Having not being used for 26 years, full public access is imminent for Buile Hille Mansion.
The new mansion will serve a range of purposes for the public including a space for functions and weddings, a cafe and new location of the registrar’s office. The venue is set to open on the 21st of March.
The mansion can host weddings with up to 80 guests, with a brand new car park with sustainable drainage also being built on the site.
The mayor Paul Dennett explained the significance the mansion is to the community. He said: “The residents, families, children, and young people have told us that they want to see the building restored.”
“The empty building, the unloved building sitting in the middle of this grand park, really was an eyesore, but also is tragic for the city of Salford.
“There is a commitment here in this building to the people of Salford, for community purposes.
“It’s going to be an amazing municipal asset for the people of Salford, all happening, of course, in Salford’s 100 years as a city.”
The mayor said: “The first time that officer colleagues at the council allowed me to have a look at the restoration, it was quite profound, because it definitely brought a tear to my eye.”
“This is about saying to the rest of the country, Greater Manchester, the rest of the world, for that matter. That heritage and history is back on the agenda in Salford. Salford means business.
The Mayor went onto explain that Salford City Council had previously made a bid to the National Lottery for ‘a significant amount of investment in the park’ but were unsuccessful.
Now the restoration is complete, the council is exploring the possibilities for a new lottery application for around £5m – he also revealed the council has also received in excess of £300,000 to produce a full business case.
Restoration work began in 2023 on the mansion, with various stakeholders involved, including Salford City council, Buile Hill Mansion Associaton and Buttress Architects.
Grant Prescott at Buttress Architects explained the work the team had to go through to conserve the Buile Hill Mansion.
He said: “We first came onto the project around 2022. The building was in a poor condition. It would be classed as at risk.
“There was decay, there was floors that were partially collapsed. There was water coming in. The windows had rotten, all the glass was missing. So it was really in quite a sorry state at that point.
“In terms of conservation works, there was stone repairs, the roof was lifted and repaired, and insulation was added. All the lead work was renewed. Windows replaced, and upgraded to the thermal performance.”
As Buile Hill Mansion is a grade two listed building, Grant also explained the additional challenges the listing brought to the work.
New features include the addition of the new staircase, ramped entrances and a new lift to make the building compliant from a fire regulations perspective.
Buile Hill Mansion in Salford was built between 1825 and 1827 for Thomas Potter, a textile merchant and the first mayor of Manchester, and subsequently became the city’s mining museum.
The venue is set to open to the public on 21 March – with a new cafe and rooms for weddings and functions.
