‘The Elephant in the Room’ exhibition at The Point, 2012.
could allow apparently life-expired and redundant buildings to be given a new lease of life and a new role? In the middle of the twentieth century, could we have overcome thoughts that things linking us to the past (e.g. two world wars, an influenza pandemic and an economic depression) must be expunged, in favour of a bright, forwardlooking future? In the mid- to late-1930s, the Sand House no longer met the operational requirements of its then owner, Doncaster Corporation. It probably was not regarded very positively even as a dwelling by the last people to live there, by the time they vacated in 1935. Some of the carvings in the Cloisters tunnel, which used to be accessed from the house, had apparently received unwelcome attention from the bayonets of soldiers who used the tunnels during WW1. All in all, the Sand House was rather tired and unloved. Money
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Photography: Shaun Flannery ©2012
needed to be spent on it if the place was to be preserved, but the threat of another war as the decade progressed demanded rather more attention. While the Chairman of the Estates Committee stated, in 1935, that the committee wanted to preserve the Sand House for future generations, was that a realistic prospect at that time and in those circumstances? I am not sure that it was. But what of that Sand House legacy? So far, it includes two books, around two hundred illustrated talks, picture postcards, 3D computer modelling of the Cloisters by learners at Doncaster College, and an education pack. The largest project to date was in 2012, entitled Sand House – The Elephant in the Room. That project, supported by Arts Council England, comprised an exhibition at The Point, a sand sculpture training course, school workshops and a documentary film. From the success
of The Elephant in the Room, a plan was hatched to create a visitor attraction in Doncaster, themed on the Sand House. With the working title of The Sand House Experience, the proposed visitor attraction will incorporate a replica of the Sand House’s Cloisters tunnel, complete with its marvellous carvings of kings, queens, an elephant and much more. Visitors will absorb the story of the Sand House from a range of multimedia sources. The attraction will also include the UK’s only permanent indoor sand sculpture studio, where experts and novices alike, of any age, can create their own carvings in sand. Exhibitions relating to the Sand House will enhance the venue still further. The Sand House Experience is a major undertaking. A team of dedicated volunteers, working closely with Manna Community CIC as the over-arching legal entity, is currently focussing on gaining wide-ranging support and drawing up