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This summer, the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s Restoration Village is calling on the public to participate in saving precious buildings that have a focus on rural life around the UK. On Friday,Ìý11 August, Pennoyer's School in Norfolk will compete against All Saints' Church at Beckingham in Lincolnshire and Chedham’s Yard at Wellesbourne in Warwickshire for a place in the grand final.Ìý A total of 21 buildings around the UK will be up for the public vote with the possibility of securing crucial funding to ensure their future. Pennoyer's School The school closed its doors to pupils in 1988 and since then the village has been trying to find a community use for the Grade II listed building. Plans are to make Pennoyer’s into a village centre, combining traditional village hall facilities with areas for educational and business activities.Ìý
 | | Western door of the Guild Chapel |
Originally relocated from Pulham St Mary church in 1401, the former guild chapel became the village school in 1670 thanks to William Pennoyer, a wealthy puritan who also endowed Harvard University. The Victorians later extended the school. The walls, buttresses and windows of the original building remain, and there is also a Gothic arch doorway with carved Tudor roses, and Pevsner identifies 17th century window tracery. Restoration Village Restoration Village, presented by Griff Rhys Jones, focuses on buildings that have previously been historically important to a local rural community. "I'm sure we've all seen just such a village and somehowÌýfeel that such places correspond with our feelings of security and warmth and our sense of place, hearth and home. And soÌýit should," said Griff Rhys Jones. “But the truth is that the countryside everywhere is facing change and disruption over the next hundred years. It is going to be a challenge to all of usÌýto manage that change. "Restoration is going out to the countryside to look at buildings and the landscape and offer up another 21 fascinatingÌýcausesÌýlooking for help. It is these neglected, ordinary, familiar landmarks of the country that we need to save. "Restoration Village is a fantastic opportunity to see what we value and why on the rural scene," he added. Buildings worthy of your vote Each week Griff, architect Ptolemy Dean and surveyor Marianne Suhr will profile three architectural gems within a region of the UK and ask viewers to vote for which one should go through to the final. Seven finalists from around the country will then be put forward for the ultimate public vote. A surprise eighth finalist will also join the line up – this will be the runner up. The winning building will be in line to receive the money accumulated throughout the series.
 | | Pennoyer's School, Pulham St Mary |
"We're the only project in the eastern counties to be in the series," said project manager Shelia King. It's a great project, it has a fascinating history, great architecture and a sustainable future in the community who will benefit," she added. | 
