The Heritage Lottery Fund has provided £218,900
for the restoration
An 18th Century reading room in a Sheffield village is to be
restored thanks to a grant of more than £200,000.
Grenoside Reading Room, a Grade II listed former school, dates
back to the late 1700s.
It was empty for many years and the Old School Charity said the
building needed a lot of work.
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has awarded £218,900 to turn the
reading room back into a community resource.
Fiona Spiers, of the HLF, said it was built by public
subscription in 1789 to provide free education for poor children, which she
said was "an early forerunner to our modern welfare system".
'Living, breathing space'
The school closed in 1893 and it became a reading room, village
institute and library but fell into a bad state.
"The reading room needs a new roof and bringing up to
building standards," said Gail Cooke, of the OSC, which was set up
specifically for the restoration.
"It needs disabled access, a new kitchen, toilets, and
there's no heating at all."
The reading room was built using public
funds and left in the care of Ecclesfield Parish Council
Grenoside was important to the early steel industry in Sheffield
and still has crucible and casting workshops in the village.
Ms Cooke said objects and artefacts would be housed in the
restored building.
"It's got a lot of history - we're keen to see it put back
into public use, not reduced to a pile of rubble," she said.
"To see the doors open will be really nice.
"It's definitely not a museum or a library, but it's a
living, breathing space. Loads of local groups will use it."
The restored reading room is expected to be opened to the public
in late autumn.
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