Swaffham Historic Market Town Blog
This blog will outline periodic updates on the Historic Market Town project in Swaffham.
Friday 24 Jan 2025 - Swaffham landmarks get the Minecraft treatment
Last week, Nicholas Hammond students started their 3 month project to recreate Swaffham's historic core in Minecraft. The students had a history tour of the centre of Swaffham to highlight the key areas and buildings and this was followed by a 2 hour Minecraft building session in the Town Hall. The students were fantastic and really engaged in the project and asked lots of questions. They have already completed the Buttercross and the Methodist Church and made a great start on St Peter and St Paul's Church. This has been helping develop their team work skills and an appreciation of the local history around them.
In terms of building repairs, the start up meeting for Plowright Place took place today. The works will now start on site the week of the 3rd February and scaffolding will go up that week. Look out for repairs and new signage for the front of the building and a new central window based on the original design. There will also be improvements to the passageway including new paving, lighting and a new ceiling making the shops and courtyard more appealing for visitors.
Friday 17 Jan 2025 - 2024: A Year of Progress for Swaffham - A Historic Market Town
As we welcome the New Year, it's a perfect time to reflect on the incredible progress made throughout 2024 on the Swaffham - A Historic Market Town project, which began back in April.
In terms of building works, significant strides have been made. The Methodist Church frontage and window repairs are nearly complete, and the upper floor window repairs of Myhill's Pets and Gardens and the Twisted Broom Stick have been finished. While work on these properties has paused during the winter months, it will resume in earnest as the weather improves in 2025.
This past year also saw a variety of community events and training opportunities. The Harvest Fayre, organised by the Cultural Consortium, was a highlight, along with heritage training courses focused on photographing historic buildings and maintaining them for the future. College students were given a unique opportunity to explore heritage skills not typically covered in their coursework, enriching their learning experiences.
Looking ahead, 2025 promises even more exciting developments. Work on Plowright Place is set to begin soon, and the much-anticipated Minecraft project will kick off, where Nicolas Hamond students will recreate the town in digital form.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the success of this project over the past year. Here's to another year of preserving and celebrating Swaffham's rich heritage. Wishing you all a happy and prosperous New Year!
Friday 13 Dec 2024 - Swaffham - A Historic Market Town has a busy January approaching
The project will be working in collaboration with The Nicholas Hammond Academy to build Swaffham in Minecraft. This exciting project will allow 30 students from Y7 and Y8 to develop their knowledge of Swaffham Market Place and its history and architecture but using a familiar game to the students. They will have three months to complete the project and to recreate the Town as accurately as possible. In January repair works to Plowright Place will also begin supporting the businesses and this shopping area.
This weekend's activity in Swaffham is lantern making in the Methodist Church. This is a free family activity, and you can take home your own lantern at the end of the session. Please book a place on Eventbrite if you can but walk ins are also possible.
If you are a building owner in the Marketplace and are interested in a grant for a historic property or more want more details about the project please visit - www.breckland.gov.uk/historic-market-town
Friday 6 Dec 2024 - It has been a busy month with Swaffham - A Historic Market Town.
The works to the Methodist Church are virtually complete. The windows and columns have been repaired and the frontage of the building is currently being repainted. This final piece of work will be the completion of the lime render on the side elevation, this will take place in the new year once the wall has fully dried and there is not a risk of frost.
There will be a number of free family Christmas art activities also taking place at the Methodist Church. Please book a place on Eventbrite - the activity for the 7th is making your own reusable advent calendar complete with gifts. The activity starts at 1.30.
If you are a landowner and are interested in a grant for a historic property or more want more details about the project please visit - www.breckland.gov.uk/historic-market-town
Friday 27 Nov 2024 - The holidays are coming!
Come and enjoy some lovely traditional family crafts for Christmas at Swaffham Methodist Church this December on behalf of Swaffham - A Historic Market Town. We're starting off with making a lovely pocket Christmas calendar on December 7th. There are four shorter sessions on the 14th of December making Christmas Lanterns and we'll be making our own personalised Christmas crackers on December 21st!
What's best about these crafts is that they are FREE! Open to all ages, under 12s must be accompanied. Book your place on the Eventbrite link below soon, places are limited and will go fast. Look forward to seeing you there!
Friday 22 Nov 2024 - The Swaffham - A Historic Market Town project has won some additional funding for family activities in Swaffham
The Love Your Market Town initiative has agreed to fund free Christmas based family activity for residents and visitors to Swaffham. These will include making your own Advent Calanders, Christmas Crackers and Christmas Lanterns which can be taken home at the end of the activity. The workshops will take place on Saturday 7th, 14th and 21st of December in the Methodist Church in Swaffham. They will be free to attend but booking will be required. Further details on how to book will be available shortly.
Friday 8 Nov 2024 - Works are continuing on the Methodist Church in Swaffham
The cement render on the southern wall has been removed which revealed damp bricks underneath.
The wall now has breathable base coat of lime render, but the work will be completed once the wall has fully dried out. Inside the wall has been repaired with lime plaster. In the long term this will help with damp and the overall condition of the building.
The windows are also being repaired keeping as much of the original woodwork as possible. The stone flags outside the church are currently being re-laid flat to help with access to the building.
Fri 25 Oct 2024 - First building works in the Swaffham - A Historic Market Town project have been completed
We are very excited to say that the first building works in the Swaffham - A Historic Market Town project have been completed. The traditional sash windows above Myhill's Pets and Gardens and the bay window above The Twisted Broomstick have now been repaired and painted in a traditional linseed oil paint. These works will help preserve the traditional windows and ensure they remain in good condition in the future. Works to Myhill's shopfront is planned for next year.
As part of the Historic England Funded project a website was created - Swaffham-heritage.co.uk. This website has historical information about all the properties around the Market Square in Swaffham allowing you to see historic photographs and previous owners and uses of each of the properties. This website can also be accessed by the QR codes on each of the maps and information boards around Swaffham.
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