Works completed on Poor Priests' Hospital

Poor Priests' Hospital in Canterbury dates back to the 12th Century

Renovation works to a 12th Century hospital in Canterbury have been completed at a cost of £1.6m.

Poor Priests' Hospital in Stour Street has been under scaffolding for the past 11 months to allow for extensive repairs to its façade.

The council-owned building has been reroofed and has had its chimney stack rebuilt.

Charlotte Cornell, cabinet member for heritage on Canterbury City Council, said renovating such a historic building had "not been without its challenges".

She said: "When you get right into the fabric of something like we have, it throws up all sorts of things you were not anticipating.

"But looking at it now, we can be proud of doing an exceptional and sensitive job, leaving the Poor Priests' Hospital in a much improved condition and far better insulated to stand the test of time for many, many more years to come."

The original building on the site is thought to be a tannery dating back to 1174, according to Canterbury Historical and Archaeological Society.

Other uses of the building include a hospital, private house, school and poorhouse. In 1987 it was restored and developed to house the city's local heritage museum, said the society.

The most recent renovation saw the hospital's main hall, solar and chapel completely recovered and carefully detailed to match the existing roofs.

The repairs were paid for using government money as part of the council's Connected Canterbury: Unlocking the Tales of England project.