| News from Blake's Cottage |
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A New Roof, a New Chapter and a New Funding Challenge |
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February has brought one of the most visible and significant transformations at Blake’s Cottage in Felpham: the new roof is complete and the scaffolding has come down. |
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After weeks of winter rain, patient preparation, and no small amount of ingenuity, we’ve completed the work to reduce the Victorian extension to how it was in Blake’s day and the new single-storey extension has been fully thatched. The crown has been wrapped and shaped, the ridge formed and trimmed, protective netting laid, and flashings prepared. Lime pointing to the chimney has addressed weather erosion, and the new rafters now sit securely beneath the thatch. For the first time in many months, the cottage stands clear and unsupported in the garden — weatherproof, stable, and no longer in danger of imminent structural failure. It is an emotional milestone. |
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This crucial work has been made possible by the generous support of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, whose grant has underpinned the roof restoration and enabled important outreach and community activity alongside the conservation work. With the completion of the roof, however, we are also coming to the end of this phase of NLHF funding. The roof has secured the building against collapse — but the next stage now begins. |
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The Next Stage: Restoring the Interior — We Need Your Help |
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Our task now is to move swiftly to restore the interior of the cottage to how it would have looked in William and Catherine Blake’s time — simple, domestic, and truthful to its early nineteenth-century character. At the same time, we must sensitively introduce discreet heating, lighting, ventilation and environmental controls so that the building can safely welcome visitors and protect future exhibitions. This is a delicate and specialist phase of work. It will transform the cottage from a building saved into a building ready to live again. At present, we have no confirmed funding for this next stage. We are applying to trusts and foundations that have supported us before, and we are pursuing new grant opportunities. But the sums required are substantial, and grant funding alone will not be enough. We need the support of the public — of Blake enthusiasts, local residents, scholars, artists, musicians, and all those who believe, like us, that this modest cottage in Felpham should become the heart of an internationally important Blake Centre. If Blake’s vision matters to you, please consider making a donation. However large or small, your contribution will help us move from emergency rescue to meaningful restoration — and from restoration to renewal and securing a long-term future for this cultural landmark. |
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Rock Legends visit Blake’s Cottage |
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This month we were delighted to welcome Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull fame to the cottage. His long-standing engagement with English myth, poetry and landscape made his visit especially resonant. Standing in the rooms where Blake imagined Milton and Jerusalem, the conversation ranged widely — from music and mysticism to the power of place.
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Earlier, in mid-December, we were also excited to host a visit to the cottage by our patron Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, whose interest in Blake and in the cultural energy he inspires has opened up exciting possibilities for support. Bruce’s visit was covered by BBC Sussex and he told them ”It’s incredible, it’s intimate…The thatch would have been that colour… His printing press is being remade and they’ll be printing again after 200 years.” |
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Blake’s influence has always travelled — from the Romantics to the Beats, from choral music to progressive rock and heavy metal. Seeing the cottage become a meeting place for contemporary creative figures reminds us that this is not only a historic house but a living source of inspiration. |
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Church, Community and the Angel |
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Community partnership remains central to our work. Before Christmas a full St Mary’s Church in Felpham hosted a carol service at which our projected Blake Angel once again illuminated the walls — a moving symbol of shared purpose between church and cottage. |
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Felpham’s shops generously displayed our Angel leaflets, thanks to energetic local support and the voluntary 'Felpham Heavy Gang' continues to contribute extraordinary effort on site — proof that restoration is not only technical work but collective and community endeavour. |
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The scaffolding has gone. The thatch gleams (when the sun comes out!). The cottage stands proudly secured from collapse. But it’s only the beginning. The next chapter — restoring the interior, welcoming visitors, building an internationally significant Blake Centre — now depends on renewed energy and renewed funding. We are immensely grateful for the support that has brought us this far. If you can help us take the next step, please donate and share our work with others who care about Blake’s extraordinary legacy. Blake wrote of building Jerusalem 'in England’s green and pleasant land.' In Felpham, that work continues — carefully, courageously, and together. |
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