Historic Wantage Sack House Opened

This afternoon saw the opening of the Sack House at Wantage Wharf. Its dates from the early 19th century and served as a depot for hiring out standard sacks to local farmers, corn merchants, etc., who wanted to transport goods out of the area by canal or railway. This historic building was threatened when nearby development started a number of years ago. However, Barratt Homes eventually refurbished the exterior of the building and the good news is that the ownership has been passed on to the Wilts and Berks Canal Trust. The East Vale branch now plans to renovate the inside of the building and turn it into a museum covering the local heritage associated with the canal wharf and Wantage tramway. Pictured above, clockwise from top left, are Wantage Silver Band who helped to celebrate the opening, John Laverick (Trust Chairman), the current state of the interior and Brian Stovold (Branch Chairman).

Another good bit of news is that over the Jubilee weekend the Wilts and Berks Canal Trust was awarded the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service 2012. This is wonderful recognition of all the hard work of volunteers who have made such progress restoring the waterway across the counties of WIltshire and Oxfordshire. The trust is always looking for new members and if you wish to help this project you can join at http://www.wbct.org.uk/get-involved/join

After the opening ceremony, we went on a circular guided walk following the line of the canal between Grove and East Challow. This was one of the events in the Wantage Summer Festival. There are further walks coming up with the next one on Tuesday 19 June at 7.30pm - for details see the forthcoming events section at http://www.wbct.org.uk/.