The Cory Band's new home and rehearsal base was officially opened to the public on the weekend.

It also coincided with the presentation of The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, an honour which will allow the band to permanently display the logo in perpetuity.

Transformation

The award and citation was presented before the ribbon was cut to open the doors to the former chapel which has undergone a remarkable transformation thanks to the support of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust and other bodies, as well as the indefatigable work of a small army of volunteers and supporters.

It now boast an acoustically controlled main rehearsal room well as individual practice facilities, administration areas and storage.

The band's proud history and extensive memorabilia has been catalogued and displayed to offer visitors and supporters as well as players past and present a unique insight into the world's number 1 ranked band.

Ty Cory

Speaking at the event, Band Trustee Austin Davies told the invited audience that 'Ty Cory' now offers a base from which Cory can extend its reach both into the local community as well as all corners of the globe.

"It has taken a long time to get here," he said. "But it has been worth it. Cory has finally returned to its home in Ton Pentre just a few hundred yards from where the industrialist Sir Clifford Cory first heard the band well over a century and more ago.

It now offers us the ideal home to build for the future — one which will see us as a focal part of the local community as well as from which we can reach out musically across the world."

The facility will now be open to accommodate Cory's youth initiatives as well as its 'Vintage' Band made up of former players. It will also enable them to record future on-line events as well become the focal point of preparations for competitions, concerts and worldwide tours — starting with their trip to South Korea in a few weeks' time.

Cory has finally returned to its home in Ton Pentre just a few hundred yards from where the industrialist Sir Clifford Cory first heard the band well over a century and more agoAustin Davies

Incredible work

That was a point echoed by MD, Philip Harper who said that his 160 mile round trip to each rehearsal every week "from a different country" was a privilege when he gets to conduct a band such as Cory.

"It's a home fit for the world's number 1 ranked band, and it couldn't have been done without the support of incredible work of so many people in the background — all very much a part of the Cory Band team."