Restoring a Victorian Woodland Retreat

This project aims to restor and enable public access to a Grade II listed Victorian summerhouse on the National Trust’s Tyntesfield estate for a range of learning and culture activities.
The summerhouse has been abandoned for many years and has fallen into serious disrepair. It is currently structurally unsafe and so we are unable to provide public access. We plan to restore the summerhouse by repairing the structure and reinstating the historic features so that it can be used as a satellite to the main Learning Hub. Its woodland setting make it an ideal location for visitors (approx 40,000 per annum), community groups, school children (570 per annum) to explore and learn about the natural environment and Victorian family life away from the ‘big House’. We will use the space to hold woodland activities such as animal tracking, shelter building, foraging for wild food and fungal forays.