Bovey Paradiso

King of Prussia arts centre in Bovey Tracey, Devon, awarded National Lottery support

Bovey Tracey Paradiso Arts has received confirmation of a National Lottery grant of £46,000 for its King of Prussia heritage project.  The project aims to restore a decaying 16^th century former pub, the King of Prussia in Bovey Tracey, Devon, and convert it into an art gallery with artists’ studios.   After restoration of the heritage building, the arts centre will be completed by a new cinema theatre built behind it, with old and new linked by an atrium housing a café.

Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players awarded through the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), the project will carry out essential restoration and refurbishment work on the Elizabethan building. National Lottery funds will cover part of the construction work and will also support training of volunteers for various roles, including research into the building’s history and its role in the community and development of an oral history of local people’s memories of the King of Prussia. They will create a heritage display in the arts centre plus heritage information online.

The King of Prussia was not always an inn.  It was given a makeover by the Victorians and by successive generations of pub proprietors. Some of these layers, including Victorian extensions and boards covering Elizabethan fireplaces, will be stripped away to reveal more of the underlying Tudor structure of the original merchant’s house.

Commenting on the award, Stephen Willmore of Bovey Paradiso said: “We are really excited to receive this support thanks to National Lottery players. It will mean local artists can work in an interesting and inspirational historic building, as well as display their work and hold workshops to pass on their skills to others. Once we have added a cinema, theatre and café, the community will have a vibrant space for creativity, where people of all ages can relax, learn and be entertained, right in the historic heart of Bovey.”