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When Carolyn
Rule from the Poldhu Amateur Radio Club expressed her dream of a
new Marconi Centre to the National Trust they were keen to get involved.
Nick Lawrence
is the Trust's Area Manager for South Cornwall. He agreed to take
on the project.
"The National
Trust owns the land and we were concerned public awareness of Marconi
had lapsed," he says. "When Carolyn suggested the new
centre we knew this was the answer."
The radio club
were looking for a permanent home, the Trust and Marconi plc were
wanting to celebrate the life of Marconi. The teaming was perfect.
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| So much
work to do in little time |
"This is
the greatest challenge I've ever worked on," says Nick. "We
had to find the money, buy some land for a car park, plan the building
work and be ready by the 12 December."
Nick admits
while the project has been long and hard, it has been extremely
rewarding work.
"The Trust
wanted to do something to mark the centenary. It had to fit in with
the beautiful Poldhu landscape. We wanted the centre to be a place
everyone would use."
The building
itself is highly sustainable.
"We used
all local materials including Cornish slate," says Nick.
"We have
low energy technology and recycle rainwater."
The Trust worked
long hours with the Poldhu Amateur Radio Club.
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| Nick spent
many hours at Poldhu |
"It was
so important to build up a good working relationship with the club,"
says Nick. "They have worked really long hours and been really
dedicated to the project."
Now the club
has a new centre but there is plenty of work to do.
"The members
of the club will be showing people around the new centre,"
says Nick. "They will be doing it on behalf of the National
Trust."
At the beginning
of the year the Trust worked in conjunction with the Trevithick
Trust at another Marconi site.
"We purchased
a wireless site on the Lizard," says Nick. "This has been
restored and we've installed replica equipment. People can now hire
the hall and broadcast to the world in the style of Marconi."
Looking back
on the Poldhu project Nick is proud.
"It's been
a great achievement. So many people, working very hard, have made
this work."
Other
Marconi features on our pages:
The
new Marconi Centre
Pictures of the new Centre
Atlantic Leap re-visited
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