Forty Hall to be restored thanks to Heritage Lottery Fund cash

Grants worth nearly £2 million have been announced by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the project to restore Grade I listed Forty Hall in Enfield.

The HLF has earmarked £1,832,000 for the full restoration of the property, with a further £167,500 to help owners Enfield Council create a detailed development plan for the project.

Photo shows from left - Wesley Kerr, Chair of the London Committee for the Heritage Lottery Fund, Gavin Williams, Manager of Forty Hall dressed as owner Sir Nicholas Rainton, and Cllr Michael Lavender Cabinet Member for Place Shaping.

The restoration project will preserve the house, described by heritage experts as being of national significance and a rare example of an uncommon type of building that sits between the English medieval and classical house styles. It retains a substantially intact early 17th Century interior, and is considered by English Heritage to be one of the most significant surviving buildings of its type in the country.

Wesley Kerr, Chair of the London Committee for the Heritage Lottery Fund, said: “It is a delight to allocate funding to this visionary project to restore this remarkable Jacobean mansion.

“Forty Hall has many outstanding features, with archaeology going back to Tudor times and royal history, as well as fine interiors. It is a building of importance not only to Enfield but to the whole of London.”

Built in 1629 by wealthy merchant and Lord Mayor of London Sir Nicholas Rainton, Forty Hall is currently in use as a local museum, arts and community venue but the restoration work will enable Enfield Council, which is contributing £2.8 million to the project, to turn it into a landmark visitor attraction and a centre of excellence for education, events and exhibitions.

The grounds, which include the site of a former Tudor hunting Lodge, Elsyng Palace, are the subject of another grant application currently under consideration by the HLF under the Parks for People scheme.

Part of the restoration of the Hall will include improved signage and interpretation at the site to explain the history of the house and its past inhabitants. It will also result in increased public access within the hall, to nearly 75% (currently visitors can access 45% of the house), and will also see the installation of a lift to improve access for families and disabled people.

The original layout of the house will be restored to improve movement through the house which will benefit visitors, and there will be a remodelling of the staircase to one similar in design to the 17th Century original.

At a special event held today Cllr Michael Lavender, Cabinet Member for Sustainable Communities, Employment and Place Shaping said: “The news that we have secured this grant gives a tremendous boost to the future of Forty Hall. This gives us a unique chance to remodel the Hall completely to make sure that every aspect of it is planned and coordinated to make it the top visitor attraction that it should be.

“Instead of just making small piecemeal changes, this allows us to undertake coordinated work such as planned maintenance and improvements such as the insertion of a lift, plus changing the stairway and layout of the hall. It also allows us to invest in making the house an exciting place of learning, the arts and culture, with a thriving programme of activity and events. This is the dawn of a new era for Forty Hall.”

This document was last updated on 2008-11-04 11:02:28 published by the Communications team. Document Reference:LBE_133506