Leading architect Purcell Miller Tritton has been awarded a commission to design the first Lewis Caroll Interpretation Centre in the UK. Daresbury in Cheshire was home to the world-famous creator of the Alice in Wonderland books, and Purcell Miller Tritton have been asked to create a new centre to sit alongside the current Grade II* listed All Saints Church in the Cheshire village.
Most people visit the church because of its association with Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) who was born in the Old Parsonage (now demolished) in 1832 and to see the Lewis Carroll Memorial Window dedicated to him in 1935. His father, also Charles Dodgson, was the Vicar of Daresbury between 1829 and 1843. The village forms part of the existing Lewis Caroll “trail” which is visited by devotees of the writer from around the world.
Purcell Miller Tritton has been appointed to design a 55 sq. m extension to house the Lewis Carroll Interpretation Centre, which will contain a multi-use display area, meeting room, lavatory and kitchen, and to undertake some internal reordering to the existing church. A planning application is due to be submitted with work on construction hoped to begin in early 2010.
Just under half of the total £500,000 project cost will be provided by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant. Other contributors include Halton Borough Council and the church community.
Mark Goldspink, Chief Executive of Purcell Miller Tritton, said, “This is a fantastic opportunity to create a living, breathing structure that will rightly serve as a gathering point for the many Lewis Caroll devotees who visit the village every year.”