Britcon has completed a £320,000 contract as part of continued investment to refurbish Hirst Priory, an 18th century Priory and popular events venue in North Lincolnshire.
Hirst Priory, located adjacent to Jn2 M180, on the Isle of Axholme, is a Grade II listed mansion house nestling in a secluded setting overlooking the Lincolnshire Golf Course, and boasting 14 acres of stunning grounds. Once a private residence it became neglected before being acquired by Hunt Group in 2004.
During 2015 Britcon undertook the first £250,000 phase transforming the Grade II listed building into a prestige venue for weddings and corporate events with a capacity of 120 people. Externally, Britcon created extensive gravelled and lawn areas including woodland settings to host marquee functions and outdoor ceremonies for up to 300 guests.
In this latest phase Britcon have refurbished all seven bedrooms, restoring original period features and introducing en-suite facilities. The kitchen has been fully re-fitted, introducing more high-tech catering facilities for larger functions. A new ‘Vaults’ area has been transformed to provide a subterranean 40-seater dining area and bar. Hunt Group added a further investment of £30,000 on soft luxury interiors and other equipment.
Andy Toyne at Britcon said, “Hirst Priory is of considerable heritage value to the Isle and is cherished for its beautiful period architecture. Whilst the renovation programme has been challenging we have successfully retained the property’s wonderful period features whilst adding modern functionality that maintains a sense of its era.”
Particular care was taken to restore and replicate the design and detail of the existing building. Britcon formed new internal structural openings for bedrooms and en-suite bathrooms. Reclaimed existing building panelled doors were painstakingly refurbished, and surrounded with bespoke mouldings matching existing architraves. Maintaining this approach, window shutters & sash windows, were renewed or carefully repaired.
Water damaged deep ornate coving details at the first floor have been carefully restored or replaced using traditional methods and techniques that have remained unchanged for centuries.
The newly constructed en-suite bathrooms have period correct heritage style sanitary ware carefully blended with a modern contemporary style and high specification internal finish.
Throughout the extensive works programme the external façade has remained largely unchanged, with all new re-production cast waste pipes discreetly positioned.
Shaun Hunt, Chief Executive of Hunt Group said:
“We are absolutely delighted with the very high standard of work completed by Britcon. It is fantastic to see Hirst Priory restored to its former glory and modernised to such a high specification of finish; perfectly suiting the most discerning of clientele”.
Britcon has extensive credentials in refurbishing historic buildings. Supporting this with turnkey development services Britcon are able to deliver internal refurbishment and fit out of exceptionally high quality and specification.
Established for almost 30 years, Britcon is a £45+ million turnover business headquartered in Scunthorpe and directly employing 110 people on its project sites across the UK.