The Fireplace in the 15th century Great Hall of Lytes Cary Manor, near Charlton Mackrell, will once again become a focal point of the property, thanks to a donation of nearly £9,750 by the Quantock Centre to pay for its restoration.
This will be augmented by £1,000, the legacy of a Quantock Centre life member, Miss Marjorie Evelyn Farrant, who died in 2007.
The work, starting in the next few weeks, will mean that log fires can blaze again. They will provide a welcoming and authentic setting for Spring and Autumn visitors, including schoolchildren and other learning groups who will be able to gather round to discover more from stewards and guides about the manor and its history.
The money will pay for a survey of the chimney and then for a new grate, poker and other tools, willow baskets for logs and two oak bench seats. All the items will be made by Somerset craftspeople – including, for example, a local blacksmith and basket-makers from the neighbouring Somerset Levels. The wood for the benches is likely to come from Stourhead.
Simon Larkins, the Head Gardener at Lytes Cary, who is in charge of the project, said: “We are delighted with the donation and the opportunity at last to provide a warm and inviting feature that will put our visitors in the right mood to enjoy this gem of a house.”
Quantock Centre members who visited Newark Park, Gloucestershire, last year may remember seeing a rather fragile model of the house. The model's days are numbered and it is to be replaced this year by a much more robust version, partly thanks to a donation of £100 from the Centre.
In a letter to the Centre Treasurer, Basil Bryant, the resident Visitor Services Manager, Michael Claydon, says the model is used to show the development stages of Newark and improve visitors' understanding of its architecture.
Another beneficiary following a Quantock Centre visit is Tyntesfield, North Somerset. It has been given £100 towards the restoration of stone baskets which will line the croquet garden.
And after a visit to A La Ronde at Exmouth the Centre has given £100 to plant up the rockery near the tea room and so enhance the pleasure of visitors.