The Ladder, the much-loved Passmore Edwards Building in the heart of Redruth, has been awarded almost £250k from The National Lottery Heritage Fund – allowing the building owners to start major works to renovate the first floor.
The building was taken over by Felix Mortimer and Joshua Nawras of Redruth Former Library CIC in 2021, with a plan to rescue and transform the derelict Grade II listed former Library and College after it was almost sold off for flats the previous year.
The Ladder is now set to become a centre for heritage, culture, and education, providing a necessary space for the community of Redruth.
The capital project, which is jointly funded with the Shared Prosperity Fund, will provide the people of Redruth with a cafe, nursery, rehearsal space, community space, exhibition space, co-working space, a darkroom and artist studios.
The building name is inspired by the Passmore Edwards quote “If I can fund the Ladder; the people will climb.” and was selected by the public in an online poll. When the building was established in 1895, the former Library and adjoining college building embodied Passmore Edwards’ dedication to creating spaces that foster social mobility.
The college has already been transformed into a nursery – now providing childcare for an initial intake of 30 children – and the team are looking forward to undertaking this next stage of work.
Felix Mortimer, co-director of Redruth Former Library CIC which owns the building, said: “We are deeply grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund and players of the National Lottery for awarding The Ladder £249,570 to move into the second phase of our redevelopment of the Passmore Edwards former library.
“We received Shared Prosperity Funding to start the work on the ground floor and will complete this in October – so this funding builds on that investment and allows us to continue our transformation.”
He added: “This investment in the beautiful 1894 building, bequeathed to the people of Redruth by Passmore Edwards and purchased by the community in 2021 will allow us to build world-class workspace, rehearsal space and podcast studio. It also means we can roll out four projects which respond to the heritage of the town as well as carry out four projects researching and responding to the heritage of the town.”
