Manor House faces bleak future
One of the Black Country's oldest and more historic buildings needs at least £350,000 spending on it before it can be brought back into use.
The Manor House, the only Grade I listed building in Sandwell, has been closed since last summer when the pub inside shut down.
The future of the 13th century house in West Bromwich now relies on Sandwell Council applying for funding.
It has been dubbed Sandwell's 'most important' historic building by Borough leisure chiefs.
Early estimates show at least £250,000 needs to be spent on the toilets, kitchen, general cleanliness and presentation which a council report shows fall "far below a reasonable standard."
The moat of the house also requires £100,000 to prevent it "being detrimental to any future use."
The building has a Grade I listing, meaning it is "of exceptional interest" to historians.
It was built by the de Marnham farming family in the late 1200s and was saved from demolition in the 1950s by West Bromwich Corporation, which carried out an extensive restoration.
The building in Hall Green Road, West Bromwich, is patrolled by round-the-clock security after becoming a target for vandals and nuisance.
Pubs company Marston's currently owns a long-term lease, but Sandwell leisure chief Councillor Linda Horton has asked for a consultation on what could be done with it.
She said: "We are talking to members of the public and to councillors in the area for ideas about the Manor House.
"The use we put it to will determine what level of funding we can get.
"For example, English Heritage, would want to see a business plan with the uses we would put it to before they would consider any funds.
"Theoretically there is nothing to stop it being brought back into use as a restaurant, but we need to see what options are open."
