The Reading Rooms on Holy Island were officially reopened by Jane Crossman last week following a £55,000 makeover as part of our Heritage Lottery Funded Peregrini Lindisfarne Landscape Partnership Scheme.
The Reading Rooms were gifted to the village of Holy Island by Robert Crossman in his will of 1894 and they have been well used by local people, pilgrims and other visitors ever since. However the rooms were beginning to look tired, access was difficult and lacked welfare provision.
Heritage Lottery funding has been made available as part of the Peregrini Lindisfarne Landscape Partnership Scheme to refurbish the rooms which has included the installation of a kitchenette and toilet and partitioning to create a dedicated room for the Holy Island Archives. The conservation architect Tristan Spicer of Doonan Architects and builder Ali Gilholme have carefully and successfully married the old and new to create beautiful new and fully functioning space for many more generations of Islanders to enjoy.
Jane Crossman officially reopened the Reading Rooms at a small event last week. Over the coming months the Holy Island Archive will be set up in its dedicated space and is anticipated to be a wonderful addition to the island.
