The Red Store, Lerryn, Cornwall

This is a small building of humble origins but in a dominant position at the centre of a picturesque riverside village in Cornwall. It had been at risk for some years before the owners declared that they wished to sell. At this point, the local community (through the parish councils for each side of the river) combined to preserve the building for general use. Despite the modest scale of the project, significant volunteer effort resulted in grant aid from a variety of sources including the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the Regional Development Fund (RDF).

The building was in a state of considerable disrepair; roof failure and regular tidal flooding from the river had caused the original timbers to rot which had led to some stonework movement. Thus the aims were twofold; to conserve the original building, and to create a useful functional space for the benefit of the local community.

This paper describes how the Red Store was conserved and converted to a resource centre and craft workshop for community use. It includes the flood mitigation measures taken to prevent damage from regular tidal flooding and potential future climate change.

Figure 8 Water damage to stonework.

Richard Davies Dip Arch (Hons) RIBA AABC

Partner, MRDA Architects, Trustee of COTAC (the Conference on Training in Architectural Conservation), Vice Chairman NHTG (National Heritage Training Group. MRDA were awarded Best Scheme in the Restoration/Conversion category of Caradon District Council’s Caradon Design Awards 2007.

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Donhead Publishing 2012