THE National Trust at Coughton Court team are getting ready to open its doors for a new season.

Creatures of Coughton, an exhibition in the house, reveals how individuals of the Throckmorton family and past society as a whole perceived the natural world.

The team are also on the lookout for books to replenish the shelves in their second-hand book shop and jigsaw for their next pop-up jigsaw festival.

Thanks to a dedicated team of volunteers and thousands of book donations from the public the bookshop has grown significantly over the years.

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Originally set up in June 2006 as just a couple of bookcases, the second-hand bookshop has now raised over £160,000 for vital conservation projects at Coughton Hall.

Simon Pickering, Operations Manager says, “It’s amazing to see the popularity of our second-hand book shop grow so quickly, it seems the nation still loves to curl up with a good book, with many feeling there’s something extra special about a book that has been flicked through and enjoyed by other people.

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"We rely heavily on donations of books from members of the public to stock our shop and our shelves are currently looking a little bare – if you have any books to donate we’d love to take them off your hands!’ 

To kick start the new season, the return of Coughton Hall’s pop-up jigsaw festival has been announced which will be celebrating its tenth year from 19 to April 30, 11am to 4pm.

Previously, the money raised from jigsaw and book donations has gone towards vital conservation projects such as tapestry and painting conservation as well as the re-wiring of the mansion.

Coughton Court is a Grade I listed English Tudor country house and will reopen for the 2023 season on Saturday, March 4.