Nearly £500,000 being spent to protect ‘at risk’ Wollaton Hall

By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter

Almost £500,000 is to be spent repairing Wollaton Hall after a backlog in maintenance put the historic Nottingham landmark at risk of water damage.

Nottingham City Council says Historic England visited Wollaton Hall last year to assess areas of the building which had become a cause for concern.

It resulted in the Grade I listed Elizabethan mansion, built between 1580 and 1588, being added to Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register.

Despite the listing being in council reports, the hall does not currently appear as an entry on the online Heritage at Risk Register, which is published annually in November.

When asked for further detail, Historic England said in a statement: “We’re working closely with parties involved with this site, but the official 2023 register will be published in November.”

According to the council documents, the building was put on the register due to poor protection against water and wind damage.

But the council has now secured £469,992 from Arts Council England’s Museum, Estate and Repair Fund for a programme of repairs.

“The main cause for concern is the ingress caused by the building not being wind and watertight due to a backlog of repairs to the roofs, windows and masonry,” the council says.

“The current budget restraints of the service has meant these repairs have not been able to be carried out for the last ten years therefore putting the building, staff, visitors and collections at risk.”

If the council fails to conduct the repairs, the building would be at risk of further damage which, over time, would lead to closure of the galleries and stairwells for safety reasons.

Council documents add ceilings could also be at risk of collapse.

“Eventually the hall would have to close to the public due to health and safety reasons,” the council adds.

The latest batch of funding for improvements to Wollaton Hall comes shortly after the council secured money for a revamp of its Natural History Museum galleries located inside the mansion.