History preserved as hotel restored

An old-fashioned sign leads to a dining room and buffet area which was left to rot decades ago.

As walls are painted around it and crumbling walls re-built, it is like a snapshot into the past at Wolverhampton's historic Molineux Hotel.

Here is a glimpse of how history is being brought to life as part of a £3 million project to restore the landmark to one of the city's greatest treasures.

Rooms and piles of rubble have been cleared by teams of workers who are desperate to see the site brought back to life by October. A host of historic features have been preserved for future generations, including decorative ceiling and wall panels, and workers have also re-built the hotel's original 18th century oak staircase.

Piles of rubble are still scattered at the front of the landmark – around a modern sweeping entrance staircase which has been created to represent the historic site moving into a new era.

And rows of hi-tech electronically controlled archive racking is currently being installed at the site, which was originally built in 1720, to house the city's precious archives, which span 500 years of the city's history. All maps, books, photographs and census returns, newspapers and business records will be moved from Snow Hill to the restored Molineux Hotel within weeks, giving a new lease of life to the hotel which has stood empty for almost 30 years.

Once open, which is scheduled for early next year, the public will have access to much of the building with a state-of-the-art reception, rest room and research area.

The hotel became a home for the Molineux family for more than 100 years and from the 1860's it became a hotel and the grounds became pleasure gardens.

By 1979 it had fallen into disrepair and closed and a huge fire in 2003 destroyed the roof and floors, prompting the council to buy it and preserve it for the future.