Dateline 31st March 2009
Wiltshire Garden of the Year!
At the Wiltshire Life Awards Initiative, a glittering evening held at Wilton House on 27 March 2009, the garden at the Merchant’s House, designed by Jeffrey Galvin-Wright was awarded ‘Wiltshire Garden of the Year – 2009’. Second place went to Francis Rasch of Heale Gardens, and third place to Ian and Barbara Pollard of Abbey House Gardens.
Receiving the award for the Merchant’s House Garden, Jeffrey Galvin-Wright said it acknowledged the large number of people who had made this unique garden possible. From the start it had been a community project, and on behalf of the Trustees, he thanked all the very generous donors and many more who had sponsored plots in the garden; others who had donated plants, hand tools and equipment, or opened their gardens for Marlborough Open Gardens to raise money for the Merchant’s House Appeal. Most importantly the volunteer gardeners led by Pauline Liardet, who helped plant the garden and maintained it so beautifully. He also had a personal thank you for the skilled landscapers of Hillier Landscapes who had worked with him to construct a garden fit for an aspiring 17th century Puritan silk merchant.
Our patron Sir Roy Strong opened the garden in September 2007.
The 17th century Merchant’s House and award-winning garden, reopens for guided tours, from Easter Saturday 11th April, 11am-4pm, and then Fridays and Saturdays until September. Tickets from the Shop.
More Information from the Hon Press Officer 01672 519338
Dateline 22nd December 2008
THE JACKPOT!
KENNET GRANTS £242,279 TO THE MERCHANT'S HOUSE
The Trustees are delighted to announce confirmation of a tremendously generous further grant of £242,279 from Kennet District Council which, when added to the grant of £55,721 made earlier this year, makes a stupendous total of £298,000. The Council is due to come to an end next April when it merges with the new unitary authority of Wiltshire but by making this decision it has given a lasting legacy to Marlborough and, indeed because of the widely recognised importance of the Merchant's House, to the nation.
This grant will enable us to clear our capital liabilities arising from the purchases of no.133 and the Old Print Works and, with the income which would otherwise have gone to the bank, in the immediate future to concentrate on completion of the restoration of no.132, in particular the second floor servants' garrets, the servants' spiral staircase and the historic kitchen. This will enable us to expand our educational role, with school children especially in mind, and also develop the Marlborough Museum further by expanding the collections and by holding revolving exhibitions. We also plan regular Open Days when local people will be able to visit the House (including any exhibition) and Garden free of charge.
This grant is a defining moment for the Trust and the project will now be able to accelerate into a new era. The thousands of hours put in by our Volunteers over the years and the consistent support of our Friends are at last paying dividends. What is already a resounding success story will go from strength to strength. After seventeen years we have truly come of age.
John Sykes
Dateline 30th November 2008
CROMWELL IS DEAD - LONG LIVE CROMWELL!
On 3rd September, the 350th anniversary of the death of Oliver Cromwell, in the Panelled Room of the Merchant's House a capacity audience was treated to a Retrospective on the Lord Protector entitled "God's Englishman?". David du Croz, formerly Head of History at Marlborough College, and Michael Hart, formerly Head of History at Shrewsbury School, took it in turns to deliver short talks on various aspects of Cromwell's career, amounting to a fascinating analysis of someone who arguably was the greatest influence on the development of our island nation's democracy and its empire over the next 250 years. The talks were full of insights - that for instance Cromwell was "an uncomfortable politician","a republican by default not by conviction" and "a conservative revolutionary". He was also a man who was surprisingly tolerant of other faiths, a man of action not a theorist. As a soldier he was renowned for his attention to detail and care for his men which was reciprocated by their devotion to him yet he was never a military dictator despite having every opportunity to become one. His organisation of government and tax collection which, based on land registration and excises, multiplied by some twenty times to meet the cost of the army in the Civil War and the building of some 200 ships of the line afterwards, foreshadowed later bureaucratic reforms. His immense expansion of the navy resulted in naval victories against Spain and the acquisition of £2m of booty, enough to meet national expenditure for nearly two years, while the capture of Jamaica and Nova Scotia was the forerunner of future British imperial expansion. He is a controversial figure to this day and by some even now not forgiven for having been a regicide, albeit a reluctant one. In Ireland he is still reviled for causing the massacres at Drogheda and Wexford, the first the result of his occasional tendency to manic rage, the second because for once he lost control of his troops. But he has also been described as the most typical Englishman of all time by reason of his sense of the difference of this insular nation from its continental neighbours, his active Protestantism, his protection of individual liberty and his experience of empire. In spite of his faults he was and remains a great man who was influential beyond his time.
Further elucidation was provided by answers to some probing questions raised by a most attentive audience at the end of the session.
Due to the maximum number of 50 which can be accommodated in the Panelled Room this event was a sell out and several people were unable to secure tickets. David du Croz and Michael Hart therefore kindly agreed to hold a repeat event on 12th November, this time at St Peter's Church to accommodate an enthusiastic audience of over 100. David Sherratt kindly painted the somewhat gloomy picture of the Great Man. The combined events raised over £1,300 towards the Restoration Appeal.
Dateline 29th September 2008
KENNET GRANTS £55,721 TO THE MERCHANT'S HOUSE
The Community Development Executive Committee of Kennet District Council has awarded The Merchant's House Trust a grant of £55,721.
Chairman of the Trust, Sir John Sykes, said,
"The problem has been that, unlike expenditure on restoration, repayment of our mortgage loans is not attractive to would-be donors. We are therefore delighted that Kennet has decided to make this grant which, by making substantial inroads into our manageable but hindering borrowings, will relieve the pressure on our income. We will be able to accelerate the task of restoration, enabling us to expand our educational and cultural activities, especially in cooperation with local schools.
The Trust is extremely grateful that Kennet is helping to provide us with a springboard for our future development into a major cultural and historical resource of local, regional and even national importance, and, by so doing, leave a lasting legacy to Marlborough after the Council's demise next April".
Although the Merchant's House was originally in the single occupation of Thomas Bayly and his family, later it was sub-divided and sublet, with approximately two-thirds (no. 132) becoming a printer's, where Marlborough's first newspaper was produced in the 1770s, and a stationer's business which was purchased by W H Smith in 1926.
In 1991, Marlborough Town Council purchased the freehold of no. 132 and leased it to the newly-formed Merchant's House Trust at a peppercorn rent. Since 1991 the Trust has been actively engaged in the conservation, restoration and furnishing of this remarkable and rare survival of a house of the "middling sort". Through the hard work of the Trust the majority of the original house has been faithfully restored. The Trust is currently working on the servants' garrets leaving the old kitchen, and expensive conservation of wall paintings on the second floor, still to do.
As well as providing a fascinating attraction for local, national and international visitors, the Merchant's House runs social and educational activities for the local community, an ongoing programme bringing history alive for local school children, and a wide range of opportunities for nearly 100 volunteers.
The Trust purchased in 1999 the freehold of the remaining one-third of the building (no. 133) (all currently let), followed by the freehold of the Old Print Works at the rear (part let) in 2002 which was substantially renovated thanks to an interest-free loan from Wiltshire Historic Buildings Trust, now repaid. These purchases could only have been made with the assistance of mortgage loans. Although the Trust has always been able to meet its mortgage obligations, the necessity to devote a large part of its income for that purpose has meant that continuing restoration has been much slower than would otherwise be the case.
Kennet District Council also recently awarded the Trust a grant of £5,000 to help meet the costs of providing accessibility to visitors including installation of a back staircase, disabled ramps, interpretation panels, stacking chairs and a contribution towards improved lighting.
