Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings is Re-Crowned
31 January 2020
Please note, this release was written before Covid-19. The opening date for Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings is now 2022.
Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings’ cast iron coronet has been put back in place following vital repairs.
The iconic coronet, which is the highest point of Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings, was added in 1897 to mark Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. After 123 years in place it was in urgent need of repair.
A crowdfunding campaign to raise the funds needed to restore it was launched by Historic England last year. The campaign was successful in raising almost £11,000, and Historic England secured the remaining costs of the conservation work to the coronet from patrons and individuals.
Thank you to the National Lottery Heritage Fund and everyone who donated.
After its removal in May last year, the coronet was taken to Shrewsbury-based specialist metal conservation workshop, Heritage Project Contracts. There it underwent months of painstaking work to repair it; fractured ironwork was re-stitched, missing and decayed decorative elements were recreated, and it was re-painted.
The cast iron crown was carefully reassembled and reinstalled on the highest point of the Flaxmill this January, but before it was put back in place school children from St Peter’s Primary School in Wem had a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Pupils from the north Shropshire school were the first to see the coronet when it came back from the conservation workshop, and got to take turns ‘wearing’ the gilded crown which is now sitting at the very top of the coronet – something that very few can claim to have done.
Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings is once again proudly wearing its crown, it looks amazing, and we are so pleased that this Shrewsbury icon has been saved for future generations to enjoy.
We’d like to say a special thank you to The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the individuals and patrons who donated and made the restoration of the coronet possible.
Historic England is actively fundraising to close a £1 million funding gap and we have managed to raise nearly 90% of this target. If you would like to show your support and donate, please contact the Philanthropy team at [email protected]. Together we can save a remarkable piece of Shropshire’s history.
