Torre Abbey restoration project set to start

Work is set to start on the third phase of a major restoration project at Torre Abbey.

The project will conserve and repair the south west and south east ranges of the main mansion, the 14th century Mohun Gatehouse, courtyard number four including its tower and the north end of the chapel.

Investigation works will also look into the cracking in the lath and plaster in the chapel.

The restoration works will see windows, cementitious render, the roof in the gatehouse and chapel vestry removed, repaired, and replaced, as well as lowering the ground level to the south façade to regain the bottom step to the south façade doors which has been lost to successive resurfacing works and structural repairs to tie in areas of the walls.

After the works, visitors to Torre Abbey will see the Gatehouse look quite different.

When it was first built, the whole of the structure was covered in a lime wash render. Over the centuries of sea air and storms, much of this render has been lost and you can now see the brickwork below.

As part of these works, the remaining medieval render will be restored and sensitively replaced where necessary so that it is returned to its original fully rendered exterior.

All the works will be done under the close supervision of architects and archaeologists and in line with all the necessary standards required for the Scheduled Monument site.

Torre Abbey will remain open during this phase of works and plans to bring a series of behind-the-scenes tours and opportunities to delve deeper into how conservation work is undertaken in this nationally significant and complex building.

The team at Torre Abbey has already started to get ready for the works by packing up the collections in the rooms which will be affected.

Next time you visit Torre Abbey you may well find objects in rooms where they aren’t normally and see some of the preparatory cleaning and packing works. The south east and south west wings will have scaffolding around them to allow the works to start.

As well as the building remaining open and ready for visitors, pathways will remain open and accessible through the site for the many thousands of people who walk through it every week.

Stay up to date with this project by following Torre Abbey's social media channels or by signing up to the Torre Abbey newsletter at www.torre-abbey.org.uk/more/newsletter/

The Torre Abbey Restoration Project has been made possible with a grant of £468,993 from the Museum Estate Development Fund using public funds by Arts Council England and £363,748 from the Cultural Assets Fund (CAF), a £20million government funding stream to protect treasured heritage assets in England from the impact of the pandemic administered by the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) alongside match funding from Torbay Council and the Friends of Torre Abbey (FOTA).