The Prince of Wales is coming to Bridport this Friday, 25 May.
He’ll be visiting Bridport Literary & Scientific Institute to learn about the building’s history and meet local people who use the space, as well as representatives from Crowd Funder UK, whose HQ is in the building at 51 East Street.
Bridport Literary & Scientific Institute is located in a Grade II listed building originally constructed in 1834 as a Mechanics Institute for the education and training of Bridport’s young working men. It closed its doors in 1997 and fell into neglect, but thanks to a successful campaign led by the Bridport Area Development Trust, the building has been saved and completely refurbished and rejuvenated.
See The Marshwood Vale’s feature about the project here.
This historic 19th-century building is now home to state-of-the-art work and event spaces with high-tech communications and audiovisual capabilities. The institute officers flexible working space, meeting rooms and event space which is used by young people and local start-up businesses, creating an incubator which encourages entrepreneurs to remain in the area and contribute to the Bridport community.
Crowd Funder is the UK’s number one crowdfunding platform, having raised over £50million for community business and social enterprise projects across the country. It is a national company operating out of two South West offices in Bridport, Dorset and Newquay, Cornwall, as well as a satellite office in London.
On Crowd Funder, community projects ask ‘the crowd’ to support their ideas with pledges of money in return for a ‘reward,’ which can be a product, benefit or service. Projects are also connected with funding partners, including 30 local authorities, Santander, Virgin, and M&S, which offer grants and further support.
The Prince of Wales will then go on to visit Middle Farm Way, Poundbury, Dorchester, to see stone masonry students from Weymouth College and view their work.
