'Endangered' former workhouse set for auction

The former workhouse in Walsall was listed as endangered earlier this year

A deserted former workhouse and office block labelled as endangered will be auctioned off this month.

The abandoned former home for the Board of Guardians of Walsall Poor Law Union has been listed for sale as a redevelopment site.

The structure received Grade II-listed status in 1995 and was placed on the Victorian Society’s endangered buildings list in June.

The offices have been empty for about 15 years and will have a guide price starting at £99,000.

Those wishing to view the derelict site, at 100 Pleck Road, have been issued a safety warning and told to wear appropriate clothing.

But property firm Bond Wolfe, which is running the auction, said many of the building’s original features had survived.

'Enormous potential'

James Rossiter, senior auction valuer, explained the property was in need of repairs but could be used in different ways.

“The exterior of this beautiful Jacobean-styled building is largely unspoiled," he said.

"Its enormous potential means it is sure to attract bidders and developers with imagination.”

The exterior of the building was described as largely unspoiled

The offices were built between 1898 and 1900, to oversee the Walsall’s Central Union Workhouse, which was housing up to 460 people in the years before the First World War.

The workhouse was later converted into Walsall Manor Hospital but some offices remained in use.

Actor and writer Griff Rhys Jones, who is president of the Victorian Society, added he found it wasteful that a use had not been found for the building.

“It was offices originally and could fulfil that function again," he said.

"Why erect a boring cookie-cutter office design when you could work in something this stylish?"

The auction will be held on 14 December.