THE Ladder, the much-loved Passmore Edwards Building in the heart of Redruth, has been awarded almost £250,000 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund – allowing the building owners to start major works to renovate the first floor.

The building was taken over by Felix Mortimer and Joshua Nawras of Redruth Former Library CIC in 2021, with a plan to rescue and transform the derelict Grade II listed former Library and College after it was almost sold off for flats the previous year.

The Ladder is now set to become a centre for heritage, culture, and education, providing a necessary space for the community of Redruth.

The capital project, which is jointly funded with the Shared Prosperity Fund, will provide the people of Redruth with a cafe, nursery, rehearsal space, community space, exhibition space, co-working space, a darkroom and artist studios.

Redruth’s Passmore Edwards building The Ladder renovations
Renovation are in place at The Ladder (Submitted)

The building name is inspired by the Passmore Edwards quote “If I can fund the Ladder; the people will climb.” and was selected by the public in an online poll. When the building was established in 1895, the former Library and adjoining college building embodied Passmore Edwards' dedication to creating spaces that foster social mobility.

The college has already been transformed into a nursery – now providing childcare for an initial intake of 30 children – and the team are looking forward to undertaking this next stage of work.

Felix Mortimer, co-director of Redruth Former Library CIC who own the building, said: “We are deeply grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund and players of the National Lottery for awarding The Ladder £249,570 to move into the second phase of our redevelopment of the Passmore Edwards former library.

“We received Shared Prosperity Funding to start the work on the ground floor and will complete this in October – so this funding builds on that investment and allows us to continue our transformation.”

Redruth’s Passmore Edwards building The Ladder renovations 2
Major works will take place on the first floor (Submitted)

He added: “This investment in the beautiful 1894 building, bequeathed to the people of Redruth by Passmore Edwards and purchased by the community in 2021 will allow us to build world-class workspace, rehearsal space and podcast studio. It also means we can roll out four projects which respond to the heritage of the town as well as carry out four projects researching and responding to the heritage of the town.”

Stuart McLeod, director of England - London & South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “We are delighted to support this project, which thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, will mean that more people will be able to get involved with, protect, and learn about the exciting heritage right on their doorstep. Heritage has a huge role to play in instilling pride in communities and boosting local economies, and this project is a fantastic example of achieving those aims.”'

The team have worked closely with the local community to develop their plans, undertaking a year of consultation in 2021 and delivering their Destination Redruth plan as well as putting together an advisory group of 18 key stakeholders.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund monies will not only allow them to undertake much-needed structural and renovation work to the first floor of the Library building – but will now allow them to start rolling out a programme of activities within the community, honouring the heritage of the building.

Redruth’s Passmore Edwards building The Ladder renovations 3
Proposed design for the Passmore Edwards building (Submitted)

Some of these activities include:

● 'Honouring our elders: Bringing Bill’s Attic to life one object at a time' A professional development and research project with Cornwall’s theatre makers and writers. 

● 'Get On The Grass' Turning The Ladder’s street scene into a breathing hands on expression of Hidden Heritage. 

● 'Radical Redruth' Building a social action network of buildings working with 14 - 25 year olds. 

● 'The Window in The Shape of A Cloud' Working with 0 - 3 year olds to discover the building and create magical intervention. 

They will also be creating jobs to help deliver on the activity and plan to advertise part-roles for an Engagement Officer and a Heritage Activities Officer in the coming months – as well as continuing to work with numerous freelancers from Cornwall’s creative industries, and Cornwall based architects, artisans and craftspeople.

Julien Boast, creative director of Hall for Cornwall, congratulated the company on the Heritage Fund award. He said: “Josh and Felix are a part of our Associate Artists Programme which gives bespoke development opportunities and mentoring support. This award of funding is another step forward for creating something brilliant in terms of breathing new life into a well-loved building and bringing international work to Redruth.”

Using money raised by National Lottery players, The National Lottery Heritage Fund supports projects that connect people and communities with the UK’s heritage. The second phase of The Ladder transformation, as well as the heritage activities programming, is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund.