Anglesey Victorian mansion on most at-risk list

Soldier's Point needs urgent work if it is to survive

A castle-like mansion on Anglesey is among the most at-risk Victorian buildings in England and Wales.

Soldier's Point in Holyhead has been named in the Victorian Society's annual top 10 most endangered buildings.

The organisation said the house needed urgent work and a long-term plan if it was to survive and urged Anglesey council to work with the owner to find an appropriate use for the building.

The council said a plan was submitted for a long-term future for the house.

"This is a rarity for us here," Victorian Society president Griff Rhys Jones told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

He said the neglected house was "a rather magnificent Victorian folly".

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Built by Charles Rigby, an engineer who worked on Swindon Railway Station and who also oversaw the creation of Britain's longest breakwater at Holyhead, the listed house was once a private mansion.

"It's sad to see this remarkable monument to engineering falling into disrepair," Mr Jones said.

Solidiers Point House was once "a rather magnificent Victorian folly" Griff Rhys Jones said

"Anglesey had such plans for this house as a maritime museum, and I really hope that people will be motivated to find a solution to this dereliction.

"What we're really alerting people to in Anglesey is to say: 'This is a great building. Are you going to let it go?'"

He said it was important to draw attention to old buildings at risk of disappearing to preserve history, but also to be more environmentally friendly.

The house was built by engineer Charles Rigby

"Knocking something down and putting something new up is the same as taking a bottle and throwing a bottle away. It needs recycling," Mr Jones said.

"Recycling and loving that building and loving the history behind it, would be more interesting and better for the future than knocking it out of the way."

Anglesey council said a planning application had been submitted several years ago to redevelop the building as part of new marina and it was working with the owners to develop a long-term future for the house.

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