The National Trust has confirmed that the Old Town Hall at Newtown will not be re-opening in 2022, with work underway to save the historic building.
Structural issues with the Grade II listed building mean it is not safe for staff or visitors to enter, meaning the doors will remain firmly shut to all for the rest of the year.
Expert surveyors from the National Trust are working with specialist structural engineers and contractors to make safe the building, with structural monitoring taking place ahead of extensive building repairs.
The National Trust say the significant movement of the Old Town Hall is largely attributed to the physical nature of the subsoil. It is most evident, it says, in the northeast corner where open cracking is visible internally and externally. There have also been some internal ceiling collapses that require attention.
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’.
It’s hoped that visitors can be welcomed again in 2023.
Maybe we could get Ferguson’s Gang to take over the floating money pit in East Cowes?