The volunteers who spend their time saving city's historic buildings

When Doncaster Civic Trust was founded in 1946, the town was facing its postwar future as redevelopment plans loomed.

Volunteers keen to protect its Georgian and Victorian heritage formed the trust, which is celebrating its 80th birthday with an exhibition at the now-city's Danum Library, Gallery and Museum.

It is still run by those who give their time for free out of pride, and they have succeeded in saving a number of prominent local buildings from the wrecking ball.

"I think if future generations lose this sense of identity about what it means to come from Doncaster that's going to be very poor," Frank Carpenter says as he discusses the displays.

He and fellow member Alison de Roeck believe that conservation work is still just as important as it was in 1946, when across the country, motorways and ring roads were being built and Victorian housing cleared to make way for modern tower blocks.

In Doncaster, the old market town's street layout was changed by redevelopment, including the building of a new road that split the railway station and Minster from the rest of the town centre.

While many 18th and 19th Century buildings remain, some are in a poor state of repair and are subject to ongoing campaigns by the civic trust to preserve and repurpose them.

De Roeck explains: "You can walk down your high street and past a building every day, and you don't really notice that there's anything wrong with it - until it's gone.

"There's jobs in Doncaster I have been looking at for a long time. It would be so satisfying to see them actually come to fruition and these buildings be used."

As a heritage contractor and a "Doncaster girl", it's important to "support groups proactively looking at issues around our built environment", according to her.

The civic trust monitors planning applications and intervenes when they feel that a development might be inappropriate.

"People think that planning is a specialist thing, that they haven't got a voice, that they can't do anything about it and actually that's not the case."

One of the most well-known preservation success stories is Cusworth Hall, a Georgian house and country estate occupying a landmark position above the city.

The stately home faced an uncertain future in 1952 when then-owner Robert Cecil Battie-Wrightson died, and his children prepared to sell up.

The postwar chair of the Doncaster Civic Trust, Major C.E Farron, managed to negotiate the sale of the property to the public in 1961, and it is still run today by Doncaster Council as a popular museum and visitor attraction.

As former curator of the hall, Carpenter was involved in its restoration and preservation for many years.

However, it is not just the well-publicised campaigns that make a difference, he says, as even smaller, more local triumphs matter.

He cites the preservation of Christ Church and Doncaster Common as two less-known but important victories for the trust, as well as its tree planting initiative.

In the 1980s, Doncaster Common was under threat of development, with a proposal to build a car park and a golf clubhouse.

Led by Eric Braim, the group's secretary at the time, the trust intervened and ensured the common remains publicly accessible green space.

But not every campaign ends in success.

"Some you'll win and some you won't, but if you look over a stretch of time then the beneficial effect of having societies like the trust are enormous," Carpenter says.

"They can be a conscience for the local community as to what is happening in their area."

A long-term project is the Georgian thoroughfare South Parade, in particular Dennison House and Pillar House, two 18th Century, listed buildings which have fallen into disuse.

Dennison House was the home of railway pioneer and politician Sir Edmund Beckett-Denison, who helped bring the Great Northern Railway to Doncaster. After council offices in the building closed and a scheme to turn it into flats did not proceed, its future is uncertain.

"People still walk from the racecourse into town and go past these beautiful Georgian buildings," de Roeck says.

"The trust is trying to be a conduit between the owners and the council to try and resolve the issues and make what is a very important entrance to Doncaster look like it should, like it used to do."

Interest in local history and heritage is "more important" than ever, she adds.

According to her, trusts can often attract an older demographic, but their longevity relies on "a younger generation of people involved".

"Normal people in their everyday lives don't look up any more, they don't look up at buildings," she says.

"We all need more houses, more office space, more shops, parks but groups like the civic trust make sure that development is done in an acceptable way."

There needs to be a "kind of a bonding of the generations so all that history isn't lost", she says.

"It's not just the buildings, it's all that knowledge as well that goes with it."

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