CONTEXT 183 : MARCH 2025 3 Castlegate. Built in 1875 as offices for the Sheffield United Gas Light Company, the building will become a home for young musicians called Harmony Works. Restoration of the currently unused building will offer a range of practice, rehearsal and performance spaces and facilities that are not available in a single location elsewhere in the region. It will become the new home for Sheffield Music Academy and Sheffield Hub, and a base for many organisations including Brass Bands England, Music in the Round, Choir with No Name, Orchestras for All and Concerteenies. It will also support the University of Sheffield’s music department and the Sheffield College. In Colchester an £8 million grant will restore and convert the Grade II* listed Jumbo Water Tower, making it accessible to the public for the first time as a heritage and events space. Jumbo is said to be the last intact listed water tower. All Saints’ Church in Helmsley, North Yorkshire, has been awarded £138,000 to develop plans for urgent conservation of the Grade II* listed building and its Edwardian wall paintings, and to develop its plans to deliver a programme of traditional skills development. The United Reformed Church and St George’s Church in Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne, are less than a mile apart. They each have a rare pipe organ, built by one of Britain’s leading 19th-century makers, Lewis and Company, founded by Thomas Christopher Lewis. The £163,600 grant will help reinforce links between the two places of worship through the Discover Jesmond 1888 project. As well as conserving the organs, the project will create a heritage trail and events programme to engage the community. In Bulmer, North Yorkshire, St Martin’s Church will use its £248,500 grant to conserve and improve the thermal efficiency of its 14th-century tower and improve access. Lochwinnoch Church, Renfrewshire, will receive £198,250 to support plans to buy the Category A listed church and transform it into a multi-use community hub. Jumbo Water Tower in Colchester, to be restored as a heritage and events space (Photo: Chris Gorman) St Martin’s Church, Bulmer, North Yorkshire: improving the tower’s thermal efficiency Edwardian wall paintings in All Saints’ Church, Helmsley, North Yorkshire: funding for conservation and skills development
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