Inside historic mansion covered in scaffolding for months amid £7m transformation

New pictures show the £7m restoration work taking place at a historic Salford landmark.

Buile Hill Mansion, set in the grounds of Buile Hill Park off Eccles Old Road, has been covered in scaffolding for months as work takes place to transform the former derelict building into a new wedding venue with a café and community space.

Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett vowed to bring the site back into use at the 2021 mayoral election, and plans for the renovation were approved by the town hall in September 2023.

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Costs were initially expected to be around the £5m mark, but the council agreed to increase funding in February, taking the total to £7.3 million.

The grade II-listed building has been closed for more than 20 years and was formerly used as the Lancashire Mining Museum, which closed in 2000.

Once restored, it will have a new café bar and function room, as well as a heritage and community meeting room, alongside offices for the city council's registry staff.

Improvements include new accessibility features such as disabled access ramps, along with a lift and an external enclosed staircase. Currently, external works to the roof and façades are taking place, and stonework cleaning has been completed.

Internal work is continuing with soft demolition, structural works and the construction of a lift shaft, as well as windows being repaired and replaced.

In the next few months, roofing works and external façades are set to be completed, with mechanical and electrical work due to begin internally.

A Salford City Council report stated that the building is set to be finished by December 20, with spring 2025 marked as the target date for