Volunteer drives charity forward

VOLUNTEER Pat Gilmore is helping steer a strong future for magical Woodchester Mansion.

Pat is, quite literally, a driving force at the charity run public attraction near Stroud.

That is because she helps out there as a mini-bus driver, ferrying visitors up and down the long drive at the Victorian Gothic building.

“I like to do something and put something back,” said Pat, from Whitminster.

“I think volunteering keeps my mind active really, and you meet lots of different people,” she said.

Pat, who is retired, also volunteers with the Willow Trust and Cotswold Canals Trust.

Previously she worked in the control room at county police headquarters for several years.

More helpers like Pat are however badly needed as the Mansion team strive to safeguard the stunning yet unfinished building.

Woodchester Mansion was abandoned, incomplete, midway through its construction in 1873 and therefore offers a unique glimpse of the stonemason’s craft.

To find out more about joining Pat and the other Mansion volunteers, some of whom sell tickets and guide tours, call 01453 861541 or drop a line to info@woodchestermansion.org.uk.