Shrewsbury's Flaxmill tower back to former glory as scaffolding removed
The highest point of one of Shropshire’s most historic sites has been restored to its former glory.
Last month the scaffolding which had surrounded the highest point of Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings since April 2019 was removed.
The three-storey Jubilee Tower and its coronet sit on top of the world’s first iron framed building. They have been a familiar part of the Shrewsbury skyline for over 100 years.
Built in 1797, Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings is currently being restored after two centuries of use, first as a flax mill, then a maltings and also as a training centre and barracks during the Second World War.
The unveiling of the Jubilee Tower brings the Main Mill and Kiln restoration one step closer to completion.
As part of the restoration the Jubilee Tower has been painstakingly repaired. The leaking roof and dilapidated cladding had caused serious problems of rot to the timber framework, requiring extensive repairs.
The whole tower has been repainted in its original deep red while craftsmen have reinstated the windows, and black metal railings have been added around the top of the tower.
A small team of specialist carpenters have worked over many months to bring the timber tower back to life and, with conservation work on the wooden stairway inside of the Jubilee Tower under way, this part of the site is nearing completion.
Alastair Godfrey, Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings Project Lead for Historic England, said: “After being hidden behind scaffolding for over a year, it’s fantastic to see the restored Jubilee Tower revealed.
"It looks incredible thanks to the hard work of our contractor Croft Building and Conservation’s highly skilled craftsmen.”
The locally restored iron coronet which sits on top of the Jubilee Tower returned in January and a new eight metre flagpole now emerges from its centre.
In 2019 a crowd funding campaign to save the coronet was successful in raising almost £11,000 with remaining restoration costs being kindly donated by patrons and individuals.
After a successful early morning test of the new flagpole using the Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings flag, the first flag to be officially flown from the restored tower is 12-year-old Vivian Wang’s winning entry to the 2020 Young Thinkers competition run by Morris & Company and University Centre Shrewsbury (UCS) as part of this year’s Darwin Festival.
The restoration of the Grade I listed Main Mill and the Grade II Kiln at Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings is taking place thanks to a £20.7m grant from the National Lottery, the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership via its Growth Deal with Government, and from project partners Historic England, Shropshire Council and the Friends of the Flaxmill Maltings.
Alan Mosley, chairman of the Friends of the Flaxmill Maltings, said: “It’s fantastic to see the Jubilee Tower restored to how it would have looked when it was first erected over 100 years ago.
"Now that the scaffolding is down, the local community can once again see and enjoy it.”
