Welcome to the website of the Poundstock Gildhouse, near Bude in North Cornwall,
where you will find news and
pictures relating to the
restoration of and
events at our church
house.
St. Winwaloe is the parish church of Poundstock, situated in a secluded dell by a small
stream. Alongside stands its ancient Gildhouse, now a Grade 1 listed
building, the best preserved example in Cornwall of a late medieval church house
which has been in continuous use since it was built. Church houses were
built with the aim of using them as extensions of the church and the one
in Poundstock is contemporary with the late phases of the medieval
church building. |
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The
Committee of Poundstock Gildhouse were extremely excited to hear this
week that the Gildhouse has been awarded a Europa Nostra Award for
conservation. Europa Nostra is the voice of Cultural Heritage in Europe
and each year there are 28 awards in four categories, given to reward
the best of Cultural heritage achievements. Poundstock Gildhouse was
selected alongside fifteen other projects from all over Europe to
recieve an award for Conservation.
Europa Nostra state that "Each
year, we reward the best of cultural heritage achievements. Through our
EU Prize for Cultural Heritage awards we celebrate excellence and
dedication by architects, craftsmen, volunteers, schools, local
committees, heritage owners and media."
To see the full details of Europa Nostra and the
award that the Gildhouse has won:
www.europanostra.org/awards
See also the News
and Events page |
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WEDNESDAY TALKS
On the second Wednesday of every month the
Gildhouse hosts a series of talks and demonstrations in the Feasting
Hall. See the News and
Events page for the 2012 programme
Wednesday 9 May: At 7.30 'All about bats' a
talk by Sally Caudle. if weather permits there will be a bat
count in
the beautiful surroundings of the Gildhouse
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 The
unique structure was built between the 15th and 16th centuries by
skilled craftsmen using traditional techniques and materials such as
cob, local stone and slate. In the beginning the ground floor probably
comprised a kitchen, bakehouse and brewhouse, a meeting place and a
store room, while the first floor was an open feasting hall where the
'Church ales' would have been held. Church ales were celebrations held
within the church calendar, particularly at Whitsuntide and May Day when
ales were brewed and sold in order to raise funds for the Church or for
good causes in the parish. With the growth of Puritanism in the late
17th century drinking was seen as sinful, church ales were considered to
be nothing but drunken disorders and were suppressed. Church houses were
gradually abandoned, demolished or put to other uses. Poundstock
Gildhouse, by the late 18th century had been divided up to become a
poorhouse and schoolroom and in 1907 there was a large scale
refurbishment and it was turned into Parish meeting rooms as a place for year round activities,
exhibitions and celebrations. Until
last year the building was showing its age, both structurally and in
terms of its facilities and work was urgently needed to preserve it. A considerable amount of
restoration
work has been done with the aid of the Heritage Lottery Fund and
Awards for all as well as a large amount of local fundraising, to make the building sound and update the access
and facilities to the required standard. We now have a magnificent
Feasting Hall with a well equipped kitchen upstairs while downstairs
there is a smaller meeting room and kitchen. Both floors have disabled
facilities and in one corner of the ground floor there is even a completely preserved little stable where the Schoolmistress used to
keep her pony. |
Bookings
and Charges
Now the restoration is finished, this irreplaceable part of Poundstock's heritage has the potential to become the venue for a diverse and inclusive range of
activities such as weddings and meetings. The Gildhouse will be open to the public as a heritage centre and may be
booked for a variety of functions throughout the year. Visit the
Gildhouse
Diary to check for availability and to see what's on.
If you would like to know more or even donate towards the restoration project, please do not hesitate to
contact us. We hope you enjoy browsing the website!
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