Napper Cottage – a new future for the first cottage hospital in England
Cranleigh Heritage Trust has been awarded development phase support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund with a £58,000 grant to continue saving the first Cottage Hospital in England and the inspiration for the National Health Service. This will support the detailed preparation to progress to a bid for full funding to restore the building and make it usable for the community in a multitude of ways.
Made possible by National Lottery players, the project aims to save the Grade II listed building and bring it into use as a Heritage and Community Hub.
The project aims to lease the cottage from NHS Property Services and carry out essential conservation work the building will become a community hub that will be available for all residents, focusing on education, heritage information and health and wellbeing projects. Exciting information displays and resources will bring the history of the cottage to life for all, the first Cottage Hospital in England.
The cottage dates to 1446 and was last used by the NHS in 2010 and requires considerable renovation to allow public access and use.
Trevor Dale Chair of the Cranleigh Heritage Trust said:
“All the hard work of the volunteer team and support from local community bodies and individuals has come to fruition. We are delighted to have been awarded this grant by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and made possible thanks to National Lottery players. We now have a year of seriously hard work to convince the Heritage Fund to support the project to completion. Cranleigh residents and leaders have shown their enthusiasm and support for the outcomes possible, and when the building works commence, we can see this lovely building become a vibrant part of the High Street again.”
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Notes to editors
About Cranleigh Heritage Trust
Cranleigh Heritage Trust was set up in April 2022 with the specific objective of working towards the restoration of the 15th Century cottage that formed Cranleigh Cottage Hospital in 1859 to 2010. Grant funding is being sought to bring the cottage back into community use with health-related activities as the focus. The conservation and preservation for the public benefit of the grade II listed heritage cottage hospital in Cranleigh, Surrey and the education of the public in the heritage of Cranleigh, especially with respect to this first cottage hospital and its role in initiating the cottage hospital movement in England. The ethos found in Cranleigh at the time contributed to the creation of the National Health Service.
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
National Lottery Heritage Fund grant applications over £250,000 are assessed in two rounds. Napper Cottage has initially been granted round one development funding of £58,700 by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, allowing it to progress with its plans. Detailed proposals are then considered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund at second round, where a final decision is made on the full funding award of £627,247.
Using money raised by the National Lottery, we Inspire, lead and resource the UK’s heritage to create positive and lasting change for people and communities, now and in the future. www.heritagefund.org.uk.
Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLotteryHeritageFund
Since The National Lottery began in 1994, National Lottery players have raised over £43 billion for projects and more than 635,000 grants have been awarded across the UK. More than £30 million raised each week goes to good causes across the UK.