Manor's £500k transformation
A crumbling 17th century building at a historic country manor near Kidderminster will be transformed into an exciting new visitor attraction after a £500,000 grant.
Staff at Harvington Hall are celebrating the Heritage Lottery handout which will restore and repair the grade two listed malthouse building.
It is the fifth stage of refurbishment at the popular attraction since the scheme was started in the late 1980s.
The dilapidated building located in the hall's back garden has never been opened to the public.
It was used by the Tudors as a stable before being turned into a malt house to make ale in the 18th century. Work will start later this year and is expected to open in the spring of 2009. Three floors will be created offering visitors a mixture of education and interaction.
The ground floor will be turned into an audio-visual experience about life in the Tudor and Elizabethan times.
Specialist builders will also restore the 18th century malting kiln used to dry the grain for the ale. The first floor will be turned into a classroom for children and the second floor will accommodate a archive of 20th century material. There will also be displays about life on the Harvington estate which used to cover 6,000 acres.
More than 5,000 schoolchildren visit the grade one listed hall every year.
Harvington Hall spokeswoman Sherida Breedon said: "This is a major cash injection for us which will help us attract more visitors. The malthouse is a fascinating building which the public has never seen before. We have some very exciting plans for it. There will be something for everyone and we're really looking forward to starting work on the project," she went on to say.
