Fundraising Appeal

Please make a donation to the Workshop Extension and Improvements Appeal

The Appeal

We are seeking your support to help raise £400,000 to fund a building project. We plan to build a workshop extension in 2022 and then to reorganise and sympathetically refurbish our existing listed buildings. These changes will enable us to train more furniture-making apprentices, and to improve the way we inform visitors about the work we do today and the heritage of the Edward Barnsley Workshop.

The Need

Since 1980 the Edward Barnsley Educational Trust has provided training to over sixty people in Edward Barnsley’s workshop. However, the number of apprentices we can train is limited by the available space. The bench shops are cramped. The newer, larger machines we use today are squeezed into a 1960s extension that was built for the machinery Edward Barnsley had at the time. We lack an accessible, dedicated area where visitors can learn about the workshop and watch furniture-making in progress.

Our Plans

The recent relocation of the timber-drying sheds now gives us the space to erect a new building adjoining the existing workshops. We have planning permission to build an oak-framed, timber-clad building that will enlarge the workshop area by 150 m2 and give us an improved arrangement for the workbenches and the machinery. We will then be able to reorganise and sympathetically refurbish parts of the existing listed buildings. We will provide an enlarged information, display and demonstration area for visitors.

We will return the principal rooms of the cottage to the way they were in Edward Barnsley’s time. We will improve public access to our extensive archive of Edward Barnsley’s drawings, correspondence and photographs. In addition, the extra space will make it easier for us to comply with the latest health and safety regulations. We will be able to train more furniture-making apprentices, and to improve the way we inform an increased number of visitors about the work we do today and the heritage of the Edward Barnsley Workshop. More visitors will be able to observe, at first hand, traditional cabinet-making.

Key Benefits of the Improvement Plan:

 

  • Increased space to train more apprentices
  • Increased space to receive more visitors and provide a dedicated display area
  • The preservation of listed Arts and Crafts buildings
  • More space for a safer machinery arrangement and improved health and safety standards
  • An upgraded biomass heating system
  • Improved access to the Edward Barnsley Archive

We plan to build the workshop extension in 2022. The projected total cost of the work is £600,000. The Edward Barnsley Educational Trust has a designated fund of £200,000 leaving us with a fundraising target of £400,000.

Designer-Manager James Ryan says,

‘As well as seeking support from private individuals and charitable trusts I am also keen to discuss sponsorship opportunities with people in business. Sponsorship could be either financial, or goods and services in kind. We have already received pro bono professional help on this project from an architect, a graphic designer and a fundraiser. Please get in touch with me if you are interested in helping.

‘I started my apprenticeship at the Edward Barnsley Workshop in 1992, and it has given me many extraordinary opportunities as a maker and designer of furniture. I see this building project as an investment that will give many more apprentices the opportunities I have enjoyed.’

How to make a donation to the Workshop Extension and Improvements Appeal:

Option 1 Donate by Post

Please make cheques payable to EBET and post your donation to:

The Edward Barnsley Educational Trust, Cockshott Lane, Froxfield, Petersfield, GU32 1BB

 

Option 2 Donate using Internet Banking:

The Edward Barnsley Educational Trust

NatWest Bank   Sort code 60-16-26   Account Number 66429447

Please use your surname as a payment reference.

 

Option 3 Donate by Card over the Telephone:

Please call us on a weekday between 8 am and 4.30 pm on 01730 827233.

Gift Aiding your donation is easy and allows us to reclaim some of your tax from HMRC. We can add 25p to every pound you give us if you print off our Gift Aid Declaration PDF, fill it out and post it to the address at the bottom of the page. Please ignore this request if we already have a completed declaration from you.