Delight as Shrewsbury's Flaxmill Maltings gets £650,000 recovery funding

Historic England began work to restore the historic mill in Shrewsbury in 2014 and the project is due to be completed next summer.

As part of the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund, heritage in the Midlands has benefitted from £2,958,225 in funding from the latest round of lifeline grants, with the Flaxmill one of the big winners.

The £650,000 funding aims to kick-start a programme of works on the Cross Mill, part of a wider regeneration programme to transform the site, opening it back up for local people, visitors and local businesses.

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The project, which will mark the first stage of the building’s rescue and regeneration, will provide work for specialist construction contractors to preserve this Grade I listed site.

Marianne Blaauboer, manager of the Friends of the Flaxmill Maltings, said: "We are thrilled with this investment. This will go to the Cross Mill building and go towards making it secure and enhancing just another part of this wonderful site.

Heritage

"We will be able to show people inside the Cross Mill, which will be raw, almost as it was originally, and then inside the Flaxmill which will be perfectly restored – so they can see the difference."

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said: “These grants will help the places that have shaped our skylines for hundreds of years and that continue to define culture in our towns and cities.

"From St Paul’s and Ronnie Scott’s to The Lowry and Durham Cathedral, we’re protecting heritage and culture in every corner of the country to save jobs and ensure it can bounce back strongly.”

Duncan Wilson, Historic England Chief Executive, said: “This funding is a lifeline which is kickstarting essential repairs and maintenance at many of our most precious historic sites, so they can begin to recover from the damaging effects of Covid-19.

"It is also providing employment for skilled craft workers who help to keep historic places alive and the wheels of the heritage sector turning. Our shared heritage is an anchor for us all in these challenging times and this funding will help to ensure it remains part of our collective future.”

Other heritage organisations benefitting from the latest funding are St Paul's Cathedral, Shakespeare's Globe theatre and Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club.