Stockport Council awarded £1.6m to protect historic collection

Stockport Council will receive £1.6m through Arts Council England’s Museum Estates and Development Fund (MEND) to carry out repairs to Bramhall Hall. 

The Grade I-listed manor houses a collection of historic objects and architectural features, including Tudor wall paintings, an Elizabethan pendant plaster ceiling and the work of arts and crafts architect George Faulkner Armitage.

The building and its collections have been increasingly at risk from the elements, but the council says that the MEND grant, coupled with its own additional funding, will now enable the urgent building work to get underway.

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Renovation works, including stripping the roofs to relay and replace worn-away grit stone tiles and all leadworks and gutters, are due to start in winter and are expected to take up to two years to complete. The council plans to keep the hall open throughout the process.

Stockport Museums is also planning a new programme of events to explore heritage building methodology. Long-term plans include redeveloping the schools' learning programme and improving digital access to the Hall and its collections.

Stockport Council Leader Mark Hunter said: "Stockport Council is proud to own, operate, and care for Bramall Hall. Not only is it a jewel in Stockport's crown, but it's also a national treasure, and we must preserve this first-class historic house and its enviable collections for generations to come.

"It is fitting that this major renovation work is announced during Stockport's year as Town of Culture, showcasing our amazing facility to people yet to visit or who want to re-discover it. The Hall and Stockport museums are keen to get people actively engaged with the renovation works, feeding into this year's cultural programme celebrating Stockport's people, places and stories."