Boost for merchant's house restoration project

The former merchant's house was built between 1464 and 1465

A Grade I listed building has been given £479,972 by The National Lottery Heritage Fund to support a restoration project.

The 15th Century Llwyd Mansion in Oswestry, Shropshire, a former merchants house has been placed on Historic England's Heritage at risk register.

The town council, which owns the building, said it will use the cash to pay for surveys and urgent structural repairs before applying for a full grant of £2,870,665 later.

The building had been restored in the 1800s and used by a series of businesses until 2022. But structural alterations and repairs compounded by lack of care over many years had left the building in a dilapidated state, the council said.

A plan for its future use is likely to involve community and commercial spaces on the lower floors and holiday let accommodation on upper floors, it added.

A plaster roundel bearing the coat of arms of the Llwyd family is believed to have been added in the 1800s

Town mayor Rosie Radford said she was "absolutely thrilled to have secured this funding".

The council hoped to have the work complete and the building fully open by the end of 2029.