Wollaton Hall: Historic Nottingham landmark 'at risk' of deterioration after water damage

Nottingham's Wollaton Hall has been added to a list of heritage sites considered to be at risk of damage.

Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register identifies sites considered to be most at risk of “being lost” due to “neglect, decay or inappropriate development”.

The heritage body said Wollaton Hall is in a “very bad” condition after “significant water ingress through the towers and terrace”.

In March, Wollaton Hall was awarded a £469,992 Arts Council England Museum Estate and Development Fund grant towards repairs.

Built in the 1580s, the Grade I listed country house was bought by Nottingham City Council in 1925 and first opened as a museum a year later.

The hall houses 750,000 objects ranging from fossils to minerals and is best known for its vast collection of taxidermy exhibits, including George the Gorilla.

An institution

Historic England described Wollaton Hall as “one of the most important Elizabethan houses in England”.

A prominent city landmark, Wollaton Hall featured as Wayne Manor in Christopher Nolan’s 2012 Batman film The Dark Knight Rises and since 2008 the grounds have hosted the Splendour music festival annually.

Earlier this year Nottingham City Council was awarded a £226,000 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to refurbish the hall’s Natural History Museum galleries.

Duncan Wilson, Historic England’s chief executive, said: “Protecting our heritage is so important … the Heritage at Risk programme shines a light on our historic sites most in need and can help to attract funding and help.”

Last month Wollaton Hall was forced to ban wild foraging after some visitors began foraging for commercial gain by “collecting trolleys and carrier bags of chestnuts”.