Cowdray Estate are delighted to have played a key role ensuring Easebourne community’s ambition to create ‘The Roundhouse’ came to fruition through the donation of timber from the Estate.

The artisan bandstand style structure provides shelter and a hub at Easebourne Park, created from wood harvested from Estate woodland surrounding the village.

A combination of larch, douglas fir and sweet chestnut was selected by the artisan builders themselves, Artizans for Wood, who worked closely with Cowdray’s Forestry team. The original design required specific shapes and sizes of timber, for which in excess of 2,000 linear metres of wood was supplied to realise the design.

Cowdray’s Head Forester, Nina Williams, commented, “We are delighted with the results and enjoyed working with the local designer.  Ensuring that 74 larch poles left the woods having been cut and otherwise unscathed was no mean feat!  All credit must go the professional skills of the forestry team in ensuring the safe delivery of the timber.”

The empathetically constructed focal point fits perfectly within the National Park surroundings.  It is the brainchild of a 2019 Parish survey, when the community requested a social meeting point for all ages, offering shelter and the option to hold events.   Whilst the structure currently offers somewhere for quiet contemplation or rest during daily exercise, the community are planning the ‘biggest picnic that Easebourne has ever seen’ at The Roundhouse, once government guidelines allow.

Jonathan Russell, Cowdray CEO, said, “The project is a triumph and a great credit to the Parish Council and Project Team.  It is an excellent community concept which Cowdray are delighted to have played a role in and we hope The Roundhouse will be enjoyed by generations to come.”