Rescuing Mrs Smith’s Cottage

In 2017 we lead a period of research and public consultation to create plans for Mrs Smith’s Cottage. Research revealed how this fascinating and tiny site was the home of Hilda Smith for the entire 106 years of her life. We consulted locally with schools, families, local history groups and businesses, other attractions and partners to create a picture of this woman and what her home could be to today’s community. We developed interpretative plans and programming to keep the community at the heart and respect the fragile and evocative spaces. Funding was secured from the Heritage Fund and we were delighted to get the job of making these plans a reality. Working with the community and artist in residence Nicki Jarvis we brought the cottage back to how Mrs Smith had left it. Using a sensitive and subtle approach, we created hand made interpretation with stitched and painted text in the cottage and flexible displays in the visitor centre.