C O N T E X T 8 8 : M A R C H 2 0 0 5 19 which were identified as part of the original objectives of the project. A number of important personalities visited the project in 2004. They included the US ambassador to Romania, Michael Guest, and the British ambassador, Quentin Quayle. It continued to receive extensive television coverage, including a two-part programme dedicated to the castle on national Romanian television. The work and the general environment of the castle continued to attract public interest, as demonstrated through another very successful Bontida Cultural Day, which was attended by 1,500 people. During recent years the work undertaken at Banffy Castle has contributed significantly to the restoration of the castle as well as providing training in historic building conservation for international students. The work has been implemented partly under the umbrella of the BHCT Project by the Transylvania Trust and the IHBC, and partly by the Romanian Ministry of Culture and Religion. Funds have been received from a number of other sources in the UK, USA, EU and Hungary. The consolidation and re-roofing in 2003 of the Miklos Building, with the assistance of the World Monument Fund, was a major step in developing a permanent home for the BHCT Centre.This has now been complemented by the EU grants which were achieved in 2004, which will enable the conversion of that building to provide permanent conference and lecture facilities from July 2005. Along with the accommodation which has now been created in the former kitchen block, this will mean that courses can be programmed throughout the year from mid-2005. It will also ensure that this special environment can be used by schools and universities from the whole region for special project work. It offers the opportunity to create new and positive links with schools and universities from the UK. This is a direction that we are particularly seeking to promote. The primary purpose will remain as traditional craft-skills training but the wider use of the castle for other projects, painting schools, social studies, geography and history, art history and architectural studies, for example, will be actively encouraged to ensure optimal use of the buildings. We hope that many UK institutions will take the opportunity to use the castle as an overseas field study centre. The project will also seek to encourage new contacts in the region and build upon those made in 2004, for example with the National Office for Historic Monuments in Hungary and the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. The need for the Built Heritage Conservation Training Centre continues to have widespread support, including that of the Ministry of Culture and Religion in Romania, and by surrounding countries. It is seen as a use which will not only assist in ensuring the sustainability and future viability of Banffy Castle, but through the development of training programmes at an international level can also contribute to the sustainability of historic buildings in neighbouring countries, by providing expertise for their restoration and reuse. New teachers and craftsmen joined the team during 2004 and are certain to return next year. For the first time, we had a young recently-qualified British architect join the course as a student to learn the practical skills which he feels will help in his architectural career.We hope more will follow him. To fulfil our grant obligations we will be giving a number of presentations on the project in the UK in March 2005. Any IHBC branch that would welcome a presentation at one of its meetings should let me know. An alternative immediate way in which members could help with this work is to help us develop the new library facilities at the castle by donating books. Nigel Barker (editorial@ihbc.org.uk) has kindly agreed to coordinate this in the UK. If anyone is encouraged by all of this to join us, please contact me at dbaxter@cluj.astral.ro Restoring the stables vault Rib repair to the stables
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