Thomas Telford warehouse to open as cafe

Bernie Jones said the restoration project had been a "tricky job"

A canal warehouse designed by 19th Century engineer Thomas Telford could open as a cafe and meeting place in the summer.

It is one of two listed buildings at Wappenshall Junction in Shropshire being restored by volunteers from the Shrewsbury and Newport Canals Trust.

The project began 23 years ago and there is a plan to turn the other building into a museum, to tell the story of the famous civil engineer.

Volunteers have also been restoring the canal junction, where the warehouses stand, and one of the basins has been filled with water once again.

They have been turning up every week to work on the Grade II listed building and Bernie Jones, the chair of the trust, said it was "quite a tricky job to do".

He used to work for the Ministry of Defence and said: "When I took retirement I thought I'd look around for something interesting to do to occupy my time."

One day he said he overheard some people in his local pub, who were talking about "some nutters trying to restore a canal".

"I sought out the nutters and I joined them," he said.

The smaller of the two warehouses will become a cafe and meeting space

Dave Clarke has been responsible for restoring the timbers in the buildings

Thomas Telford, the man who gave his name to the nearby town of Telford was famous for his many road, canal, harbour and tunnel projects, in Shropshire and his native Scotland.

He designed a bridge at Norbury junction and the smaller of the two warehouses.

The second was added later, as the site became more prosperous.

Volunteer William Jones, a former building site engineer, said: "In its day this was the equivalent of a distribution warehouse."

He joined the trust in 2020 and has been fitting plasterboard, adding insulation and fixing the wiring, among other jobs.

Dave Clarke, a former decorator, has also been working on the interior of the buildings and said the project was "an ongoing labour of love".

Richard MacVicar said the work had been "very satisfying"

An exhibition to tell the story of the Wappenshall warehouses and Shropshire's canal heritage is due to open on Saturday at Shrewsbury's Flaxmill Maltings.

The Shrewsbury and Newport Canals Trust is aiming to restore 25 miles (40km) of the Shrewsbury canal and the Newport canal.

Richard MacVicar, a former environmental services manager, who joined as a volunteer a few months ago said he hoped to one day sit in the cafe and point at the finished warehouses and say "I did that".

He said: "It's very satisfying to see something you rip up and put back together.

"There's a lot of work to do but it's well worth it."