The Lantern is a fabulous historic building owned by Ilfracombe Town Council for use by the people of Ilfracombe. In 2013 they were offered the opportunity to purchase The Lantern, historically a Church, more recently owned by Devon County Council. After much deliberation and discussion and after consultation with the Ilfracombe community it was decided we would take it on.
The plans to reopen The Lantern began and thanks to the invaluable support, time, skills, effort and dedication of the fantastic Old Gits Club (a group of volunteers, mostly made up of retired, skilled tradespeople) the building has been updated, renovated, cleared and cleaned, made safe, repaired, redecorated and freshened up.
The Lantern opened its doors to the community in November 2015 for the first time in 3 years. A great event saw hundreds packed into The Great Hall, a fitting celebration of this wonderful building being used once again.
From that day the work continued and now The Great Hall, club room and meeting room are regularly used by individuals, clubs, businesses and community groups. The offices are now hired with 2 updated downstairs offices available.
The Lantern really has been and will continue to be a community project supported by the people of Ilfracombe, it’s a great pleasure to see it being used again.
