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Bamber Legacy Project

It is largely accomplished

Bamber’s Legacy Project has added an additional storey of dressing rooms and the Simon Freakley Treetop Studio (made possible by a gift from Jay Alix) which has a 9m scenic window, a dance floor, a dance mirror and a new hand-built Yamaha grand piano. On either end are terraces looking out over the 350 acre estate.

There were two magnificent dinners to celebrate its completion.

Videos

The Lift 

David & Molly Lowell Borthwick are funding a glazed external lift which will whisk you up to the Treetop studio. It will be installed in September.

The vision & the next steps

The opera house interior is now red and soon the dressing rooms +  studio will soon be complete. The next hurdle . . . an external lift and heating air source heat pump, heat exchanger and fans.

The vision is to

  • Broaden artistic content beyond the opera season. With heating it will be possible to present all kinds of things – especially in the dark months – from immersive events to ballet.
  • Be a Good Citizen. The studio will be used by Primary Robins and by local people’s for community classes and rehearsals. Local performance groups may use the opera house for their larger concerts.
  • Bring in income from fee-earning uses such as filming and dinners (on the stage itself or in the studio).

Existing north-east view showing two floors of dressing rooms

North-east view showing three floors of dressing rooms and the Treetop Studio

The Bamber Bench

By sculptor Raphael Maklouf

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The Brick Bridge  

Beneath the willow near the dock door, Martin Smith will build a brick bridge. After the opera house and lavatorium were finished, he counted 8,160 unused bricks. He needs 1,000 for the east elevation of the dressing rooms, and 3,000 for the bridge. What shall we do with the rest?

Bamber Gascoigne Legacy Project supporters

Patrons
Christina Gascoigne
Joanna Lumley
Bryn Terfel
Wynne Evans

Lead Donors
Michael & Hilary Cowan
Simon Freakley Treetop Studio made possible by a gift from Jay Alix
David & Molly Lowell Borthwick

A Golden Heart
Mark & Rosemary Carawan
Samantha & Nabil Chartouni
Colwinston Charitable Trust
François Freyeisen & Shunichi Kubo
Mat & Sam Kirk
David & Amanda Leathers
Mr & Mrs Matthias Ruhland
Sharp Foundation
Geoff & Fiona Squire Foundation

Fingers on Buzzers
Anonymous
Judith Lawless & Kevin Egan
Ethos Foundation
Simon & Meg Freakley
Malcolm Herring
Tower Mint
Wilhelm & Evelyn Jenckel
William & Felicity Mather

Your starter for ten
Anonymous
Jeremy Abram & Diane Kenwood Joanna & Stephen Barlow
Michael & Julia Calvey
Chris Carter & Stuart Donachie
Peter & Manina Dicks
Nick & Lesley Dumbreck
George Goulding
David & Clare Kershaw
Brian & Jennifer Ratner
John & Pit Rink
Hugh & Catherine Stevenson
Anthony & Carolyn Townsend
Hilary & Mike Wagstaff
Woodward Charitable Trust

I’ll have to hurry you 
Two anonymous dontions
29th May 1961 Charitable Trust
Tom & Alison Baigrie
Nan Brenninkmeyer
Paul Chivers
Jonathan & Jane Clarke
Aidan & Colette Clegg
Raymonde Jay
Peter & Poppity Nutting
In memory of Sir Michael Parker
Mike & Jessamy Reynolds
Sir John & Lady Sunderland
Andrew & Jane Sutton
Southampton Row Trust
Keith & Katy Weed
Clare Williams

University Challengers
Mr Anthony Ashplant
Dame Janet Baker CH
James Bernon
Mrs Margaret Bolam
Bill Bougourd & Judith Thomas
Mrs Roger Bradley
Prof Martin Brown & Dr Sue Brown
Iain & Kim Clarke
Lisa Curtlin
Michael & Allie Eaton
David & Virginia Essex
The Fischer Fund
Julian Hardwick & Cathie Tsoukkas
Angela & David Harvey
Lady Hunt & David John
David & Madi Laurence
Lady Lever
Susan & Ludi Lochner
Elizabeth & Martin Morgan
John & Carrie Naunton Davies
Mollie Norwich
Eleanor Cranmer & Nick Thomas
Christopher & Tineke Stewart
Carolyn Ward
John & Linde Wotton
Anonymous

No Conferring
125 gifts