Listed Leicester Building Restored

A major listed building restoration project has been completed in Leicester, giving a notable 15th century building a new lease of life.

The Grade I listed Magazine Gateway on Oxford Street had been crumbling, with cracks and fractures in its stonework prompting English Heritage and De Montfort University to oversee a £200,000 restoration project, the Leicester Mercury reports.

Taking place over the last six months, the project has seen the structural damage being fixed, while vegetation and bird droppings have also been cleared away.

The structure was once part of a larger walled enclosure providing access to The Newarke. Down the centuries it has been used as a military base, a gunpowder store and as accommodation. In recent years it has only been opened to the public on special occasions.

Commenting on the work, Leicester’s heritage champion and deputy mayor Councillor Adam Clarke told the paper: “The damage caused by hundreds of years’ worth of weather, pollution and general wear and tear meant this work needed to be carried out.”

He added that the work will “safeguard the future of what is one of the finest medieval buildings in Leicester”.

Leicester’s association with the 15th century is particularly strong, with the city being the centre of a sensational discovery in 2012 when an excavation on the site of Greyfriars’ Church discovered the remains of Richard III, who was killed in battle in 1485. His remains are now entombed in Leicester Cathedral.

The Magazine Gateway is not the only listed building to have been restored in Leicester recently. The Grade II listed Fenwick department store has been undergoing a major renovation as part of a £17 million scheme by developer Aimrok Holdings to turn it into a 121-room hotel with commercial and hospitality space on the ground floor.

As well as redeveloping the 19th century building, the scheme will also revive its original name of The Gresham.