Take tour of Stratford's historic Old Toll House

A series of ‘hard hat’ tours have been organised at Stratford’s historic Toll House as it undergoes extensive refurbishment.

Historic building contractors Stone-Edge have already finished stripping out the building, including the removal of the failed roof and upper floor structures.

The historic windows have also been removed for conservation and the internal brickwork is currently being repaired, ready for the installation of new floor and roof joists in the New Year.

The £440,000 project is being delivered by Stratford Historic Buildings Trust (SHBT) and when completed the upper levels of the building will be available to rent as office space.

Income from this space will provide income for the trust to put towards rescuing other historic buildings at risk locally.

The Toll House project will also include an exhibition area in the basement exploring the history of the building and the wider industrial heritage of Stratford, much of which was located along the River Avon and around the canal basin.

Project Organiser Chris Rice said “It is great to finally be on site restoring this familiar Stratford landmark. Although the building looks quite bare at the moment, the strip-out has confirmed that there are no serious structural problems which is really good news. Seeing the structure in its exposed state also allows us to see how the building was constructed and reveals some of the changes that have been made in the 200 years since it was first completed.”

Hard hat tours of the Toll House will take place on Thursday 19 January and Thursday 2 February.

Both tours start at 11am and will last around 30 minutes. All participants need to be able to climb up and down ladders and booking is essential as places are limited to six per tour.

The tours are free but donations to the trust are welcome. To book a place call Chris Rice on 07808887183.