Bransdale Community Project
Bransdale, a rural area of Ryedale district, is populated mainly by farming families. The only community hall available to the residents is the Old School House, which is owned by the National Trust. In 2006 the building was in a seriously dilapidated condition.
Between June and December 2006 Rural Arts ran a series of evening workshops for the community. Classes included felt-making, jewellery making, metalwork, stained glass, ceramics and mosaic, all of which proved popular with local people from the ages of seven to seventy.
Special arrangements had to be made to accommodate the workshops in the venue. A mobile generator was needed to provide power and in colder weather a local resident would light the coal fire in advance.
As a direct result of the work done by Rural Arts the people of Bransdale have secured permission to use the Old School House as their community venue into the future, and funding to renovate and make improvements.
With the building now almost finished further funding from Arts Council England has been secured to continue the work with Rural Arts to create permanent pieces of artwork to decorate the inside of the building.
