SOUTH Tawton?s ancient Church House is to benefit from a fantastic grant of £274,000 awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to enable vital renovations to be carried out.
The award is the culmination of a lot of hard work, which was initiated at a public meeting in the village in October 2002.
The building, one of the best examples of a medieval Church House in the country, was erected in the late 15th or early 16th century. It remains in private ownership, and has been used by the community for more than 500 years.
The grant will be used for essential work, including rethatching, renovations to the fabric of the building, upgrading of access arrangements and improved facilities to make it more accessible.
David Youle, project manager, said everyone involved was delighted the 78% grant bid had been successful. He described learning that the bid had been successful as an ?emotional moment?.
Once renovated, Church House will continue to be used for community activities, but will also be opened to the public at weekends from May to October or by arrangement.
The HLF has also stipulated that the house should be open to the public on special open days while the restoration work is being carried out, so that visitors have a chance to get a closer look at skilled craftsmen at work.
Activities planned for the restored building include art exhibitions, local history study meetings, educational usage and lectures.
In addition to showcasing Dartmoor art, the building could also exhibit works of pottery and sculpture. A sizeable chunk of the grant will be spent on interpretation material for visitors, including display boards with information about the history of the house.
Mr Youle said Church House already proved popular with visitors. ?We get quite a lot of visitors from history groups who are delighted to see this place. They think it is a superb building.?
Mr Youle said he hoped once disabled access was improved on the ground floor, even more people would be able to make use of the building for community activities.
Church House has seen many different uses during its time, initially as an ale house and later as a poor house and a school. It was also used by troops as a billet during the second world war.
It is hoped the work can begin at the end of this year, and will be carried out under the supervision of a specially appointed architect with wide experience of heritage building work. The work is expected to be completed by August next year.
Mr Youle paid tribute to the hard work of the restoration project committee members and to Dartmoor National Park who had been ?very supportive? of the scheme.
The authority provided grant funding for feasibility studies and other work in the run-up to applying for the HLF grant in January of this year.
?That meant the village fundraising could go to the project itself, which was a great help,? Mr Youle said.