Information centre planned for historic canal building
Former washroom in Aldermaston will be transformed into an educational facility
PLANS are in place to renovate and transform a disused historical canal building into a brand new information centre.
The Kennet and Avon Canal Trust, which owns the Aldermaston Tea Rooms, is hoping to begin work on converting the vacant washroom at the front of the property into an education facility once the summer season is over.
The current managers of the tea rooms recently announced they were moving on in September, so the trust has decided to begin work on the project once that happens.
Chairman of the Reading branch of the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust Graham Puddephatt said: “It’s a historic location, so we hope that can be brought more to the fore with the new information centre.
“We really want to showcase both the history and the modern day with this project.”
The information centre will contain archive material and
artefacts showcasing the history of the canal as well as giving visitors the chance to learn about the current state of the waterways.
The trust is also planning to create a film to show at the centre, employing actors to take on roles of boaters who worked and lived on the canals in the distant past.
The washroom was chosen as an ideal location for an information
centre because of its prominent position along the canal and the historical significance of the property.
Historians are unsure whether the two buildings on the property were built in the 17th or 18th century, but they were certainly built before the stretch of the canal they stand next to was dug through in 1723.
Once the canal was operational, the building that currently houses the tea room was likely a residential property for a husband and wife team whose livelihood depended on the canal.
The man would have operated a toll business when canals were more commercial operations and the woman would have run the washroom.
Boaters who steered through Aldermaston would drop off their washing at the washroom and pick up their clean clothes on their return at a later date.
The washerwoman would have cleaned the clothes in a large copper bowl of hot water that was placed above an open fire.
This would have been an important operation 200 years ago, as Aldermaston was a busy boating community where barges would load and offload cargo due to the now-defunct Aldermaston Brewery and village’s proximity to the railway.
The Kennet and Avon Canal Trust has already been in contact with a local building company that specialises in working with older heritage buildings and the trust hopes they will be able to begin work at the end of next month.
Mr Puddephatt said: “The conversations we’ve had have all been really positive.
“We have around six weeks to get it all sorted.
“It should all comfortably in place by the end of the September.”
With the current management of the tea rooms moving on in September, Mr Puddephatt said renovating the washroom and turning it into the information centre came “at an opportune time”.
It is hoped all external building work will be finished by next April.
The trust hasn’t yet formally advertised for new management for the tea rooms, but Mr Puddephatt revealed that nine interested parties had already been in contact, wanting to take the eatery on.