Malcolm Hood, who played a vital role in the restoration of Appuldurcombe House, and worked at many Isle of Wight English Heritage sites, has died at the age of 75.

Malcolm, who died on December 4, 2023, spent decades helping restore Appuldurcombe under late stone mason and site foreman George Newberry, protecting the house from the elements. 

Under Mr Newberry’s direction, working alongside Raymond Hilmer and the late Herbert Simpkins, Malcolm worked tirelessly re-pointing Appuldurcombe’s lime mortar interior.

He was also fond of burying time capsules in the walls of the house.

As part of Mr Newberry’s team, Malcolm made a discovery that would change Appuldurcombe, forever.

“We found a couple of pieces in the stone heap, and as soon as we dug down, we found the remains of this basin underneath,” he told Appuldurcombe historian Chris Gardner in an interview in 2018.

“George, and I think most of us, realised that was part of the original fountain.”

And so, the restoration of Lord Yarborough’s pond at the east entrance began.

“Our names are inside the stone over the top of the culvert where it comes out, for future generations to uncover.”

Later, after English Heritage assumed guardianship of Appuldurcombe in 1984, Hood helped dig a trench for electrification of the mansion’s cellars.

The job came as the oldest part of the house was reroofed.

His skills were also put to work by English Heritage at its other Island properties, Carisbrooke Castle, Osborne House, St Catherine’s Oratory and Yarmouth Castle, as well as Hurst Castle across the Solent.

He ended his working life as a trade auxiliary at Osborne House where one of his jobs was winding the clock in the tower.

Malcolm was born in Hendon, Middlesex, on January 20, 1948, the only son of Ronald and Dorothy, where he attended junior school.

He was later educated at Blackwell Secondary Modern School, Harrow, before studying furniture design at college.

His family moved to the Isle of Wight in about 1969 as his father was from there, settling on a bungalow in Wroxall looking up to the ruined shell of Appuldurcombe House.

They named the newly built bungalow Romaldor, mashing together the names of its three occupants.

Malcolm took up his role of trade auxiliary at Appuldurcombe, with the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works Ancient Monuments Branch.

In Wroxall, he was known and loved as the driving force behind Wroxall Carnival, as well as the village minibus association.

It was unusual, in the 1980s, to see him outside of Appuldurcombe without a collection tin raising funds to buy a minibus.

Once purchased, he became a dedicated minibus driver, ferrying residents to shopping trips, coffee mornings, hospital appointments and theatre outings.

He was also a trustee of the Isle of Wight Physically Disabled Society, for which he was awarded an MBE in 2000.

His funeral will be held at 1.30pm on January 23, at St John The Evangelist Church, Wroxall, followed by refreshments in the church hall.

A private cremation for family will follow.