Historic Buile Hill Mansion in Salford to get huge £270k refurbishment

After years of neglect, the historic Buile Hill Mansion in Salford is finally set for a new lease of life thanks to a huge £270k refurbishment.

Buile Hill was built between 1825 and 1827 for Thomas Potter, Manchester’s first Mayor and co-founder of the Manchester Guardian.

Over the years, the mansion was also frequented by famed painter L.S Lowry, who is said to have taken artistic inspiration from its sprawling gardens and grounds.

Once Potter sold up, the building served a number of purposes, including hosting a natural history museum, Salford’s pageants of the 1930s and, during the first world war, even standing in as a military base.

David Dixon / Geograph

Despite its rich history, however, Buile Hill was permanently closed in 2000 and has stood derelict and neglected ever since.

But that is soon set to change after Councillor Mike McCusker approved a contribution of precisely £271,816.20 at the Planning and Sustainable Development meeting last week (Friday March 18th).

Read More: Manchester Museum reopening date confirmed following its huge £15m transformation

The plan is to bring the mansion back into sustainable use, with the proposal outlining that the restored building will include a café bar, function room, community meeting room and public toilets.

It is also poised to host civil wedding ceremonies along with the registration of births, deaths and marriages.

David Dixon / Geograph

Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett said: “The project to restore Buile Hill Mansion continues and this extra funding will go towards bringing it back to sustainable use. Overall the project is expected to cost over £5.5 million.

“The £270,000 awarded from Section 106 money will be used to fund design and feasibility work which are absolutely essential before we can progress to a planning application and procurement of the works.

“The council has been working closely with Buile Hill Mansion Association and I would like to thank them for their hard work and dedication as we work on this project. I cannot wait until works are complete and we can officially open the mansion to the public once again.”