Our thanks to everyone who helped with and attended this effort for a cause close to many hearts. The support was fantastic and both the Raffle and Tombola did very
Converting the ground floor of the Gatehouse to 2 ensuite bedrooms to provide practical ground floor accommodation. Formerly the Principal’s house (er, not the current Principal, I might add!), the
I am thrilled to say we have finally managed to get Planning permission for significant improvements to our accessibility on the premises. In a nutshell, we intend to work in
Pond Sitting Area – IN PROGRESS We are currently working on an area in the grounds next to the pond to create a pleasant gathering area from which artists may observe
We have installed a rustic cleft wood fence from oak sourced from Ruskin’s home, Brantwood. Adding to safety, it also provided a subject to be included for artists drawing and
Regulars at Higham will know my relief when I can tell you that, finally, the front upper windows are getting repainted and repaired. Our 1828 gothic revival building has parts
Yes! We have finally managed to double glaze both the Bungalow Cottage and the Gatehouse Bedrooms. Those of you who have been with us a while may be aware of
Those of you who have been in the past year will know how we had the end part of the Dining Room (the servery area) painting Red Sand at the
As mentioned before, we have been keen to sympathetically redecorate our rooms bit by bit. We have recently had bedroom 19 redone. After converting this ensuite room into a single
Neil and co have made progress with the establishment of the pond seating area. As you can see on the left, a space has now been cleared and foundations laid
Our decorator was suddenly available this week, so we have put them to work on Bedrooms 6 and 19. If you look closely in the top right window, you can
Our Gardening Team work tirelessly in the grounds to keep them safe and beautiful. The grounds are a major resource for Higham, giving those who come space to be inspired,
The Raffle for the Robert Dutton picture has now been drawn and the winner notified by email. The winning ticket number was [471 orange] . Thank you to everybody who
Converting the Bungalow from 3 standard rooms sharing 1 bathroom to 4 ensuite bedrooms to provide practical ground floor accommodation. Whilst we are limited in the Hall itself as to
Using heritage colours and cues to refurbish bedrooms and public areas so that they reflect significant eras the building has been through. We are being fussy about what we are
A shelter in the garden which will look out on the wonderful view we have here. Alston, a residential college much like Higham, was closed in December 2015 after many
A private donation was made for us to plant a tree and for a bench in memory of former Tutor Derek Hyatt [Guardian Obituary and Telegraph Obituary], who passed at
Here he is, the successor to faithful old Hoskins who, after 13 plus years, has now gone to a retirement of lesser demand. The new boy comes from the Transit
The lucky winner who won the original picture by Robert Dutton was a lady called Carol. She says she never usually wins anything. Well she has now! The raffle, with Robert’s
Robert Dutton has kindly donated this wonderful picture to help us raise funds. So far, 220 tickets have been sold, and we are hoping to sell a few more. It
We recently unearthed some photos of the occasion, 17 years ago, when The Millennium Wall Hanging was created by course attendees at Higham. You may catch sight of some past
Just about got Monty to sit long enough in the new Curve to capture a shot of him with the new plaque, cunningly installed on a tree trunk by Neil
Four months or so on an we’ve done it! The Bungalow Cottage has now been converted to 4 en-suite bedrooms – all ground floor, naturally! The new rooms are: Elva
Alston Hall was, until the beginning of last year, a sister college to Higham based in the Ribble Valley in Lancashire. We shared many tutors and, indeed, students, and strived
Well, we have completed the conversion of three of the bedrooms in the Bungalow Cottage to ensuites on time! There’s never an easy way, but we had to do it
More than just a redecoration, this one. Those familiar with the Bungalow will recognise that this 1960s one 3 bedroom, one bathroom house originally built for the Warden when Higham
As ever, with an old building – an ours’ is nearly 200 years old – there have been challenges with our redecoration. Because we are stubbornly refusing to compromise and
Those of you who know Higham may be familiar with the end of the Dining Room where tea and coffee and some food is served. It was blue for a
The Pictures tell the story really. There is always something else to do, whatever the job here at Higham. People who think it is just a case of a lick
One of our largest ensuite bedrooms in the Hall is having some TLC. Room 15 boasts two wonderful gothic arched windows facing the front. Unfortunately, it also has boasted leaks
We’ve finally sorted the majority of work on Rooms 4 and 5. If you remember, these both were in need of brightening up and we took on the challenge of
Those students who are familiar with these two bedrooms may identify with the fact that they both suffered from ‘snore-bleed’ through the adjoining wall. This was due to the fact
For a long time the wafer-thin wall between 4 & 5 has allowed deep snorers to keep their neighbours awake. Well, we are eliminating this problem, prior to a redecoration,
Finally we have managed to put up new curtains in the redecorated Room 2. The choices of colour and pattern have been very, very deliberate for reasons of both usability
We are pleased with what we have managed to do with Bedrooms 1 and 2. We took a 19th Century wallpaper design as a cue and took heritage colours from
It might sound like a small thing, but this banister will make all the difference. This is Bedroom 6, and you will notice that the entrance is up a slight