World renowned heritage centre gains Rotary support

The Rotary Club of Middleton presented Geoffrey and Christine Grime of the Friends of Edgar Wood Centre on Long Street Middleton with £500 toward the restoration project to protect one of Middleton’s most valuable heritage sites

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The Rotary Club of Middleton has presented Geoffrey and Christine Grime of the Friends of Edgar Wood Centre on Long Street Middleton with £500 toward the restoration project to protect one of Middleton’s most valuable heritage sites.

The Edgar Wood Centre, Long Street Methodist Church and Schools, which is owned by the Heritage Trust for the North West, is a Grade II listed building and is of national importance. Built between 1899 and 1901, the Centre is a very unique Arts and Crafts masterpiece. Middleton is fortunate to have many buildings from Edgar Wood a world renowned architect and designer. Visitors and architectural students from around the world come to Middleton to marvel at Edgar Wood’s simple yet striking techniques.

The Edgar Wood Centre is one of the Middleton buildings which will benefit from a £2 million pound Lottery Grant to improve the Conservation Area. £230,000 of the Lottery money has been allocated to be spent on the external restoration work at the Centre.

However, the Heritage Trust has to raise £70,000 in matched funds as their share of the work. So there is still a great deal of money to raise before the work can begin. To start external repairs to the Centre a Surveyors reports and Architects plans need to be organised at a cost of at least £10,000.

The Friends of Edgar Wood set themselves the task of raising these funds for the Heritage Trust, and since September 2012 they have managed to raise £8,000. This amount includes the donation of £500 from the Rotary Club of Middleton.

“We still have a shortfall of £2,000 so we continue to raise funds to save this important landmark for future generations,” said Christine Grime, Secretary of Friends of Edgar Wood Centre. Christine continued: “We are so grateful to the Rotary Club of Middleton for their support.”

Jeff Lawson, President of the Rotary Club of Middleton said: “We are proud to support this work to ensure that the cultural heritage of Middleton is preserved.” Jeff continued, “The building is exceptional I would encourage people to visit. I am particularly fond of the centre; it’s where I met my wife.”