Restoration plan for historic North Shropshire shop gets £500k lottery boost
A project to restore a Grade I listed shop building in Oswestry has moved a step closer after it was awarded nearly £500k.
Oswestry Town Council says urgent structural repairs will now take place on the 15th century Llwyd Mansion in Oswestry town centre after they bagged a grant for £479,972 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The authority says the cash will be used to "progress restoration plans" for the Grade I listed building, after structural alterations and repairs and what they describe as a "lack of care and maintenance over many years" left the building in a dilapidated state and on the ‘Heritage at Risk’ list.
The town council purchased the building for £75,000 two years ago.
Plans for the future of the building include community and commercial spaces on the lower floors and holiday let accommodation on upper floors, with work expected to be completed by 2028. A further bid for around £2.9 million of lottery funding is expected to follow.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to have secured this funding to help save this special building and create a community space for all to enjoy," said Mayor of Oswestry Councillor Rosie Radford.
"We’re a step closer to realising this vision thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Lottery players. Together, we are breathing new life into this piece of Oswestry’s heritage for the next generations.”
Llwyd Mansion was built in 1464 as a merchant’s house, although the plaster roundel bearing the coat of arms of the Llwyd family is believed to have been added during a later restoration in the 1800s.
The building has been in commercial use until late 2022 when the building's most recent occupiers, a hairdressing business, moved out.
Heather Kidd, Shropshire Council’s Leader-elect, said: “We are pleased to hear of Oswestry Town Council’s successful application to The National Lottery Heritage Fund. We look forward to working collaboratively to restore and reopen this nationally important building and bringing Llwyd Mansion back into the heart of the community once more.”
The development phase of the restoration is expected to be completed by early 2027, with hopes the building could be fully opened towards the end of 2029.
