Chedham's Yard - a new visitor centre

Did anyone watch the 'Restoration' series on the BBC last year? It was a fabulous series where various 'at risk' buildings across the UK competed to secure an incredible £1 million prize fund to pay for their repair and restoration. Dedicated and resourceful volunteers were filmed putting forward the unique architectural and social history to a panel of experts and then the public voted for the overall winner in a Grand Final.

The fantastic 2006 winning project was Chedham's Yard - an untouched blacksmithy and wheelwrights shop run by generations of the same family from a collection of barns, in Warwickshire. With the tools and materials still lying seemingly where they were placed the day the last of the Chedham's retired, it had an evocative atmosphere of a by gone age of craft manufacture that must have resonated with the viewing public - beating more grand and obvious buildings that were in peril.

Any way, the point of my ramblings is to let you know that Border Oak have been lucky enough to be awarded the contract to build the new visitor and education centre for Chedham's Yard, which has delighted everyone at the office and is a really exciting project to be involved in. We will be building a weather boarded barn so that the original workshops can be repaired and retained and the indescribable ambience can hopefully be preserved.

I can't wait to take my little ones to see it and promise to keep you updated of the progress.