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May 2020 Newsletter

Update on Our Current Situation 

Our doors are obviously closed to the public for now. We are very mindful of the protection and wellbeing of our community and our volunteers and hope you are all staying safe. 

Highbury Hall events run by BCC & Civic Catering are all cancelled or postponed and the house will stay closed, the situation will be reviewed every 14 days.

Highbury park is still open and is a vast area with lots to explore, so if you are local and still venturing out, spread out and enjoy the lush green and wildlife emerging all over the park and grounds.

Thank you for your continued support at this difficult time. 
 


Restoration and Renovation

As you may know many funders have turned their attention to emergency funds in this difficult time, supporting organisations to keep afloat and safe guard their communities.

We are using this time to strengthen our business plan to ensure that, when we are successful in gaining funding for our full restoration, we manage the project effectively and make Highbury the success and community asset it deserves to be.

However if you are in the vicinity you may have noticed the scaffolding around the Hall and that the building is currently sealed off. This is whilst some essential repair works are carried out by Birmingham City Council with the assistance of a grant of £243,000 from English Heritage in order to help us mitigate our Heritage at Risk Status and protect Highbury as an asset to the city. 

This is not the full restoration project that The Chamberlain Highbury Trust was set up to deliver.  We are still fund raising for the majority of that work.  This initial phase comprises the repair of the roof and the restoration of historic wallpapers that had suffered from water damage.

The lockdown provides an opportunity to repair the roof without interrupting our ever expanding and exciting events programme. Erection of the scaffolding was underway before lockdown commenced, and the contractors and conservators are able to work safely on the repair of the historic roof and the specialised wallpaper restoration work.



              
We will continue to share photos as the work is in development. Some of the work will be totally invisible when it is completed. These construction workers and conservationists will see areas of Highbury that have not been seen for 140 years when the house was built.

 

      


Rhododendron Project
This Month we are launching phase two of our Rhododendron research, propagation and pruning project. There are many varieties of Rhododendrons which are only found at Highbury, hybridised by Chamberlain's gardeners, this project aims to showcase these and teach our community volunteers to protect this asset for the next 120 years!
          
Read more about phase 1 of the project here.
https://chamberlainhighburytrust.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/the-highbury-rhododendron-collection-1.pdf

      


Out in the Park...

All organised events in the park have been cancelled,

However...
Highbury Park Friends are asking people to keep sharing photos of the park via social media.
https://www.facebook.com/Highbury-Park-163093907216314/
  

Highbury Orchard Community are sharing daily activities to do at home or in your own garden, or on your walks out. 
Please be aware that there will be people working in this area of the park, this will be in adherence to social distancing, please be mindful of them when walking through this area.
http://www.peopleandland.org.uk/wp/
https://www.facebook.com/HighburyOrchard/ 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/hoccic/

The Highbury Orchard Community are also supporting our community by donating produce grown to The Real Junk Food Project and to hope to set up a scheme to supply families with seedlings and vegetables and teach people how to grow their own.
 

Further Reading and Watching
      

The fascinating history of both Highbury and the Chamberlain Family has inspired many books and films if you would like to read more check out these...

 

  • Neville Chamberlain’s Legacy by Nicholas Milton, Pen& Sword History, 2019
  • More than Munich: The Forgotten Legacy of Neville Chamberlain by Andrew Reekes, West Midlands History Ltd. 2018
 
 
Thank you for your continued support, we hope to see you soon.
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Our mailing address is:
Highbury, 4 Yew Tree Road, Birmingham, B13 8QG 

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