Janet makes a window wonderland (From Echo)

Janet makes a window wonderland

1:52pm Tuesday 12th December 2006

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A medieval hunting lodge has come back to life, thanks to pupils at a primary school.

Children at Westwood Primary School, in Hadleigh, have spent a year building a replica of Thundersley Lodge, which dates back to the reign of King John, complete with royal and animal figurines.

The project's funding came from a £50,000 Heritage Lottery grant and was run by the Art Ministry, a charity which provides art classes for underprivileged children and the disabled.

The Art Ministry must only use the grant for specific historical projects and has so far received half of the money available but is still very short of funds for its art classes.

Director, Angela Cotton, said: "We have simplified it as the original has 33 rooms but it looks like the original from the air.

"We have been going in every Monday afternoon and the children have been very good. They have done very well.

"They were very excited about the finished produt and we would like it to be shared by other children in other schools.

"They like moving the figurines around and looking inside the rooms."

The art charity are also using the money to write an illustrate a book about the history of Castle Point with secondary school pupils and running exhibitions involving local artists, as well as other projects.

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