'Save Our Yorkshire Shop' plea in Masham as £250k Crowdfunding campaign is launched
A historic shop in North Yorkshire is appealing to viewers of a major Channel 4 TV series to support a time-critical £250,000 Crowdfunder campaign.
Screening on Sunday nights, Our Yorkshire Shop follows a team of volunteers, craftspeople and heritage professionals as they begin to transform a 300-year-old building in Masham into Peacock & Verity, a new community space for the future which celebrates the town’s past.
Residents in the North Yorkshire market town have been working hard to transform the historic property at 15 Silver Street since it was bought as a community organisation in 2023.
But, after all that effort, the crunch time for Peacock & Verity is now as the team face the prospect of the building going on the open market looms.
Jan Reed, Project Manager at Peacock & Verity, said: ‘We need to raise £250,000 to be able to fully purchase 15 Silver Street and carry on with the task of bringing it back to life.
"Since the cameras stopped rolling we’ve been given a limited-time opportunity to purchase the building at a much-reduced rate.
"We’ve started a public fundraising campaign so viewers of the series can be part of transforming it into a vital asset for our community.
"We are incredibly grateful for any amount people feel they can donate.”
If Peacock & Verity secures full ownership of the building that would unlock over £1 million in additional funding from major supporters including the National Lottery Heritage Fund, which will be used to continue the restoration.
In last Sunday’s episode on Channel 4, viewers saw a team of volunteers and local craftspeople restoring the Victorian shop front, stripping away decades of damp plaster, and reviving the building’s old cast-iron ovens.
The complex restoration is still in its early stages and the full restoration is projected to cost a total of £2.2 million.
Anyone who makes a £35 donation will receive a limited edition Peacock & Verity soap from The Yorkshire Soap Co.
A £1,000 donation would bring an afternoon tea at Swinton Park Hotel with some of the TV show’s stars.
To donate, visit: https://www.peacockandverity.org.uk/