and are told stories about Grange Court as they walk through the building. The interactive panels are illustration-focused, and tactile.
Help at hand
Three full-time members of staff and one part-time, with 30 day-to-day volunteers.
Highlights
“The building is decorated in bizarre, extravagant and wonderful carvings,” says Polly Robinson, the heritage development worker at LARC.
“Grange Court is the only market house in the world to be decorated in this way. Leominster already has a museum so we didn’t want to step on its toes. We focus on interpreting the fascinating stories of the building itself.”
Visitors
8,500 a year.
Budget
The main income comes from weddings and events. A modern extension was added to the building to create a suite of 13 offices that Grange Court rents out to local businesses. LARC has also worked with the council to raise over £3m from sources, including the Community Asset Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Sticky moment
“The building was nearly two years late in being finished,” Robinson says. “Creating a brand new heritage site from scratch in a building that you don’t know very well was complicated.”
Survival tip
“Keep at it and talk to your community,” Robinson says. “At all stages we were asking for the locals’ views on the project. We couldn’t have been successful without doing that because the redevelopment was controversial at times given the historical importance of the market house.”
Future plans
More events and more proactive fundraising. “We also want to get young people to use the building,” Robinson says. “They have been the hardest community group to get back.”
Grange Court is a Grade II*-listed timber-framed market hall in Leominster, North Herefordshire. It was built by John Abel in 1633 and originally stood in the centre of Leominster, housing the weekly butter market.
In the mid-19th century, the building had become a traffic hazard in the centre of town so it was dismantled and lay in pieces in a builder’s yard.
It was later rebuilt on the park known as the Grange. In 2013 the LARC Development Trust bought it from Herefordshire Council and turned it into a community space for education and enterprise.
Opened
July 2013.
Collection
The history of the house itself is the main attraction. Visitors use tablets to tap into each room and are told stories about Grange Court as they walk through the building. The interactive panels are illustration-focused, and tactile.
Help at hand
Three full-time members of staff and one part-time, with 30 day-to-day volunteers.
Highlights
“The building is decorated in bizarre, extravagant and wonderful carvings,” says Polly Robinson, the heritage development worker at LARC.
“Grange Court is the only market house in the world to be decorated in this way. Leominster already has a museum so we didn’t want to step on its toes. We focus on interpreting the fascinating stories of the building itself.”
Visitors
8,500 a year.
Budget
The main income comes from weddings and events. A modern extension was added to the building to create a suite of 13 offices that Grange Court rents out to local businesses. LARC has also worked with the council to raise over £3m from sources, including the Community Asset Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Sticky moment
“The building was nearly two years late in being finished,” Robinson says. “Creating a brand new heritage site from scratch in a building that you don’t know very well was complicated.”
Survival tip
“Keep at it and talk to your community,” Robinson says. “At all stages we were asking for the locals’ views on the project. We couldn’t have been successful without doing that because the redevelopment was controversial at times given the historical importance of the market house.”
Future plans
More events and more proactive fundraising. “We also want to get young people to use the building,” Robinson says. “They have been the hardest community group to get back.”
