£2m restoration project returns historic Whitchurch abbey to its former glory
A major project costing £2 million to restore part of an historic estate is set to be completed by next spring, the owners have revealed.
The Grade I listed Combermere Abbey, near Whitchurch, is currently undergoing a restoration of its historic north wing, which had become structurally unstable.
Work to the 900-year-old complex has involved stripping the building back to the original medieval and Tudor frame, removing the gothic cladding and the existing roof structure, and completely repairing or replacing the decayed areas. It will also include rebuilding the roof and chimneys, and putting back the gothic exterior.
Sarah Callander Beckett, who inherited the abbey in 1992 and has been carrying out work to restore it ever since, said: "It is going well and is very exciting.
"In the first year, May until May, we concentrated on the structural restoration of the building. What we have uncovered has been an amazing archival experience for us as well.
"We hope to be starting soon on the interior. The interior design will be done in tandem with Nina Campbell.
"I believe we are working towards the end of March next year which will be in time for next year's public opening.
"It will be nice to have something that is warm and weather-proof. It has increasingly deteriorated over the last 20 plus years."
She added: "To bring a property like this back to life is one in a million.
"At an estate like this you are always looking at how it can be updated. You are also looking at how it can be made sustainable and fit for the 21st century."
Planning permission for the project was granted in November 2013 and the work began in January last year.
Combermere Abbey began life as a Cistercian monastery in 1133, before being dissolved under Henry VIII. The lands and monastery were gifted to the Cotton family, local squires, who built a manor house which was completed in 1563.
The family lived at Combermere for almost four centuries.
