Teenagers set to take over Lodge

Teenagers from Slough youth charity Together As One are set to take over Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park for an arts project supported by National Lottery funding.

The youngsters, aged 14 to 16 and from diverse backgrounds, will work together alongside the Immediate Theatre in Hackney to rethink what the space at the former royal residence can be used for.

Across the two-day youth arts takeover, the young creators will use sound, words, photography and textiles to weave stories from their own communities into the history of the lodge.

The aim of the project, which is supported by a £8,992 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, is to empower teenagers to learn how heritage is made and reflect on the complicated history of grand houses.

Once the home to the Rangers of Windsor Great Park, including Prince Christian and Princess Helena, the Grade II-listed country house’s royal connections stretch back to the 17th century.

Cumberland Lodge now operates as an educational charity and social enterprise that exists to empower young people to lead the conversation around social division.

Professor Melissa Butcher, programme director at Cumberland Lodge, said: “We’re really pleased The National Lottery Heritage Fund has chosen to support our project.

“Through working with these young people, connecting to heritage from their own communities, we want to show how ‘ordinary’ stories are as important as the grand narratives of our history.”

The material produced during the project will stay on display in Cumberland Lodge, alongside its existing art collection, for visitors to see and think about.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund, raised by the game’s players, is supporting projects across the country over the next decade which conserve and value the country’s heritage.