Shire Hall essential repairs

Woodbridge Town Council (WTC) is pleased to announce that essential repair works have started on the Shire Hall and will start week commencing Monday 23rd March with the building being fully scaffolded for around ten weeks.

The main focus of this initial phase will be the repair of the windows of the Grade 1 listed, 450-year-old building. At the same time, the soffit boards and the crest will be revived and a repair to the roof will be undertaken. The gutters will also be checked and any emergency repairs undertaken as necessary.

WTC are pleased to be working with Chapel Properties, a well-known local, family run firm who are fully committed to our Town.   Mark Crisp of Chapel Properties said “At Chapel’s we are very pleased to be working with Woodbridge Town Council to start the process of restoring this wonderful, iconic building. We will be using all our expertise to deliver a high-quality outcome for our Town.”

Some of the parking bays on Market Hill will be suspended during this time and WTC apologises to residents and businesses for any inconvenience.

WTC will also be using this opportunity for heritage experts to review at close hand the state of the high-level stonework and brickwork to identify whether there are any areas requiring immediate attention or more in-depth restoration work in the future.

Visitors to the Shire Hall will be aware that at the lower and ground level, there is more extensive work required. WTC is working on the development, and subsequent execution, of a programme of repairs to the lower part of the building.

We will be working with a number of parties to develop a plan for the internal restoration of the Shire Hall and, in particular, to bring the first and second floor back into use.

Councillor Nigel Phipps, the Mayor of Woodbridge, said “I am delighted that work is finally able to start on the Shire Hall. We had a hugely successful consultation and open days when the town and its residents were asked what their ambition for the Shire Hall was. The answer was clear – a full restoration with ownership remaining with Woodbridge Town Council. But the answer as to who should pay was less clear!”

WTC is working hard to obtain grant funding for the work. Last month, WTC re-submitted a bid to the National Heritage Lottery Fund to plan and develop a community lead vision for its future use and if successful a further submission for the longer-term restoration of the building. All this work and other sources of support and funding are also being explored. But, says Nigel Phipps, “it is also clear that market towns increasingly will need to accept that ambitions have costs and that the residents of a market town with ambition will need to pay for some of those costs either through their local taxes or by making donations of time, expertise and money.”

23.03.2026