We've just completed a really valuable consultancy with museum/business specialist Jennie Pitceathly of Museum Matters, who has provided us with detailed information and recommendations regarding the Nicholson display section of the house, and the way we will present the whole house from the cafe on the ground floor to Norman's famous attic room. Jennie has a fantastic track record in the sector, having also worked with Wordsworth Grasmere, Blackwell, Windermere Jetty and Pennine Lancashire Museums among many others. Her input has been immensely beneficial as we prepare to approach funders in the coming weeks. Jennie's consultancy was funded mainly by a grant from the Architectural Heritage Fund with the balance coming from donations to Norman Nicholson House. We are immensely grateful to the AHF for their support, and also to everyone who has donated.
14/10/21
14/10/21
Millom Arts & Heritage Centre, which has undergone a very impressive revamp over the last few months, is offering 10% off any of Norman Nicholson's books to anyone who can show them that they've downloaded our walking trails app. This is a great chance to buy a Nicholson book and take it with you as you follow the poet's footsteps along either of the two trails - which start at the Centre. Thank you to the Centre for promoting the app! The trails can be found by downloading the app from either the Apple Store or Google Play - iPhone users click on Apple Store; for android devices click on Google Play. Search for 'Norman Nicholson's Millom'.
14/9/21
14/9/21
The Government has announced that Millom is to receive £20.6 million in investment thanks to an application by Millom Town Deal Board submitted through Copeland Borough Council. Our project has been included in the Millom Board's discussions and we await further information as to whether Norman Nicholson House will be one of the projects invited to develop their plans further. Read the announcement from Copeland Borough Council HERE.
15/7/21
15/7/21
A former student at Barrow Sixth Form College KAREN SEWARD has made a wonderfully generous donation of £5,000 to our GoFundMe campaign, in memory of her former English teacher WILF KIMBER who died last year at the age of 97.
Karen, who attended the Sixth Form College from 1981 to 1983, is now global head of litigation at the London-based Allen and Overy law firm. She said: ‘Wilf Kimber was an inspirational teacher who gave me a lifelong love of the wonderful work of Norman Nicholson. Nicholson was a brilliant poet and has not achieved the recognition that he so richly deserves’.
Anyone wanting to help the GoFundMe campaign reach its target of £10,000 can donate at www.gofundme.com. Money raised will contribute to the overall cost of buying and restoring Nicholson’s home. We are currently approaching major funders for the lion’s share of the total costs.
The GoFundMe page is a small part of this, but it shows potential funders that Nicholson enthusiasts are willing to put in money of their own to make it happen.
Karen said: ‘The Nicholson House project will, I am sure, go a long way towards cementing for Nicholson the reputation that should be his by right, as one of the greatest of British poets’.
17/5/21
Karen, who attended the Sixth Form College from 1981 to 1983, is now global head of litigation at the London-based Allen and Overy law firm. She said: ‘Wilf Kimber was an inspirational teacher who gave me a lifelong love of the wonderful work of Norman Nicholson. Nicholson was a brilliant poet and has not achieved the recognition that he so richly deserves’.
Anyone wanting to help the GoFundMe campaign reach its target of £10,000 can donate at www.gofundme.com. Money raised will contribute to the overall cost of buying and restoring Nicholson’s home. We are currently approaching major funders for the lion’s share of the total costs.
The GoFundMe page is a small part of this, but it shows potential funders that Nicholson enthusiasts are willing to put in money of their own to make it happen.
Karen said: ‘The Nicholson House project will, I am sure, go a long way towards cementing for Nicholson the reputation that should be his by right, as one of the greatest of British poets’.
17/5/21
OUR WALKING TRAILS APP IS LIVE! An app which will guide people on two walking trails around the Millom area has been launched. The app can be downloaded free of charge to the user’s smartphone and uses GPS technology to navigate the two routes.
It has been produced by Norman Nicholson House Community Interest Company, which aims to raise funds to buy and renovate the Millom home of the 20th century poet Norman Nicholson.
The two trails are a 1.5 mile walk around Millom town centre and a 6.5 mile route from the town to the Duddon estuary, the site of the town’s former Ironworks, and Hodbarrow RSPB nature reserve.
Users of the app will find information and photographs for each location along the way, along with an audio description, and extracts from Norman Nicholson’s writings.
They can also hear a welcome from Lord Melvyn Bragg, president of the Norman Nicholson Society, and personal memories of Millom’s past from lifelong local residents Brian Maggs, a former employee at the Ironworks, and Dorothy Richardson, whose father was the harbourmaster in the days when Millom was a busy port.
Funding for the app, costing £20,000 for a five-year maintenance and development deal, has come from Copeland Borough Council through the Government’s Towns Fund strategy. The contract includes the potential for further trails to be added in the future. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
Chair of Norman Nicholson House CIC Charlie Lambert said: ‘The app is brilliant. It’s free to download, easy to use, and it takes users on a journey through time as well as along two fascinating and uplifting routes. I’m very grateful to Copeland Borough Council for funding this and to everyone who has contributed towards making it happen.’
The trails can be found by downloading the app from either the Apple Store or Google Play - iPhone users click on Apple Store; for android devices click on Google Play.
At the same time Norman Nicholson House is unveiling a Crowdfunder campaign to raise some of the money needed for its project to buy Nicholson’s old home. Charlie Lambert said: ‘All contributions are really welcome. You can chip in by going to GoFundMe.com and search for Norman Nicholson House.’
Digital development of the app is by Agnes Control of Workington and Llama Digital of Sheffield. Graphic design by AR Graphic Design of Maryport. Content created by Norman Nicholson House CIC. Heritage consultant Marshall Mossop.
It has been produced by Norman Nicholson House Community Interest Company, which aims to raise funds to buy and renovate the Millom home of the 20th century poet Norman Nicholson.
The two trails are a 1.5 mile walk around Millom town centre and a 6.5 mile route from the town to the Duddon estuary, the site of the town’s former Ironworks, and Hodbarrow RSPB nature reserve.
Users of the app will find information and photographs for each location along the way, along with an audio description, and extracts from Norman Nicholson’s writings.
They can also hear a welcome from Lord Melvyn Bragg, president of the Norman Nicholson Society, and personal memories of Millom’s past from lifelong local residents Brian Maggs, a former employee at the Ironworks, and Dorothy Richardson, whose father was the harbourmaster in the days when Millom was a busy port.
Funding for the app, costing £20,000 for a five-year maintenance and development deal, has come from Copeland Borough Council through the Government’s Towns Fund strategy. The contract includes the potential for further trails to be added in the future. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
Chair of Norman Nicholson House CIC Charlie Lambert said: ‘The app is brilliant. It’s free to download, easy to use, and it takes users on a journey through time as well as along two fascinating and uplifting routes. I’m very grateful to Copeland Borough Council for funding this and to everyone who has contributed towards making it happen.’
The trails can be found by downloading the app from either the Apple Store or Google Play - iPhone users click on Apple Store; for android devices click on Google Play.
At the same time Norman Nicholson House is unveiling a Crowdfunder campaign to raise some of the money needed for its project to buy Nicholson’s old home. Charlie Lambert said: ‘All contributions are really welcome. You can chip in by going to GoFundMe.com and search for Norman Nicholson House.’
Digital development of the app is by Agnes Control of Workington and Llama Digital of Sheffield. Graphic design by AR Graphic Design of Maryport. Content created by Norman Nicholson House CIC. Heritage consultant Marshall Mossop.
29/3/21
MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE LAUNCH OF OUR TRAILS APP
- Whitehaven News report: https://www.whitehavennews.co.uk/news/19197001.new-app-launch-celebrates-millom-nicholson/
- News & Star report: https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/19195214.new-app-launch-celebrates-millom-nicholson/
- Cumbria Crack report: https://cumbriacrack.com/2021/03/31/norman-nicholson-walking-app-launches-for-millom/
FUNDING AWARD FROM AHF We're delighted to announce the award of a grant of £7,800 from the Architectural Heritage Fund. The money is earmarked for specialist consultancy work as we continue our efforts to breathe new life into Nicholson's old home. It will enable us to tap into the expertise of specialists in museum design and business planning.
The AHF is a registered charity which promotes the conservation and sustainable re-use of heritage buildings for the benefit of communities across the UK.
Chair of the Project Charlie Lambert said: ‘We are very grateful to the Architectural Heritage Fund – not just for the money, which of course is very welcome, but also for showing such faith in a project which is quite different from the majority of schemes which they support. This shows that a Victorian terraced house in a street in Cumbria has a value and a story which are well worth preserving and celebrating.’
18/2/21
The AHF is a registered charity which promotes the conservation and sustainable re-use of heritage buildings for the benefit of communities across the UK.
Chair of the Project Charlie Lambert said: ‘We are very grateful to the Architectural Heritage Fund – not just for the money, which of course is very welcome, but also for showing such faith in a project which is quite different from the majority of schemes which they support. This shows that a Victorian terraced house in a street in Cumbria has a value and a story which are well worth preserving and celebrating.’
18/2/21
MAYOR OF COPELAND Mike Starkie has described our Nicholson Trails App as 'an exciting and important project for the Millom community.' Mike's very encouraging comment comes as Copeland Borough Council issue a news release confirming funding for the project. See full statement here.
17/11/20
17/11/20
'I CAN'T IMAGINE A MORE IMPORTANT CULTURAL STEP' Our project to buy Norman Nicholson's house and turn it into a genuine community asset has received a wonderful endorsement from the director of the Brantwood Trust, the organisation which looks after John Ruskin's house overlooking Coniston. Howard Hull has contacted us to say: 'I cannot imagine a more important cultural step for Cumbria or a greater joy for Millom than that Nicholson’s legacy should be fully celebrated in the very building which was so much a part of his life. As the Director of the home of one of Cumbria’s other great cultural figures, John Ruskin, I know how powerful and important is the influence of the actual dwelling of a great writer'. Thank you Howard - this means a lot!
9/11/2020
9/11/2020
MORE SUPPORT! the Architectural Heritage Fund is backing us by funding Project Advisor support over the coming weeks. We're really grateful to the AHF for this very positive move.
BIG NEWS TODAY! we're to receive funds from the Government's Towns Fund through
Copeland Borough Council to create a state-of-the-art app, providing trails around Norman Nicholson's home town of Millom and the beautiful surroundings. Our sincere thanks to the elected mayor of Copeland Mike Starkie, Copeland Borough Council, and the Millom Town Fund team. Read Copeland Council's statement here . Updates on the progess of this exciting project will be posted on this page and on our social media.
25/9/2020
Copeland Borough Council to create a state-of-the-art app, providing trails around Norman Nicholson's home town of Millom and the beautiful surroundings. Our sincere thanks to the elected mayor of Copeland Mike Starkie, Copeland Borough Council, and the Millom Town Fund team. Read Copeland Council's statement here . Updates on the progess of this exciting project will be posted on this page and on our social media.
25/9/2020