AN HISTORIC building in the heart of Worcester said to be visited by Queen Elizabeth I has been restored to its former glory after a £15,000 cash injection by Worcester City Council.
The exterior of Queen Elizabeth House in Trinity Street had suffered from wear and tear and the impact of traffic fumes, but it has now been restored to how it looked when it was first built in the 1570s.
During the restoration process, losses areas of render have been fixed, the timber frame has been repaired and it has been repainted in the original Tudor style, with dark brown timbers and off-white panels.
The Grade II listed building and the refurbishment of the exterior has all been carried within the strict guidelines for repairs to listed buildings. Scaffolding used for the work was completely freestanding and did not touch the building’s walls.
The building’s name comes from the visit to Worcester in 1575 of Queen Elizabeth I.
She is said to have gone up to its gallery to watch a pageant and speak to the public.
At that time it was within the grounds of the medieval Trinity Hospital, but by the 1890s it found itself in the path of a major road widening scheme. To save the building, Worcester City Council took the step of using specially-laid and greased railway tracks to move it 30ft across the road.
Around a third of the building was left behind when this ambitious plan was put into practice.
Dr Paul Collins, Worcester City Council Planning and Conservation Officer, said:
“Queen Elizabeth House has been witness to so much of our city’s history and has survived many ups and downs – even being moved from one side of Trinity Street to the other – so it is heartening to see it looking so good more than 400 years on from when it was built.”
