Molineux Hotel
Wolverhampton
This Grade II* building dating from c.1720 was on the Buildings at Risk Register, having been vacant since 1979 and damaged by fire in 2003. Donald Insall Associates was appointed to help rescue the building and find a new use therefor. We oversaw the Phase 1 conservation and repair works, including the restoration of the Rococo Room with its fine plaster-enriched decoration and the panelled Oak Room. Phase 2 consisted of a Feasibility Study, after which we designed a scheme for the reuse of the building as the city archive. The adapted existing building now forms the public area of the new archive and local studies centre, housed in a modern extension and including a repository to BS5454 standards, a construction standard for archive collections.
The project was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Advantage West Midlands, Wolverhampton City Council, the Wolverhampton Development Company, and English Heritage, who featured it as an exemplar in constructive conservation.
