CHEDHAM’S Yard in Wellesbourne will be recounting its restoration journey for Heritage Open Days.
Visitors will be able to join special Derelict to Delightful tours on Saturday September 13 and Saturday September 20, telling the story of how winning the BBC Restoration Village programme brought the abandoned wheelwrights back to life.
The yard in Church Walk was run continuously by the Chedham family from the 1820s through to the mid-1960s passing from father to son. Bill Chedham’s was the last of the family working at the yard.
Following the parish council’s purchase of the yard from Bill in 2001 there were 11 years of hard work with archaeological surveys and planning, aided and assisted by Oxford University and other groups.
In 2006, with funds very low, the yard won the third series of the BBC Restoration Village programme which gave access to up to £1million. This was the figure identified as needed to complete the surveys and restoration and to make it a site of interest.
It took another five years of hard work before the yard opened to the public. The work included restoring and preserving the existing buildings and erecting a visitor centre.
Visit www.heritageopendays.org.uk for more details.
