£1m boost for gallery bid

Weston Park has landed a grant of almost £1 million to transform a redundant building into a food shop and gallery.

The cash – a total of £975,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund – will be spent on the first phase of restoration to the Grade II-listed Granary building.

The work will see the north face of the property, which will also be used as a base for the Weston Park Foundation charity, repaired.

Park chief executive Colin Sweeney said: "Everyone is absolutely thrilled with the award. There are so many people that should be congratulated as this is the culmination of more than two years' planning and work in developing a project enabling Weston Park to restore the last unused building on the estate."

The Granary was built in 1767, five years after Sir Henry Bridgeman acquired the estate. At the time, it was the finest example of an agricultural building in the area. It became redundant in the 1960s.

Weston Park opened a "food hub" earlier this year to source local and regional produce for the new shop, which will hopefully be opened next summer.

The gallery will house some of the estate's antiquities, as well as being open to visiting exhibitions.

Curator Gareth Williams said: "Since starting as curator in June 2006, the development of the Granary building has been a major project and an exciting venture."

The Weston Park Foundation is a charitable trust established by funding from the National Memorial Heritage Fund in 1986.

Call 01952 852100 or visit www.weston-park.com