After a lengthy closure, the National Trust re-opened the doors to Newtown Old Town Hall at the weekend.
As previously reported by Island Echo, structural issues with the Grade II listed building caused damage to the ceiling and made it unsafe for visitors to enter.
Following a period of refurbishment, the doors re-opened to the public once more over the Bank Holiday Weekend for 2 days only.
Suggestions have been made on the National Trust’s website that the Old Town Hall will also be open for the late May Bank Holiday (Monday 29th May), as well as Sunday 27th August and the Bank Holiday on Monday 28th August.
A town hall has existed on the site since the 13th century but the one we see today was mainly built around 1699 from brick and stone, with 18th-century alterations made to it. The hall was left to ruin until it was saved in 1933 by the mysterious Ferguson’s Gang — a group of young women, who wore masks and used fake names, whose aim was to preserve examples of ‘traditional England’.
So good to know that something of its ages is being cared for.. I was told by my father that the ancestors of my family have their names on the wall…