>West Lodge (Chilworth Gunpowder Mills, Blacksmith Lane) is a small building, with Grade II listing, of significant historical importance. It was the ‘entry’ point for the workers arriving at the Gunpowder Mills and was used in this way until 1920. Until around 2008 it was still being used by Guildford Borough Council, but since then has remained empty.
St Martha Parish Council have been making gradual progress towards repurposing the building for community use since we last asked residents for their views in 2014. We have applied for funding to refurbish the building and to support these applications we need to demonstrate public support for its subsequent use.
West Lodge has basic kitchen and toilet facilities. Bearing in mind its small size (roughly 36m² in total) and the limited parking, we would like to ask for your views again on how this building can best meet the needs of our community while preserving an important part of our local history. Previous views showed a strong desire for the building to be used for education, heritage, volunteering to look after the wider site, and small meetings. We asked people to complete a very short questionnaire at the end of 2021.
The results of the survey can be seen below.
Click here to view/download the results as an excel spreadsheet
