Millom group finally buys Norman Nicholson's old house

The Norman Nicholson House project will finalise the purchase on Thursday having originally started in 2016.

Read more: The Norman Nicholson House team raise £20,000 | The Mail (nwemail.co.uk)

The group aims to honour the legacy of Mr Nicholson, who died in 1987, while also transforming the site into a greater cultural attraction.

Chair of the project Charlie Lambert said: "It isn't the end of the road, not by a long chalk, because we now have to raise the funding to carry out a lot of repairs and improvements.

"But the aim is to turn the house into a cafe, a museum to celebrate Nicholson, a space for small community events, and also an Airbnb destination."

Nicholson's house in St George's Terrace (Image: Charlie Lambert)

Mr Lambert said the aim of the purchase was to ensure the house was a place that the people of Millom could be proud of.

He added: "We want to show everyone how one man, Norman Nicholson, was able to carve out an international reputation while living his whole life in this house and how inspirational that is to all of us today.

"We also want the house to make a really positive contribution to the community of Millom."

The house in St George's Terrace has not been occupied for a number of years with the group now planning on 'breathing new life' into it.

"Reaching this milestone is a great moment and I'd like to thank everyone who has helped, especially all who chipped into our online Crowdfunder last year, the Architectural Heritage Fund, and an incredibly generous benefactor who wants to remain anonymous but has really got behind our project," said Mr Lambert.

"We're already in touch with funding organisations including Millom Stronger Towns Fund and we'll be putting in formal applications in the coming weeks and months.

"There's a lot of work ahead but we're up for it, and as Nicholson put it himself when talking about people putting in maximum effort, we'll be 'giving it Wigan!'"