A £10,000 fundraising appeal has been launched to give one of Minehead's oldest houses a much- needed facelift. The Grade Two listed Townsend House has been run as a community centre since August 1983 when it was bought by West Somerset District Council and handed over to a volunteer management committee. However, more than 20 years on and after the thousands of pounds raised and spent by the "visionaries" who first sought to preserve the building, restoration work is again needed. Fundraising co-ordinator Sally Bainbridge said both the Main and Harbour rooms were long overdue for redecoration, while poor and ugly lighting in the Harbour room was neither compatible with the listed building status nor enhanced the treasured murals housed in it. In addition, the rendered wall garden facing the road needs repairing, along with a replacement carpet in the Main room. Mrs Bainbridge said lighting had improved enormously since the strip lighting put in more than 20 years ago. "Estimates are still being sought for various options for all the work so we don't have an exact figure of the amount we need to raise," she said. "It is a daunting task but an exciting one as well and it poses the type of challenge the founders of Townsend House rose to. "We owe it to them to rise to these new challenges and ensure that Townsend House continues to play a vital role in Minehead." Mrs Bainbridge said the earliest recorded evidence of the building was in 1615 when it was lived in by a Mr Baker. It continued to be privately owned until World War One and in the 1920s was listed as the Red Cap School. During World War Two it was used as an air raid wardens' base and then became a private house again, lived in by a solicitor and his wife until 1982. "It is one of Minehead's most prominent and historic buildings," said Mrs Bainbridge. "We hope to invigorate interest in it with this major fundraising campaign. "It is such a valuable resource fro Minehead but few people realise who is responsible for it, let alone how much a listed building takes to maintain." Townsend House is used extensively for exhibitions, lectures and coffee mornings, as well as being available for hire by groups. A programme of fundraising events have been planned to kickstart the appeal, with the first a plant sale at the house on May 3, from 10am onwards. A garden party with cream teas will be held at Thurlestone, Middlecombe, on June 17, followed by a musical soiree back at the house on August 10. Anyone wanting further information on the events or willing to make a donation can contact chairman Wendy Johnson on 01643 706010. Mrs Bainbridge is pictured, third from the left, outside Townsend House with secretary Jenny Lennon-Wood, Wendy Johnson and stewards organiser Irene Murphy. Photo: Steve Guscott.
