From Dilapidation to Re-opening 1992 to 2006

This section consists, in the main, of the words of SARAH PENNIE who wrote a personal narrative of this time. We are indebted to the tenacious and generous work of SARAH and ROBIN PENNIE, as without their huge commitment the building would probably not exist today.

The volunteers who took on the commitment to save the historically valuable building entered it in 1994, to find a very damp building increasingly disappearing under rampant dry rot, a maze of redundant pipes and cable, broken and blocked down-pipes and serious vandalism. Outside was a Portakabin classroom and a jungle of growth which threatened to obliterate what was left of the grounds and what used to be the children’s playground.
In spite of neglect, the building’s beauty was still evident. So many of Todmorden’s historic buildings had been demolished that it was time to do things differently, and concern changed to action.

When it became clear that Calderdale Council wanted to sell what it saw as an expensive liability, local people set up the Fielden School of Art Association with support from the Town Mayor and Council. The aim was to keep the building as an asset for the town.

However, Calderdale MBC could only sell the building under the terms of a covenant set in place when the school was given to the then Todmorden Borough Council in 1898. The building wasn’t going to attract commercial investment unless it was demolished, so the Pennies set up a private trust in 1995 to purchase the building from the Council.

Setting up a private trust was a massive commitment, not just in terms of limited private finances, but also in personal terms of stress, lack of relevant expertise and experience and ever-increasing costs; by 1996, it was estimated that more than £40,000 was needed to save the building.

When it became clear that Calderdale Council wanted to sell what it saw as an expensive liability, local people set up the Fielden School of Art Association with support from the Town Mayor and Council. The aim was to keep the building as an asset for the town.

However, Calderdale MBC could only sell the building under the terms of a covenant set in place when the school was given to the then Todmorden Borough Council in 1898. The building wasn’t going to attract commercial investment unless it was demolished, so the Pennies set up a private trust in 1995 to purchase the building from the Council.

Setting up a private trust was a massive commitment, not just in terms of limited private finances, but also in personal terms of stress, lack of relevant expertise and experience and ever-increasing costs; by 1996, it was estimated that more than £40,000 was needed to save the building.