AN ANCIENT Herefordshire building is set to receive a major upgrade.

The Old Priory, or Priory House, in Leominster, will be significantly repaired and renovation following a grant award of £785,832 for capital costs and £50,000 for revenue costs from the Community Ownership Fund.

Dating back more than 800-years, the house is currently in partial use, with parts of the building operating as a youth hospital and a meeting centre for people living with dementia.

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The minutes of a recent Leominster Town Council meeting have revealed that the Old Priory may open to the public after works are complete, with the clerk pledging to arrange a tour of the site on behalf of Walkers are Welcome.

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It was also revealed that a bat survey has been commissioned and was scheduled to take place at the beginning of June 2024. Scheduled Ancient Monument requests have been submitted for part of the roof and all of the windows and an assistant project manager has has been recruited who will initially arrange for Wi-Fi to be installed in the building before any scaffolding is erected.

It was suggested that the Old Mortuary building should be set up for people to stay on site as a security measure. It was noted that there will be plenty of activity in the vicinity due to the presence of other contractors.

These works represent the next step in the long history of the Priory House, which has served as a hospital, a mansion house, offices and more over the centuries.