Dumfries and Galloway
Applegarth Hall is a charming Victorian village hall in a rural setting, rescued from closure and refurbished on a shoestring using traditional building methods and sustainable materials, ensuring that it continues to serve as a community resource.
Reopened in 2023 for community hire, the hall is developing as a venue for creative, environmental and educational projects. It offers a vegetarian kitchen, embraces sustainable principles, and draws inspiration from Permaculture in its ongoing development as a place for learning, creativity and community.
For Doors Open Days there will be an exhibition exploring overlooked, emerging and alternative aspects of Scotland's living heritage, highlighting ways of living, building and creating that modern society often overlooks.
The exhibition will feature interpretive display boards, books, and other resources exploring themes including traditional building methods, low-impact technologies, Permaculture, self-sufficiency, and sustainable living. Visitors will also be able to browse our embryonic Library of Alternative Realities, a growing collection of books intended to inspire curiosity, creativity and new ways of thinking.
There will also be informal ad hoc tours of the hall and grounds will be available, introducing visitors to the building's restoration and ongoing development.
Topics include traditional building materials and techniques (including lime mortars, pointing and passive drainage), Permaculture design principles, and no-dig gardening and composting inspired by the work of Charles Dowding.
Facilities
Additional Access Information
The tour of the grounds is slightly less accessible in places (e.g. the composting system), but the no-dig vegetable beds can be viewed from the carpark and path, as can the lime work and drainage system.
Gallery
