The Old Market Hall

Built to impress in 1596, the Old Market Hall in Shrewsbury’s historic town centre was out of use from 1995 until work commenced in 2004. Arrol Architects was commissioned to oversee the restoration of the Scheduled Monument, in conjunction with Glenn Howells Architects, and to convert it into an arts cinema and cafe – returning it to the centre of community life.

Arrol Architects identified works necessary for reversing the hall’s serious structural problems that had put the sixteenth-century building at risk – the most significant of which was an outward thrust of roof timbers needing a demanding repair in a manner sensitive to the original fabric. Other repairs and renewals included a complete re-roofing and renewal of the lead parapet; conservation of important heraldic sculpted decorations; and repairs to the bell cupola and weather vane.