The Snowdrop Season (Jan-March) was very successful as always. With more new visitors as before. 

One of the lost Clock Hands from the Tower was found after being lost for at least two years when they where snapped off by a mystery wanna be "Spiderman" who had climbed up the scaffolding!

For more information visit the Events Page.

BRAND NEW!!

Bank Hall Post Cards -25p each or 5 for £1

AVAILABLE NOW!!

         

The Easter Egg Trail took place and as always proved to be lots of fun for all who attended!

Unfortunately just before Easter we had the sad news of the sudden death of Carol who was and Action Group Member. Carol was known for taking people on guided tours of the Bank Hall grounds and telling visitors all about the history of Bank Hall and about the nature in the gardens. She will be very much missed by all her friends at Bank Hall and our thoughts are with her family.

The Daffodils have now replaced the Snowdrops with even more appearing in the grounds, as it proves that the clearing of the trees have certainly given all the Bank Hall flowers a chance to show off their full glory!

The Snowdrop Sundays where successful as always with many visitors visiting Bank Hall (2615 visitors throughout February)

"The Snowdrop Collection of Bank Hall Bretherton" is the new edition to the Bank Hall books and has been released especially for the snowdrop period and shall be available to purchase at the events throughout the year.

The Cottage Garden Society also visited Bank Hall and held their AGM at Mere Brow Institute on Saturday 17th February, with some very interesting talks and studies on Snowdrops.

A couple of friends of the Bank Hall Action Group aranged for their friends to visit from the Midlands and enjoyed also enjoyed the special display of Snowdrops.

A yet unknown cause of a fire swept through the Bank Hall visitor centre last night (Saturday 20th Jan) at 11pm.

This has not affected the Snowdrop Sundays that shall however run as planned. The Sunowdrop Sundays shall be open a Sunday early on the 28th Jan and shall continue to the end of February (please see the events page)

The Hall has had little damage from the strong winds but a 1st floor in the East wing has however collapsed due to the rain.. this just shows the urgency of restoration and the effects that the removal of the roof can have on a building.

A few trees have been blown over in the plantations (but thankfully none of the specimin trees have been damaged)

You can keep up-to-date with the latest news and developments only with Bank Hall Online. So check back soon!!

After the worrying falls at Bank Hall where the roof had fallen in and one of the gables from the front of the house later falling into the house, work has been planned for October to give support to the structure of the building... Slates, some floors and beams that would put strain upon the building shall be removed and put into storage to prevent any further damage and to provide a safer working environment for the builders upon the start of the work of restoration.

The removal of slates shall also help with cutting costs as when they fall they plummet to their unfortunate death and cannot be reused in restoration, so any slates and masonry we can save shall be put in secure storage and shall be reused in the Restoration of Bank Hall...

Also on at Bank Hall

September brought the New Archaeology and Forensic students to Bank Hall from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) and they found the remains of yet another garden wall and some paths in the walled garden.... also the remains of an old tree from the former formal gardens.

Autumn has finally reached Bank Hall and so have the builders... they have successfully removed hundreds of slates from the lofty roofs which are now in storage. The old wooden beams have now been exposed to show off the structure and what support it needs until the go ahead has been given to start the work to restore Bank Hall to its former glory.

Look out for National Tree Week which is the last event of the year (See Events Page). There are lots of activities on for the children and fascinating facts about the stunning trees in the Bank Hall Gardens.

We shall also be doing a massive count over the winter to total up all the pennies we have for the "Million Pennies Apeal" and this can be seen on the Million Pennies Page.

The day was hot, sunny and enjoyed by all! I am sure the ice-cream man never stoped! Well done to all the prize winners and thank you to all who entered the competition and for bringing your cars to display. As always thank you to everyone for your support and you can look forward to the next Event which is the Family Funday on 20th August 2006.(click here to see events)

The water tank had started to collapse in late April causing the roof to buckle. As the detrition continued the tank and the girders supporting the tank in the roof space fell to an angle supported by an internal wall. On the 19th July the wall fell causing the tank to slide and fall into the entrance hall.

To get an idea of how big the water tank is, then it is said that when it is full with water it weighs 20tons! Obviously the water had since drained away, but part of the roof above the tank had dropped into the tank causing more weight.

This has not affected the restoration project as the tank would have had to be removed from the building...

If you have any photos that you took on your visit or if you would like to show us the snowdrops in your garden from Bank Hall, please post them in the "Snowdrop" Photo Albumn.

Post on the following link...

http://groups.msn.com/BankHallBrethertonChat/snowdrops.msnw