The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
A historic World War Two pillbox situated on a Spalding estate is set to get a new lease of life thanks to a history buff and local company.
The historic relic on the corner of Buttercup Close and Lavender Way is thought to be one of only a handful of its kind in the UK.
It’s been derelict for a number of years, but several nearby residents have been pushing for work to be done on it.
They approached South Holland District Council, which in turn spoke to specialist renovator of historical buildings, Dale Harrison.
He’d worked with Ayscoughfee Hall for a number of years which due to a number of repairs has taken up the majority of the council’s budget for that area.
But he says he was so fascinated by the project he couldn’t let it go and approached Gibbs and Dandy to sponsor it and provide equipment.
They agreed and now Dale is set to start what he estimates will be ten days of work.
“I run a building company and my background is in heritage restoration,” said Dale, who is looking to set up a time-lapse camera of the work. “The council asked me to have a look at it and I spoke to the local community but they said nobody had the money to do it.
“I’ve worked on numerous historic buildings including the likes of Peterborough Cathedral, but this project just got me a bit excited.
“It’s history and I thought it was a great thing to be involved with.
“I made a few calls and Gibbs and Dandy wanted to get involved and source the material, while I’m happy to do the labour.
“It’s now about preserving it for the next generation. It’ll take some work, those walls are incredibly thick.
But we’ve sourced the right bricks.
“It’s about giving a little bit back for me.”
One of the local residents Tony Fell said: “It’s a really exciting project.
“Hopefully it will be an interesting memorial to her Majesty The Queen.”
