Status upgrade for Ayscoughfee
Celebrating the Grade I listed building (from left) Dan Cooper, Rachel Powett, Julia Knight, Coun Nick Worth, Coun Christine Lawton and Coun Roger Gambba-Jones.
AYSCOUGHFEE Hall has been confirmed as one of the jewels in South Holland’s crown after being awarded Grade I listed status.
The historic building in Churchgate, Spalding, was given the accolade after experts reviewed new evidence about its history and development.
Previously the hall, which is owned by the people of the town and managed by South Holland District Council, held a Grade II status.
District council deputy leader Nick Worth said: “The refurbishment and interpretation of Ayscoughfee Hall, carried out between 1999 and 2006, put this wonderful architectural gem back on the map.
“The news of its upgrading to Grade I status is a direct result of the attention to detail put into this renovation work and the valuable historical information that was gleaned during this process.
“It is an outstanding building that the people of South Holland can be really proud of.”
The exact origins of Ayscoughfee Hall are unclear but recent research has suggested the timber used in the roof structure was felled in the mid-15th century.
In amending the hall’s listing, English Heritage’s experts have praised its “historic fabric” and its “remarkable and substantially complete range of medieval roof structures of varied form”.
They acknowledge Ayscoughfee Hall has undergone phases of remodelling and extension, but say it has not “obscured” the imprint of the original medieval open hall plan.
English Heritage says the hall also has “group value” with its landscape featuring on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens with a Grade II listing.
Tony Calladine, head of designation for the east of England at English Heritage, said: “English Heritage is pleased to have been able to recognise the outstanding importance of Ayscoughfee Hall by recommending the upgrading of its listing to Grade I.
“It is a wonderful, multi-period historic building, with great interest in its phases of development and a wonderfully complete, and beautifully preserved, medieval roof with complex medieval carpentry of the highest quality.”
Ayscoughfee Hall has been open as a museum since 1986.
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Wednesday 23 May 2012
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