Full steam ahead for Shrewsbury Flaxmill restoration
Contractors only moved on to site a week ago but great strides have been made in the renovation Shrewsbury's iconic Flaxmill.
Pits have been dug both inside and outside of the main mill at Ditherington and these will be filled with concrete to support the massive jacking system which keeps the building up when the bricked up windows and broken down lintels are removed.
Roof tiles have been stripped away prior to a complete re-roof and pallets of bricks have been arriving at the site. The bricks are a custom order and are copies of the 'great' bricks which make up the main mill. Much larger than a normal house brick, these will be used to re-form the window openings and for any other repairs. In total 30,000 of these bricks, which have been specially made in Gloucestershire will be used on the renovation.
Phase two of the work began last Monday after it was announced that Historic England was providing the funds needs for the work.
And without delay, work has started on the main mill. Once completed contractors will then move onto the kiln, landscaping and the car park.
This phase of the restoration of the landmark site has a budget of £20.7 million and will see the former mill and kiln transformed in to four floors of commercial space, with a cafe and an ‘interpretation and learning space’.
The tender for the work has been awarded to Croft Building and Conservation and the work on the main mill is expected to be complete by the end of 2018.
Nick Hill, project manager for Historic England said: "Workers have been on site since last week and have been digging pits for the concrete foundations needed for when we recreate the window openings. We have an archaeological team involved in the project so that if we do find anything they are able to assess it before it is covered back up.
"Of course, this sort of work is never straightforward but we are progressing really well. A major part of the work is the re-roofing of the building. We have removed some of the tiles and the whole roof will be recovered with welsh slate.
"The whole roof has been opened opened up and the once this is completed we will be removing some of the boarding to reveal the structure underneath."
Once phase two of the project is complete, Historic England has said it will look at the ‘master plan’ for the development, which could include the creation of homes on the brownfield land contained in the site.
The Flaxmill, which was built in 1797 and was used for the spinning of flax in to thread and yarn, fell in to a state of disrepair after being vacated in 1987 when it had been used as a maltings business.
