PARK LANE STABLES WINS TEDDINGTON SOCIETY DESIGN AWARD
Park Lane Stables has won a prestigious design award from The Teddington Society, it was announced tonight (tuesday)
The award was presented to the Teddington-based Architecture WK represented by Sam Kamleh and Damian Jakubek by the Society’s Keith Atkinson, who said the new stables building had ‘enhanced Teddington’s street scene.’
The only three other buildings which have won the award are the Teddington Cricket Pavilion, the Park Hotel and the Christchurch development in Station Road.
Park Lane Stable owner and founder Natalie O’Rourke was present at the ceremony as she gave a talk about her amazing journey at the St. Mary’s Parish Hall in Langham Road based on her best-selling book, From the Pavement to the Palace.
She enthralled the audience of about 70 guests with the story of her humble beginnings and her love of horses from an early age to her global fame and the award of her MBE by Prince William after raising £1m to save the stables.
Natalie told how the horses had become a ‘lifeline’ during the pandemic visiting lonely and isolated people, who were forced to stay at home during the emergency.
She also told poignant stories of how an 11 year old girl, who stopped going to school found solace through the stables especially a horse called Trigger who gave her ‘unconditional love.’
The young girl is now aged 27 having qualified for Sandhurst and becoming a members of the King’s Troop.
She also referenced a suicidal young man whose life was saved by another horse called Spotty after visiting the stables for six weeks. “He was lost but found someone who noticed him and he got his life back together.”
Natalie also told how, against the odds, she raised over £1million to save the stables through a massive crowdfunding campaign which received coverage on the main news bulletins of BBC and ITV.
She said that there had been a ‘fantastic reaction’ to the horses returning to Teddington after their three year ‘exile’ at Manor Farm, Petersham.
“We see little bits of magic every day, changing lives and it’s all down to the horses. Horse allow people to grow – they are drawn to people and can have a massively positive effect,” she told the audience.
“I have to pinch myself sometimes to think ‘we have done it’ after all this hard work. It’s just great to be home as I feel I have had to hold my breath for three years.”
You can learn more about what’s going on in and around Teddington here: https://teddingtonsociety.org/
You can learn much more about Park Lane Stables and its story here: https://www.parklanestables.co.uk/about
