Washburn Heritage Centre is celebrating three activity-packed years since its grand opening.

The centre, built following a six-year campaign led by Fewston with Blubberhouses Parochial Church Council (PCC), opened for business in February, 2011.

In the subsequent 36 months it has notched up a raft of achievements, including:

  • Researching and staging 13 heritage exhibitions
  • Recording interviews with more than 50 elderly residents, leading to six films, under the Oral History project is running in partnership with Leeds Trinity University
  • Creating the Washburn Valley Archive, due to be available to the public later this year and containing more than 4,000 items
  • Holding regular themed walks, talks, courses and workshops throughout each year.

The building, in an extension to Fewston’s 17th century Church of St Michael and St Lawrence, has also notched up a prestigious architectural award and created a 260-member friends group, The Washburn Society.

Run by a team of more than 70 volunteers, the centre – which attracted some 11,000 people in 2013 – also has a tea room that has proven a hit with walkers, cyclists and visitors.

Chairman of the centre’s management committee, Sally Robinson, is looking forward to continued success in the years to come.

She said: “Nearly ten years ago a few people had a brave idea to build a small extension to our church.

“Gradually this idea took shape and became the Washburn Heritage Centre. We are now amazed by how popular the centre seems to be and really value the lovely comments we get from our visitors.

“None of this would have been possible without our enthusiastic and committed band of brilliant volunteers.

“Our themes from March, 2014 are valley crafts, sport and archaeology.

“The valley crafts programme will include walks and workshops showing the many things which local people used to do for themselves, rather than buying in goods or services.

“The archaeology theme, meanwhile, concerns the significant findings that were made when the churchyard was excavated for the centre to be built. We will be working with specialists at the Universities of Durham and York to develop this exhibition and a programme of relevant events.

“And from the summer on, people will be able to book to use our archive for historical research, family history and so on. We will also continue to offer tasty home-made fare at weekends and at some special catered supper events – and we always welcome new volunteers!”

The seed for the centre was planted in 2004 when the PCC first started exploring the possibility of building a small extension to the church, mainly to accommodate social events.

Those modest plans grew in scope to include creating a facility which “through maximising the use of Fewston Church... will promote the appreciation of heritage and increase community activity in order to contribute to the economic and social sustainability of rural communities in the Washburn Valley.”

Several grants and studies later, and after extensive consultation with Bradford Diocese, Harrogate Borough Council, English Heritage and other organisations, a £630,000 bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) was lodged.

That application’s success all but guaranteed the project’s progress.

Sally added: “People often ask how much it all cost. If you add together all the grants, the money we had to raise ourselves and the value put on our voluntary time, the total project costs are more than £800,000.

“That includes the HLF grant of £630,000 and a grant we received from the European Community of £70,000.”