PORLOCK is celebrating a cash award which will help preserve one of its most important and historic buildings. As exclusively revealed in last week's Free Press, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has awarded a grant of £198,500 to the Grade Two* listed Dovery Manor. The medieval property, built around 1450, has housed the village's museum since 1982 and also been used as a billiards and snooker club for most of the last century. But for many years it has been plagued by serious damp problems largely caused by the high ground behind the building, which was bought by the parish council in 1981 after being restored by the Chadwyck-Healey family in the 19th century. This has hindered the work of the museum in particular and led to the management trustees launching a project to secure funding to tackle the problem. The grant aid will enable the land to be lowered, a new retaining wall to be constructed and the kitchen and toilet at the rear of the building to be rebuilt, including facilities for the disabled. Other work will include the replacement of the heating system and the restoration of the interior of the building, including the conservation of many medieval features, including the fireplace in the great hall. And in line with the HLF's emphasis on public enjoyment of heritage, the grant will also allow the museum's collection of artefacts and records of the Porlock Vale area to be completely reorganised and displayed in new or modernised cabinets. The plans include the use of graphic panels, models, costumed figures - such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge whose poem Kubla Khan is associated with his visits to Porlock - low-tech interactives and virtual tours of the collection, as well as 'sound stores' and 'aromas'. Organisers say the revamping will make the museum an exciting place to visit as well as an educational resource. The total cost of the project is expected to be around £250,000 and the shortfall will be met by grants from the parish council, Somerset County Council and charitable trusts. The work will start in late spring and should be completed within six months. However, a programme of events is planned to take place at other village venues throughout the special project year while Dovery Manor is out of use. This will include monthly talks on the Exmoor and Porlock areas and a six-session course focusing on the building and the crafts and skills through which it was constructed. Chairman of the Dovery Manor trustees the Rev Ivan Selman said: "We are thrilled to receive this grant aid, the result of several years of hard work by members of our management committee. "It will fulfil our vision of preserving a fine historic building and its collections for future generations. "Our hope is that this will give the billiards and snooker club better premises and increased membership, while the completely modernised museum will inspire and educate local people and school and other groups, as well as the many British and foreign visitors who visit the museum each year." The HLF's manager for the South West Nerys Watts said Dovery Manor was an important building in Porlock. "This fantastic project will really bring the museum's collection to life for everyone to explore," she said.