Historic Settle Property to Open its Doors for Heritage Open Day

Visitors to the North Yorkshire town of Settle will have the chance to explore Dr Buck’s House – a derelict Georgian Townhouse being restored to community use by the North Craven Building Preservation Trust.

The former NatWest bank will open its doors this September as part of the Heritage Open Day programme, allowing members of the public a glimpse of the building’s interior through pre-booked tours, which will reveal how the Trust plans to restore the building through provision of housing and a new museum all about Edward Elgar’s connection to Craven. Elgar spent many happy summers a guest of his friend Dr Buck, and regularly visited the house that bears his name, drawing inspiration from the Yorkshire Dales.

This Grade II listed Georgian merchant house was built around 1787 as part of a block of property owned by John Constantine, a local butcher. Dr Buck’s House is now in urgent need of repair, having stood empty for over five years. The Trust’s plans include complete renovation, using the project as a case study for carbon-neutral conversion of listed buildings, and making it sustainable for long-term community use, with the ground floor used as a museum and cultural space, and three new apartments on the upper floors to address a need for long-term local housing.

The Open Day will take place on Saturday 14 September, with tours starting every 30 minutes from 10am until 3:30pm. Each tour is estimated to last for 20 minutes. Due to the building’s current state of repair, access beyond the front room is by booked tour only. Access to the front room, featuring a display about the Trust’s plans for the building, is possible on the day at any time between 10am and 4pm.

Caitlin Greenwood, Heritage Development Officer for North Craven Building Preservation Trust said: “We’re delighted to open Dr Buck’s House to visitors and share some of our plans for this new museum and housing units, which we hope will be a great addition to the town. The building will require a lot of renovation and restoration work first, and we need to raise a significant amount of money to fund this. We hope that by inviting local people and visitors to share our vision, they will be happy to support our future fundraising efforts.”

Tickets for Dr Buck’s House Open Day tours are free and can be booked online via The Folly’s website: https://thefolly.org.uk/event/heritage-open-days-dr-bucks-house-open-day/

As part of Heritage Open Days, the Trust will also be running Tours of The Folly and an event entitled What is a Museum? Further information is available on the website: https://thefolly.org.uk/whats-on/